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Driving Standards Agency
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what has been the change in the number of unprocessed applications at the Driving Standards Agency over the last two years; [10491]
- (2) what has been the average waiting time for tests from the Driving Standards Agency on a monthly basis over the last two years in each region; [10493]
(3) what assessment has he had made of the effect of the recent reduction in the number of Driving Standards Agency regional offices from 10 to five on service levels to the public; [10437]
(4) how many people have applied for driving tests in each month of the last two years at the Driving Standards Agency; [10438]
(5) how many driving tests have been cancelled by the Driving Standards Agency at short notice in the last year; [10556]
(6) what have been the annual funding and staffing levels at the Driving Standards Agency since it was established; [10492]
(7) how much compensation has been paid to people whose driving tests have been cancelled in each of the last five years. [10436]
Mr. Norris: I have asked the chief executive of the Driving Standards Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from B. L. Herdan to Mr. Graham Allen, dated 23 January 1996:
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23 Jan 1996 : Column: 183
Driving Standards Agency Services--PQS 680, 683, 688, 696, 698, 699 and 705
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your Questions about the Driving Standards Agency's services.
PQ Numbers 680 and 696/95/96: Numbers of applications and unprocessed applications over the last two years
We have taken the reference to unprocessed applications to mean those who have applied for but not yet received a driving test. The table at Annex A shows the monthly level of applications for tests and the numbers awaiting a test at the end of each month over the last two years.
PQ Number 683/95/96: Average waiting times
Annex B shows the monthly average waiting time for each region over the same period. The more recent data reflects the merging of regions into our new 5 Area structure. Wales and Western were merged first; the Eastern regions (Nottingham and Cambridge) were merged with West Midlands; North West was merged with North East and the majority of South East was merged with Metropolitan (although some south eastern centres are now managed from Birmingham and some from Cardiff). We are pursuing a number of measures to improve service levels.
PQ Number 688/95/96: Effect of reducing regional offices
We recognise that the reorganisation changes have resulted in a number of temporary problems. These include a backlog of postal applications, misdirected mail, and poor telephone answering performance. These have been exacerbated by extremely high demand on the telephones because of the increase in queries about the new theory test and vocational test changes.
Additional staff together with new and more efficient telephone systems are now in place which provide much better management information. We are setting higher service standards in next year's business plan and are confident that once the transition period is over the service offered by the 5 offices will be superior to that offered previously by the ten.
PQ Numbers 698 and 705/95/96: Short notice cancellations and compensation levels
Annex C shows the numbers of driving tests we have had to cancel at short notice, other than when the weather was too poor to enable a test to be conducted, over the last year. The following table summarises the compensation paid to customers whose tests were cancelled at short notice:
£
Year Compensation
1990-91 264,665
1991-92 244,468
1992-93 186,912
1993-94 205,853
1994-95 124,435
1995-96 (13)79,021
(13)The figure for the current year shows the amounts paid for the nine months to 31 December 1995.
PQ Number 699/95/96: Funding and staffing levels
The Agency is a non statutory on-Vote trading body whose current expenses are not classified as public expenditure. Its full costs are recovered through fees and charges and it has been producing audited commercial style accounts since 1992-93. The following table shows the Agency's net resource costs in cash prices and the numbers of full time equivalent staff employed for the five years since the Agency was established. The figures for the current year are our latest forecasts of outturn.
Year Costs £000s Staffing
1990-91 49,914 2,105
1991-92 51,808 2,192
1992-93 50,786 1,898
1993-94 48,064 1,805
1994-95 48,505 1,789
1995-96 50,288 1,811
SCOTLAND
Bail Hostels
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to establish a bail hostel in each sheriffdom in Scotland. [7752]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Accommodation for persons on bail is currently available in the sheriffdoms of Glasgow and Strathkelvin, Lothian and Borders, Grampian, Highlands and Islands, and Tayside, Central and Fife. There are plans to establish further provision within the sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife. There are no plans to establish a bail hostel in every sheriffdom.
National Museums and Galleries
Mr. Faulds: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the attendance figures for 1995 reported by the national museums and galleries in Scotland, broken down into the individual institutions but including their substations, with figures in each case of the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1994. [9016]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 16 January 1996]: The information is as follows:
| 1995 | Percentage change since 1994 | |
|---|---|---|
| National museums of Scotland | 1,114,587 | -0.5 |
| National galleries of Scotland | 901,783 | +2.0 |
Figures for the national museums of Scotland relate to the Royal Museum of Scotland, the Museum of Antiquities, the Scottish Agricultural Museum, the Scottish United Services Museum, the Museum of Flight, the Museum of Costume and the Gasworks Museum. The national galleries of Scotland figures relate to the National Gallery of Scotland, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, National Galleries of Scotland exhibitions held in the Royal Scottish Academy and, for the first time, Duff house in Banff.
Health Boards (Competitive Tendering)
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance has been issued by his Department to (a) local authorities and (b) health board and NHS trusts in Scotland on when they should enter into a competitive tendering exercise before awarding contracts for goods or services. [9850]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
[holding answer 17 January 1996]: The Scottish Office Environment Department has issued a number of guidance circulars to local authorities on compulsory competitive tendering. In particular, circular 13/93 offers advice on the avoidance of anti-competitive behaviour. Circular 13/95 provided guidance on compulsory competitive tendering during local government reform.
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Comprehensive guidance on market testing for NHS services in Scotland issued from the management executive of the NHS in Scotland to health boards and national health service trusts on 6 October 1993. This consolidated all earlier guidance which had issued since 1987 when competitive tendering was introduced in the national health service in Scotland. The guidance addresses all aspects of market testing involving non-clinical services. Separate guidance which issued in 1992 covers the circumstances in which health boards and national health service trusts are required to use contracts negotiated centrally by the supplies division of the Common Services Agency for goods, services and equipment.
Local authorities and health boards and national health service trusts must also have regard to the EC procurement directives.
Mr. McFall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of children made subject to a supervision requirement by a children's hearing, having been referred for a commission of an offence, reoffend within two years of the making of the order where the child remains in the community for two years after leaving a children's home or residential school. [10645]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton:
This information is not maintained in the form requested.
Mr. McFall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in what percentage of cases referred by the police to a reporter on the grounds that a child has committed an offence are the grounds for referral accepted at a children's hearing. [10644]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton:
Currently 30 per cent. of all cases referred to the reporter on the grounds that the child has committed an offence are subsequently referred to children's hearings. In 75 per cent. of the cases considered by hearings the grounds are accepted.
Mr. McFall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is the average cost of a children's hearing per case referred (a) on offence grounds and (b) on non-offence grounds; [10646]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton:
Cost information is not collected in the form requested.
Mr. McFall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average time taken between a referral by the police to a reporter on the grounds that a child has committed an offence and the case being dealt with by a children's hearing (a) where the grounds for referral are accepted and (b) where the grounds for referral are not accepted. [10643]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton:
This information is not maintained in the departments of reporters to children's panels.
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(2) what is the average cost per case from referral until completion of cases referred to a reporter on offence grounds including the cost to the police, the reporter's department, social services, education and the children's hearing. [10647]
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