§ 34. Mr. John SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what responses he has received from the rail industry to the strategic plan for the railways. [28471]
§ Mr. SpellarThe plan has been warmly welcomed by the rail industry.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions from which previous budget the additional £4.5 billion of rail investment referred to in the SRA Strategic Plan has been drawn. [28547]
§ Mr. ByersThe additional provision comes from a £2.3 billion transfer of funds from the previously unallocated budget within the Transport 10-Year Plan and, in relation to the 2 April 2001 agreement between the Government and Railtrack, from funds which are additional to those in the Transport 10-Year Plan. This means that the total Transport 10-Year Plan public expenditure and private investment envelope has been increased from £179.7 billion to £181.9 billion.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether the SRA has sought his Department's consent to reduce the passenger growth target in the strategic plan to 30 per cent. [30251]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Government's 10-Year Plan target for rail passenger growth is not altered by the SRA strategic plan. The strategic plan sets out how the SRA intends to deliver the target.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will give a schedule, broken down by financial year, of the projected allocation of the private sector contribution to the SRA strategic plan; and if he will indicate the purpose to which that contribution is expected to be put in each of those years. [30258]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe SRA strategic plan envisages private sector investment of a very similar level to that envisaged in the 10-Year Plan. An indicative profile of this investment was outlined in Table A3 of the 10-Year176W Plan. Private investment will work in partnership with £33.5 billion of public investment and support to deliver the Government's 10-Year Plan objectives for rail.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assumption has been made about the rate of return required by private sector investors in framing the financial models that underlie(a) the Government's 10-Year Plan and (b) the SRA strategic plan. [30255]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe rates of return required by the private sector investors will vary with the nature of particular investments and the risks that are borne. Assumptions used in the 10-Year Plan and the SRA strategic plan modelling will not be published as they could have an adverse effect on commercial negotiations for particular mechanisms to deliver private investment.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what the projected annual allocations of the public sector contribution to the SRA Strategic Plan are, broken down by spending type; [30259]
(2) if he will give a schedule, broken down by financial year, of the allocation of the £33.5 billion public sector contribution to the SRA Strategic Plan. [30260]
§ Mr. JamiesonI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 23 January, 2002,Official Report, columns 871–72W.
§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he last met the Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority to discuss the 10-year strategic plan. [28642]
§ Mr. SpellarThe Secretary of State meets the key players in the rail industry on a regular basis.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what is the total amount of public and private sector investment in the railways over the next 10 years assumed in(a) the transport 10-year plan assessed, and (b) the strategic plan published by the SRA. [30734]
§ Mr. Byers[holding answer 28 January 2002]: Tables A2 and A3 of the 10-Year Plan for Transport set out the estimated amount and profile of private and public investment in rail.
The SRA strategic plan anticipates a very similar level of private investment to that estimated in the 10-Year Plan. The enhanced level of public investment funding included in the strategic plan was outlined in a written answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 23 January 2002, Official Report, columns 871–72W.