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Concessionary Travel Schemes

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to extend the eligibility criteria for concessionary travel schemes in the next four years. [67492]

Mr. Jamieson: From 1 April 2003, men aged 60–65 will benefit from the concessionary travel arrangements available in their area. At present we have no other plans to extend eligibility for concessionary travel schemes.

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to fund the full cost of concessionary travel schemes in (a) London and (b) all other local authority areas. [67493]

Mr. Jamieson: Government provision for existing concessionary travel schemes is included in the general grant for local authorities. This is distributed using standard spending assessments and it is not possible to provide a meaningful allocation for each authority. Future levels of spending are currently under consideration in the Spending Review. It is for local authorities to decide their spending priorities in the light of their responsibilities and the wishes of their electorate.

Departmental Energy Use

Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated (a) level and (b) cost of energy use in his Department and associated agencies was

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in each year since 1997; what proportion of energy was generated from renewable sources; and if he will make a statement. [65959]

Mr. Jamieson: My Department was formed on 29 May.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. Leslie) on 8 July 2002, Official Report, column 679W.

0870 Telephone Numbers

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on using 0870 telephone numbers for inquiries by the public to the Department and its agencies. [66194]

Mr. Jamieson: There is no overall departmental policy covering the use of national rate (0870) telephone numbers for inquiries by the public to the Department and its agencies. National rate numbers are not used anywhere in the centre of the Department. Usage in the various departmental agencies is as follows.

DVLA use national rate (0870) telephone numbers for the main inquiry lines that answer general queries about driver licensing and vehicle registration and licensing. This is to ensure that all callers receive a fair and equitable service in as much as they pay the same telephone charge no matter from what part of the country they call.

The vehicle inspectorate uses a national rate (0870) number as an additional service above and beyond the local contact numbers that are available to the trade and general public.

The Driving Standards Agency uses a national rate (0870) number for telephone bookings for driving tests at their two call centres, based in Newcastle and Cardiff. This ensures equity of payment for all customers using booking services without resulting in increased fee levels.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency Rescue use a national rate (0870) number for their information line, which handles general inquiries about the MCA.

Highways Agency and Vehicle Certification Agency do not use national rate numbers.

Ministerial Speeches

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the speech made by the Minister to the international travel information seminar in London on 26 June; [66248]

(2) what speeches have been made by his Ministers to external organisations or events since the beginning of June; and if he will place copies in the Library; [66245]

(3) if he will list speeches which he has made to external organisations or events since the beginning of June; and if he will place copies in the Library. [66247]

Mr. Jamieson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport made a speech to the Railway Forum on 2 July. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport addressed the annual rail freight conference on 20 June, the 5th United Kingdom Transport conference on 25 June,

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the Passenger Transport Executive Group on 27 June and the aviation club on 3 July. I made two speeches on 26 June, one to the international travel information seminar and one to the Baltic Exchange Golden Jubilee reception. Where appropriate, ministerial speeches are placed on the Department's website.

Health and Safety Legislation

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what responsibility his Department has for workplace-related health and safety legislation; [65490]

(2) what responsibility his Department has for workplace-related health and safety legislation. [65489]

Mr. Jamieson: The Secretary of State for Transport currently answers to Parliament on all activities of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive, except when these come within the specific area of responsibility of another Secretary of State. Under section 11 (2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the Secretary of State may approve proposals from the Commission for regulations, and under section 15 (1) of the Act may also introduce health and safety legislation, provided the Commission is consulted.

In tandem with the recent machinery of government changes, it was announced on 29 May that there will be a review of departmental responsibilities for health and safety issues. An announcement on this will be made in due course.

Joint Working

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list (a) the protocols for joint working between his Department and other Departments and (b) the Government code of practice under which his Department operates when working with other Departments; and if he will make a statement. [66008]

Mr. Jamieson: With regard to protocols for joint working between my Department and other Departments, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on 25 June 2002, Official Report, column 777W. When consulting other Departments on the development of policy, my Department follows the guidance in volume 1 of the Directory of Civil Service Guidance. hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake).

Staff Training

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Department has spent on staff training and development in each of the last five years. [61065]

Mr. Jamieson: My Department is fully committed to the training and development of its staff. In the last five years it has spent the following amounts:

1997–98—£1.9 million—Department of Transport and Department of the Environment


1998–99—£2.9 million—DETR


1999–2000—£3.2 million—DETR


2000–01—£4.5 million—DETR


2001–02—£6.5 million—DTLR.

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Public Consultations

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the public consultations undertaken by his Department and its predecessors since 1997; if copies were available (a) online and (b) in print in each case; and on what date the period for responses (i) opened and (ii) closed. [66651]

Mr. Jamieson: A full list of the public consultations undertaken by the Department or its predecessors since 1997 has been placed in the Libraries of the House, including the dates for which the period for responses opened and closed. The list is based on central records and reflects the public consultations undertaken within the areas for which the Department is currently responsible. The Department does not, however, keep central historical records relating to the availability of consultation documents online or in printed form.

Bull Bars

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what recent assessment he has made of the likely impact of bull bars on pedestrians who are involved in collision with the front of vehicles at varying speeds; [68381]

(2) what recent assessment he has made of proposals to ban the fitting of bull bars to the front of vehicles in the United Kingdom; [68382]

(3) how many vehicles with bull bars were licensed for use on United Kingdom roads in each of the last five years for which records are available. [68380]

Mr. Jamieson: The Government funded a comprehensive TRL study that looked into the likely effects of bull bars on pedestrians and recommended test procedures to identify aggressive designs. The report "Assessment and Test Procedures for Bull Bars" by G. Lawrence, C. Rodmell and A. Osborne has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

We have concluded that the most effective way of controlling aggressive bull bars would be on a European basis, and welcome the commitment by the European Motor Industry to stop fitting rigid bull bars to new cars from this year.

We have also submitted a technical proposal to the Commission, based on the TRL work, setting out how after-market bull bars and bull bars fitted to larger vehicles could be dealt with through European legislation. We are pressing the Commission to take this forward.

The number of licensed vehicles fitted with bull bars is not officially recorded. However of the 23 million licensed vehicles on UK roads, we estimate that there are around 600,000 vehicles fitted with bull bars.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what discussions he has had with the EU on plans to introduce legislation and directives to make the front of vehicles safer; [68373]

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(2) what plans he has to introduce legislation to make the fronts of vehicles safer. [68375]

Mr. Jamieson: Legislation covering the design of new cars is dealt with at a European level. We welcome the proposal by the European Commission for an agreement with the motor industry to design car fronts to reduce the injury to pedestrians in the event of an impact. We are now awaiting a further proposal from the Commission to provide a legislative framework for this agreement.

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