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28 Apr 2003 : Column 9W—continued
Air Safety
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what action was taken as a result of the Civil Aviation Authority Airworthiness Notice No. 19 of 1992; [109380]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the availability of counterfeit aircraft spare parts in (a) the UK, (b) the EU and (c) countries with airlines using UK airports. [109379]
Mr. Jamieson: Control systems to prevent the use of unapproved aircraft parts by the aviation industry have been in place in the UK for over 30 years. Parts and components are not fitted to UK registered aircraft unless the certifying engineer releasing the aircraft to service is completely satisfied that the parts comply with CAA requirements and those of the aircraft manufacturer. In addition, all UK registered commercial aircraft are subject to regular airworthiness inspections and the CAA carries out systematic audits and ad hoc inspections of UK operators and aircraft maintenance organisations. The UK has no jurisdiction over the availability of counterfeit parts in other countries, responsibility for which rests with the State concerned.
Airworthiness Notice 19 is an advisory notice to operators and maintenance organisations reminding them of the need to remain vigilant in the detection of bogus aircraft parts. It is reviewed and updated to reflect current knowledge on the issue of unauthorised or bogus parts. Notice 19 also reminds operators and maintenance organisations that any unauthorised parts must be reported to the CAA.
Departmental Annual Report
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the annual report of the Department will be published. [107871]
Mr. Jamieson: The spring 2003 Departmental Reports are to be published between 28 April and 16 May 2003. We will publish our Departmental report within this period.
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Energy Efficiency
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement, in relation to his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible, on (a) the amount of energy consumed, (b) spending on (i) energy and (ii) energy efficiency measures, (c) the amount saved through energy efficiency measures and (d) energy policy in each of the last five years. [108861]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 and as a result of changes to the departmental buildings portfolio there are not five years of records covering the information requested. As the Department has been in existence for less than a year, there have been no specific annual energy reports produced to date.
Freight Facilities Grants
Miss McIntosh To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of the number of additional lorry journeys each day since the suspension of (a) freight facility grants and (b) track access charges; [108381]
- (2) when he expects (a) rail freight facility grants and (b) track access grants to be reinstated. [108380]
Mr. Jamieson: No assessment has been made of the effect of the suspension of freight grants on the number of lorry journeys. Expenditure on freight grants is expected to be in the order of £40 million in both 2003–04 and 2004–05. The SRA is keeping the position under review.
Part-time Workers
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of the Part-time Workers Directive on staff in his Department. [109266]
Mr. Jamieson: My Department is committed to providing appropriate Work Life Balance for staff and part-time working is one of several ways in which staff are afforded flexibility in their working patterns. Approximately 8 per cent. of staff in the Central Department work on a part-time basis.
The Part-time Workers (Prevention of less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 have re-inforced the policies applying in my Department of providing equality of treatment regardless of working patterns. The Department supports a network for alternative workers, including part-timers.
Regions White Paper
Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made towards the aim in the White Paper, Your Region, Your
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Choice, of assessing the balance of staff between the centre and the regions in terms of effective policy design and implementation; and what examples there have been since the publication of the White Paper of the Department deciding between locating new streams of work (a) in and (b) outside London and the south east. [108574]
Mr. Spellar: My Department keeps under review the balance of resources between the centre and the regions in ensuring the most effective arrangements for the development and implementation of policy. Across the Department and its Agencies as a whole about 75 per cent. of staff are already based outside the south east.
From January 2001 the Highways Agency began transferring functions from London to its regional offices in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Bedford and Dorking. This strategy is an integral part of the Agency's Change Management Programme for improved business performance, and delivery of its 10-year plan. By May 2003, 235 Highways Agency jobs will have been transferred from London to regional locations, in addition to new agency jobs created in the regions as a result of the Roads Programme and other business expansion.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget plans to examine relocation of public services with the aim of achieving best value for money. He has asked Sir Michael Lyons—Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies at Birmingham University—to advise on relocation by the next Spending Review.
TREASURY
Public Liability Insurance
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the change has been in average UK public liability insurance premium costs in each year since 1992. [108293]
Ruth Kelly: We do not collect regular information on average UK public liability insurance premium costs.
Exhibitions
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list events at which his Department and each agency and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible have exhibited in each of the past three years, stating for each (a) the purpose of exhibiting, (b) the cost of exhibiting and (c) the number of staff attending for the exhibition. [107613]
Ruth Kelly: The information in respect of HM Treasury, the Inland Revenue and the UK Debt Management Office would only be available at disproportionate cost.
The information requested for the rest of the Chancellor's departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies has been placed in the Library of the House.
Media Advertising
Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of spending on media advertising by his
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Department was each month since June 1997 through (a) radio, (b) newspapers, (c) magazines, (d) television and (e) new media and the internet. [108551]
Ruth Kelly: The breakdown of HMT advertising costs by month is unavailable.
Part-time Workers
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the Part-time Workers Directive on staff in his Department. [109278]
Ruth Kelly: The Treasury complies with the requirements of the Part-time Workers Directive. Part-time workers in the Treasury are treated in the same way in their contractual terms and conditions as comparable full-timers. There are 60 staff across all grades who currently work either part-time or have job shares. The Treasury has a number of practical policies in place to recognise the importance of having a work life balance. In addition to working part-time and job shares, the Department encourages other alternative working patterns such as term-time working, homeworking and working flexible hours.
Productivity
Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of labour productivity in (a) the private sector and (b) the public sector was in each quarter of each year since 1997. [108465]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from L. Cook to Mr. Michael Howard, dated 28 April 2003:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the level of labour productivity for the private and public sectors. (108465)
- The Office for National Statistics publishes indices of labour productivity data, but these are not available split between public and private sectors.
Property Portfolio
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated value is of the property portfolio held by his Department. [108363]
Ruth Kelly: The estimated value of the property portfolio of the Treasury and its Agencies at 31 March 2003 is £108,495,000.
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