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Strategic Rail Authority: Freight Competition

Earl Attlee asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 6 December 2001 (WA 153), what was the outcome of the Strategic Rail Authority's "Innovative Solutions in Rail Based Logistics" competition. [HL107]
 

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Lord Davies of Oldham: The three winners of the "Innovative Solutions in Rail-Based Logistics" competition were:

Blue Circle Industries which was awarded £2.9 million to run a two-year trial to demonstrate the use of a piggyback concept for secondary distribution of cement products into congested urban areas, using a rail wagon for carriage of an inter-modal road tanker;

Exel which was awarded £2.1 million for technical development of the trains to enable a full commercial trial of train services involving door-to-door unit delivery for existing general freight customers; and

Minimodal which was awarded £1.01 million for development of a high-speed flat rail wagon and new mini-containers.

Haiti

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether Haiti has or will soon qualify for debt relief, in view of level of poverty and lack of equality. [HL58]

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Haiti is potentially eligible to receive debt relief under Evian terms from the Paris Club if this is required to bring its debt burden down to a
 
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sustainable level. As an IDA-only country, Haiti may also be eligible to receive comprehensive debt relief under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are currently conducting a review of country eligibility based on the debt situation as of the end of 2004. The results are due to be made public in the HIPC status of implementation report to be published this autumn.

The UK is also proposing 100 per cent relief on the debt owed by poor countries to the World Bank, African Development Bank and IMF. We are leading the way by paying our share of debt payments owed to the World Bank and African Development Bank and are calling for better use of IMF gold to fund its debt relief costs.

Eligible countries include all post-completion point HIPCs, and all other low income IDA-only countries with suitably robust public expenditure management systems to ensure the savings are directed towards poverty reduction. The current proxy for this is whether the country is receiving direct poverty-reduction budgetary support from the World Bank through the poverty reduction support credit (PRSC). As an IDA-only country, Haiti is potentially eligible for assistance under this initiative, and will be able to benefit after it receives support in this form from the World Bank.

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