House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 15 Feb 1999 (pt 6)

Signing Routes (M25)

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many signs, and at what cost, are currently being installed by the Highways Agency to complete signing routes to the M25. [71075]

15 Feb 1999 : Column: 442

Ms Glenda Jackson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Paul Burstow, dated 15 February 1999:

The Minister for Transport in London, Glenda Jackson, has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the cost of the London Primary Route Network Signing project, and the number of direction signs which will be replaced.

The estimated cost of the project, which involves the design and erection of some 5000 direction signs in the primary road network within the M25, is £27.4m (excluding VAT).

You might be interested to know that the project is being carried out in three phases. The first two phases, which are both currently underway, cover east-London and south-west London. Work on the third phase covering north-west London is expected to start later this year. The whole project is expected to be completed by early 2001.

Departmental Staff

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he has taken to relocate staff in (a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he is responsible to the regions of the United Kingdom with the highest levels of unemployment; and what plans he has further to decentralise the location of his Department and its agencies. [70466]

Mr. Meale: 78 per cent. of my Department's staff, including agencies, are employed outside London following a number of relocation exercises over the years. The scope to decentralise more work will be kept under review.

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the total number of staff (a) in his Department and (b) in each of the agencies for which he is responsible and their location in (i) London, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) each of the English regions. [70480]

Mr. Meale: Figures showing the number of staff for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, together with a regional breakdown of all Departmental staff, are given in the "Civil Service Statistics 1998", which has been placed in the Library.

Community Transport Services

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to support the development of community transport services for the (a) elderly and (b) disabled. [70453]

Ms Glenda Jackson: My Department gives funding support for the Community Transport Association's Advice and Information Service which provides a valuable source of guidance to operators of community transport services. In addition, we have commissioned a national review of the role of community and voluntary transport operators to help our understanding of the changing role that they play in meeting the needs of elderly and disabled people as well as other groups. The report is due to be received by the Department later this month and we will be studying the findings and recommendations carefully.

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Fuel Duty Rebate

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received concerning the extension of eligibility for fuel duty rebate to door-to-door services for disabled and elderly people. [70452]

Ms Glenda Jackson: We have received a considerable number of representations about this matter, on which the review of voluntary transport commissioned by the Department makes recommendations. The review's report will be published shortly and we will consider all its recommendations carefully.

Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 16 December 1998, Official Report, column 536, if he will list the expenditure not included in his answer incurred (a) by task forces and review bodies, (b) by focus groups, (c) on market research and (d) for publications and publicity; and if he will list the bodies which incurred the expenditure. [71007]

Mr. Meale: The expenditure on publications incurred by DETR and not included in my previous answer is some £3,759,000 since 1 May 1997.

The expenditure on research among focus groups was some £128,000. This figure was subsumed within the figure for public opinion research, contained in my answer of 16 December 1998.

It is not possible to give a breakdown on expenditure incurred by task forces and review bodies without incurring disproportionate cost.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 16 December 1998, Official Report, column 536, if he will list the expenditure not included in his answer incurred by (a) his agencies and non-departmental public bodies and (b) the Central Office of Information for relevant work carried out for his Department. [71004]

Mr. Meale: The expenditure on research and advertising incurred by my Department's executive agencies is:

£

Agency Research Advertising Direct mail

DVLA (20)124,000 5,000,000 (21)408,000

DSA 71,000 15,000 149,000

MCA 15,463 87,403 2,355

Vehicle Inspectorate nil 9,850 nil

VCA nil nil nil

QE11 nil 23,863 5,840

Planning Inspectorate 7,000 nil nil

Highways Agency 60,000 74,000 nil

			£
Agency	Research	Advertising	Direct mail
DVLA	(20)124,000	5,000,000	(21)408,000
DSA	71,000	15,000	149,000
MCA	15,463	87,403	2,355
Vehicle Inspectorate	nil	9,850	nil
VCA	nil	nil	nil
QE11	nil	23,863	5,840
Planning Inspectorate	7,000	nil	nil
Highways Agency	60,000	74,000	nil

(20) Includes expenditure on public acceptance research on Statutory Off Road Notifications (SORN)

(21) Includes expenditure on mailings to support SORN

The expenditure on research and advertising incurred by DETR sponsored NDPBs is not available centrally and cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.

15 Feb 1999 : Column: 444

The majority of the Department's research and advertising is placed through the Central Office of Information and therefore the expenditure for relevant work (other than mailings) carried out for the Department by the Central Office of Information is as provided in my answer of 16 December 1998.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the expenditure incurred by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on (a) the setting up and (b) the operation of web sites, indicating the cases in which the expenditure has been above that budgeted; and if he will list for each web site (i) the topics covered, (ii) the current average number of hits per month and (iii) the estimated expenditure on each web site for each of the next three years. [70973]

Mr. Meale: DETR's Website was launched in November 1997 at a cost of some £5,000. DETR's core Website includes the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Marine Accidents Investigation Branch, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Vehicle Certification Agency, as well as two related sites, one providing air quality information and one with information aimed at local government. It also hosts several NDPBs--the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards and the Disabled Person's Transport Advisory Committee. The cost of running these sites in the financial year 1998-99 is some £320,000. This is within budget.

(i) The core Website publishes information covering the full range of the Department's responsibilities--aviation, construction, drinking water, environmental protection, housing, local government, London, local transport, mobility, planning, railways, regeneration, roads, road safety, shipping, wildlife and the countryside.

(ii) Average monthly hits are 1.65 million.

(iii) Estimated expenditure over the next three years: 1999-2000 £450,000; 2000-2001 £550,000; 2001-2002 £650,000.

The Department also runs a Website for one NDPB, The British Government Panel on Sustainable Development. Its set-up costs were some £2,000 and annual running cost is estimated at £2,500.

(i) This Website publishes its annual reports to the Prime Minister.

(ii) Average monthly hits are 1,000.

(iii) estimated expenditure over the next three years: 1999-2000 £3,000; 2000-2001 £3,500; 2001-2002 £4,000.

Management of other DETR agency and NDPB Websites is devolved to these bodies. The following information is available.

DETR Executive Agencies

Highways Agency Website--set-up costs of some £32,000; annual running cost estimate at £15,000.

(i) Publishes details of organisational structure and contact points, agency documentation, such as annual reports, information relating to individual road schemes, planned road improvements information, contractors information and a children's interactive section.

(ii) Average monthly hits: 47,000.