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5 Mar 2003 : Column 1017W—continued
University Admissions
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 26 February 2003 to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell, Official Report, column 257, what steps he is taking to ensure that university admissions are based on merit. [100575]
The Prime Minister [holding answer 4 March 2003]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North West Norfolk, (Mr. Bellingham) at Prime Minister's Questions today.
CABINET OFFICE
Departmental Costs
Mr. Laws: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the costs of the Cabinet Office were in each year from 1998–99 to 2004–05 (planned); and if he will make a statement. [99895]
Mr. Alexander: The costs of the Cabinet Office for each year from 1998–99 to 2003–04 can be found in the tables in the departmental report (Cm 5429) from page 89.
The departmental report which will be published in spring will update this information and cover the period 1998–99 to 2005–06.
Senior Civil Service
Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) civil servants and (b) senior civil servants were dismissed for poor performance in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [100591]
Mr. Alexander: The figures for the numbers of staff who were dismissed from the civil service in the last 10 years are shown in the following table. These figures are based on headcount, permanent staff in all
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Departments. The data presented are for all dismissals. We do not hold separate records for poor performance as the reason for dismissal.
| Year ending 31 March | All staff | Senior civil servants |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1,050 | 1 |
| 1993 | 1,030 | 0 |
| 1994 | 1,000 | 2 |
| 1995 | 880 | 2 |
| 1996 | 750 | 1 |
| 1997 | 870 | 0 |
| 1998 | 650 | 0 |
| 1999 | 590 | 1 |
| 2000 | 840 | 1 |
| 2001 | 1,020 | 3 |
Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he has had with representatives from local government about widening the civil service fast-stream programme to cover local government; and if he will make a statement. [100592]
Mr. Alexander: Last year officials from my Department met representatives of the Local Government Employers Organisation under the auspices of the Public Sector Employment Forum and its recruitment sub-group. They discussed graduate and fast stream recruitment but there are no plans for the civil service scheme to cover local government. The Local Government Employers Organisation launched the inaugural recruitment campaign for their National Graduate Development Programme in March 2002. The first cohort of graduates joined the programme in September 2002.
Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Asian employees there have been in the senior civil service, broken down by Department, in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [100593]
Mr. Alexander: Declaration of ethnicity in the civil service is voluntary, so any numbers obtained may be an understatement of the true position.
For the senior civil service, the total number of staff in post of known Asian ethnic origin for each of the last five years is as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 17 |
| 1999 | 17 |
| 2000 | 20 |
| 2001 | 26 |
| 2002 | 24 |
This personal information is supplied to the Cabinet Office in strict confidence, and cannot be broken down further owing to small numbers and disclosure rules.
5 Mar 2003 : Column 1019W
TRANSPORT
Airport Security
Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the increased level of policing at UK airports; and whether the airports will meet the full cost of the additional policing. [98653]
Mr. Jamieson: As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department explained in his statement to the House on 13 February, an enhanced level of security was put in place in London on 11 February, this being most visible at Heathrow Airport. This was in response to a heightening of the threat to the UK from international terrorism.
The increase in policing at Heathrow and at other UK airports has been part of the response to this threat. The appropriate level of the additional policing is a matter for the operational judgement of Chief Officers of Police, in consultation as necessary. Where an airport has been designated under s26(3) of the Aviation Security Act 1982 policing costs are met by airport operators.
Since September 11, police forces have been able to bid for additional funding for various counter terrorist activities, including the protection of vulnerable sites such as airports. Given the nature of the funding, publicity is not being given to the activities it covers or what has been allocated to individual forces.
A36 Relief Scheme
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason the A36 (Wylye Valley Relief Road) Scheme has been delayed; and if he will make a statement. [100576]
Mr. Jamieson: The Wylye Valley Relief Road was recommendation as part of the Salisbury Transport Study which was included in Wiltshire county council's Local Transport Plan in July 2000. Wiltshire county council stated in their Annual Progress Report that 'Work is continuing on developing the route options and assessing potential impacts so that a preferred Route can be adopted'. The Bristol Bath to South Coast Study which is looking at the future of the A36 will report later this year and will give an indication of what further improvements are desirable on the route. I do not consider that this study has delayed this scheme.
Departmental Policies (Northampton, South)
Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Northampton South constituency, the effects on Northampton of his Department's policies and actions since June 2001. [100810]
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Mr. Jamieson: Over the last three years my Department has allocated almost £37 million to Northamptonshire county council for the implementation of the Northamptonshire Local Transport Plan (LTP) (£11.866 million in 2001–02, £11.645 million in 2002–03, and £13.395 million for 2003–04). Such plans are an essential element of the Government's integrated transport policy, as set out in "Transport 2010—the 10-Year Plan", published in July 2000, and provide the delivery mechanism for a longer-term programme of local transport improvement and modernisation across the whole country.
Under the LTP system, funding is provided for a wide range of transport related activity, including the construction of major new road schemes, road and bridge maintenance, and the delivery of smaller integrated transport projects. While the local transport authorities, in this case Northamptonshire county council, are, quite rightly, allowed a good deal of flexibility on implementation of specific projects, they are required to submit Annual Progress Report (APRs), which include full details of the work undertaken and projects delivered in the previous year. Unfortunately, as the APR is a county-wide document, the information is not generally provided on a constituency or specific town or city basis and is reported on the financial year cycle. The following details for the 2001–02 period (April 2001-March 2002) are, however, worthy of note and provide a good example of the achievements being made:
- Traffic Reduction in Northampton—inbound car vehicle traffic reduced by 3.8 per cent.
- Increase Cycling Journeys in Northampton—0.2 per cent. increase in cycle flows.
- Increase Bus Patronage in Northamptonshire—patronage increase of 7 per cent.
- Road Casualty Reduction in Northamptonshire—killed or seriously injured figures for 2001 brought down to 29 per cent. below the 1994–98 baseline.
A fuller range of statistics and figures on the numerous schemes the county council have introduced since April 2001 are contained in the APRs issued for 2000–01 and 2001–02, which are readily available from the council. Details for 2002–03 will be available in the summer, when the next APRs are due to be submitted.
In addition to benefits and improvements brought about by funding under the Local Transport Plan, my Department also provides funding through the work of the Highways Agency in terms of the maintenance and improvements of the trunk road and motorway network. During the 2001–02 and 2002–03 financial years, the Agency has spent £24 million on major routes in Northamptonshire, including electronic information signs on the Ml. In addition, since April 2001 the Highways Agency has spent £128 million on major routes as part of the Government's Targeted Programme of Investment.
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