§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) when the contracts resulting from the SRA's freight innovation competition were signed with(a) Blue Circle industries, (b) Exel and c Minimodal; [54452]
(2) when the contracts signed by (a) Blue Circle Industries, (b) Exel and c Minimodal have been renegotiated; and if he will make a statement; [54454]
(3) what the results were of the mechanical engineering checks that were carried out as part of the SRA's freight innovation competition; [54456]
(4) what the criteria were against which the entrants for the SRA's freight innovation competition were judged; [54451]
(5) if he will place in the Library the Heads of Agreement for the contracts signed by a Blue Circle Industries, (b) Exel and c Minimodal, following the SRA's freight innovation competition; [54453]
(6) on what date the winners of the SRA's freight innovation competition were announced; [54450]
28W(7) how much has been spent by (a) the Department, (b) the SRA and c other Government bodies as part of the SRA's freight innovation competition. [54455]
§ Mr. ByersThe winners of the Strategic Rail Authority's (SRA's) freight innovation competition were announced on 13 June 2000. The contracts were signed on 26 January 2001 in all three cases and none of these contracts have been renegotiated. The terms of the contracts are commercially confidential and could not be disclosed without the agreement of all parties to the contracts. The Authority selected projects submitted which scored highest against the published criteria and these were audited by a consultant to assess their deliverability in all areas including vehicle acceptance and operational issues prior to selection. The guidance notes for applicants, which include the criteria used to judge the competition, have been placed in the Libraries of the House. Up to the end of the year 2001–02 the SRA, which is wholly responsible for financing the competition, has spent £4.52 million as a result of it.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 29 April 2002,Official Report, column 569W, what contractual arrangements exist for access to the network by rail freight operators. [54281]
§ Mr. JamiesonFreight train operators need to hold access contracts with Railtrack. These are subject to approval by the Rail Regulator in accordance with the provisions in sections 17 to 22c of the Railways Act 1993 (as amended by the Transport Act 2000).