§ Mr. WarrenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will arrange for the publication of the safety requirements of the Channel tunnel design together with the supporting calculations.
§ Mr. PortilloI refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Mr. Hargreaves) on 15 January,Official Report, column 45, and to my hon. Friend the Member for Hampshire, North-West (Sir D. Mitchell) on 19 December, Official Report, column 195. The general characteristics of the Channel tunnel are specified in the concession agreement (Cmnd 9769). It is for Eurotunnel to prepare detailed designs and submit them for approval by the Channel tunnel intergovernmental commission. On safety matters, the commission is advised by the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority, which has recently published its annual report for 1988–89. I understand that the authority intends to publish further reports in due course. The commission's recent decision on the non-segregation of passengers from their vehicles was accompanied by a number of binding safety requirements.