HC Deb 23 May 1994 vol 244 cc59-60W
Mrs. Roche

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the recommendations of the Fennell report into the King's Cross fire which have not yet been implemented; and when he expects them to be implemented.

Mr. Norris

[holding answer 20 May 1994]: London Underground Ltd. has now implemented 116 of the 127 recommendations addressed to it in the Fennell report. One recommendation, which was not accepted by LUL, has been completed by other means. This leaves the following recommendations still to be fully implemented:

  • 6a Escalator lubrication
  • 8b Line Controllers facilities
  • 16a Research into air movement
  • 36 Escalators—elimination of wooden treads and risers
  • 49a Station ventilation systems
  • 52a Elimination of VIR cable (infrastructure)
  • 69 Removal of hazardous materials
  • 114 Improvements to CCTV
  • 125 Control of smoke and ventilation
  • 142 Subway link at King's Cross

Discussions on how best to deal with these are taking place between Her Majesty's railways inspectorate and London Underground.

Mrs. Roche

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which consultants carried out the quantified risk assessment from which his Department concluded that there was little risk of fire as a result of wooden treads on London Underground's escalators; and if he will publish that assessment.

Mr. Norris

[holding answer 20 May 1994]: The quantified risk assessment was carried out for London Underground by Trident Consultants Ltd. as part of a comprehensive two-year study of risks on the underground. As the consultants' final report also includes assessments of risks arising from terrorism it is not for general publication. However, I understand that London Underground is willing to give the hon. Lady a briefing on the risks associated with the wooden escalator treads if she would find that helpful.

Ms Ruddock

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the ethnic origin of each of the employees of London Underground who experienced an assault while on duty during 1993.

Mr. Norris

[holding answer 20 May 1994]: The ethnic origins of the 431 London Underground staff who were victims of either criminal or common assaults in 1993 were as follows:

Number
UK/Eire 237
Other European 17
Asian 59
African 44
Caribbean 59
Other 15
Total 431