§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will provide the latest Government or Government recognised figures for the percentage of parishes in England that have(a) no shops, (b) no post office or sub post office, (c) no GP surgery, (d) no primary school, (e) no secondary school, (f) no village hall or similar community centre, (g) no dispensing chemist, (h) no police station, (i) no pub, (j) no working church, (k) no daily bus service and (l) no bank; and if he will give comparable figures for 1997. [136729]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 6 November 2000]: The most recent comprehensive survey of rural services was undertaken by the Rural Development Commission in 1997. It showed:
Percentage of parishes without: Percentage Permanent shop (of any kind) 42 Post Office 43 GP (based in the parish) 83 School (for 15 year olds) 93 School (for 6 year olds) 50 Village Hall/Community Centre 28 Chemist (of any kind) 79 Police Station 92 Public House 29 Church/chapel 161 Daily Bus Service 75 Bank/Building Society 91 1 Percentage of parishes which either have no church/chapel or are without a resident minister. The Countryside Agency is undertaking a further survey of the level of service provision in rural areas this year. I understand that this will be published in the spring of 2001.
139W
§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what are the latest available figures for the level of use of public bus services in rural areas; and what the comparable figures were in each year since 1995. [136677]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 6 November 2000]: The data collected by my Department on the number of bus passenger journeys does not specifically identify journeys in rural areas.
However, information provided separately to my Department by local authorities on the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant introduced in 1998 shows that journeys on the 1,800 services funded by the grant have risen from 10 million in 1998–99 to 16 million in 1999–2000.