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28 Apr 2003 : Column 136W—continued

Mobile Phone Use

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to announce his response to the consultation on the use of mobile phones while driving. [110201]

28 Apr 2003 : Column 137W

Mr. Jamieson: The comments we received in response to consultation last year on a proposal to make it a specific offence to use a hand-held phone while driving are still being considered. An announcement about the results will be made as soon as possible.

New Street Station

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on improving the capacity at New Street rail station in Birmingham. [109671]

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority's (SRA) West Midlands Capacity Study recommended various enhancements that could proceed in two phases, including capacity improvements at Birmingham New Street station. Phase 1 of the study includes a proposal for the provision of two additional platforms at the station. Feasibility work on Phase 1 has already commenced. The terms of reference for Phase 2 are still being finalised. The SRA, working with local interests, expect to complete this work by the end of this year.

Partnership UK

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what projects have been funded by Partnership UK since it was set up. [110205]

Mr. Jamieson: Partnerships UK has not funded or invested in any Department for Transport projects.

Railways

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out his objectives for the new Greater Anglia rail franchise; and what steps he plans to take to achieve a fully integrated rail service in East Anglia; and east and north-east London. [109892]

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority's goals for the new franchise are to provide a reliable, high-quality service, consistent with the overall needs of London and eastern England. The new franchise will provide an integrated service into London Liverpool Street by combining the services currently provided by Anglia Railways and First Great Eastern, and the West Anglian services of West Anglia Great Northern railways. A separate management focus for local East Anglia services will also be provided.

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will be replying substantively to the letter of 25 November 2002 from the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling with regard to the Government's response to the report on personal safety on the railways produced by Soroptimist International of East England. [110200]

Mr. Spellar: A substantive reply was sent on 24 April.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about the Railways (Safety Care) (Amendment) Regulations. [109957]

Mr. Jamieson: The Secretary of State has not received any representations about the Railways (Safety Case) (Amendment) Regulations 2003.

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Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 8 April 2003, Official Report, column 154W, when he met Central Railway; which representatives of Central Railway were present; what subjects were discussed; and what the conclusions of the meeting were. [110064]

Mr. Jamieson: Ministers have met Central Railway on a number of occasions to discuss the progress, and key aspects of their proposals. We are continuing to consider these.

Regions White Paper

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress the Department has made towards the goal set out in the White Paper, "Your Region, Your Choice", of (a) ensuring that regional awareness and devolution feature strongly in Civil Service training and development, (b) increasing the mobility of civil servants between headquarters offices, regional offices, and the Government Offices and (c) encouraging interchange between the Civil Service and organisations in the regions. [108584]

Mr. Spellar: My Department is committed to improving awareness of regional issues and devolution among its staff as part of its overall strategy for training and development. Where appropriate this includes participation in training programmes offered by the Civil Service Training College (CMPS).

The Department is reviewing its induction package to reflect an appropriate emphasis on regional awareness and devolution. The Department's website includes a section on devolution and we brief staff on the regional aspects of the Department's work through internal publications.

The mobility of staff between HQ policy and regionally based delivery directorates is a strategic priority and all moves are made in the best interest of the Department. To improve the mobility of staff, all permanent Department for Transport (DfT) central staff have access to, and are eligible to apply for, vacancies in the Department's Agencies and the Government Offices via an electronic job advertising system.

Permanent staff below the Senior Civil Service in the Department for Culture Media and Sport, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Employment and Skills, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department for Trade and Industry and the Home Office working in the Government Offices and permanent agency staff, are eligible to apply for advertised DfT posts. However we do not record centrally the resulting staff moves between headquarters and the regions.

During 2002–03, around 20 staff undertook interchange postings with organisations in the regions from the then Department for Transport Local Government and the Regions (DTLR). Transport constitutes approximately one third of these postings, all of which are on-going. We aim to improve this. My Department's central interchange team will shortly be discussing the development of specific opportunities with our Agencies, all of whom have staff located outside London.

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Special Advisers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the salary bill was for special advisers in his Department in 2002–03; and what it is expected to be in 2003–04. [108503]

Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 45W.[108495].

Strategic Rail Authority

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the amount, the other parties and date of out of court settlements to which the Strategic Rail Authority was a party during the last 12 months. [109500]

Mr. Jamieson: There have been no legal proceedings issued against the Strategic Rail Authority and there have been no out of court settlements.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information the Strategic Rail Authority has sought from Chiltern Rail to help assess the impact of the Central Railway proposals. [109836]

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority is in regular contact with Chiltern, as with all franchise holders, regarding all aspects of its business.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what outside consultants are assisting the Strategic Rail Authority in its studies of the impact of the Central Railway proposals on existing rail services. [109839]

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority has been assisted in its studies by Mouchel and Oscar Faber.

Vehicles (Carbon Dioxide Emissions)

Mr. Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the vehicles available to buy new in the United Kingdom with carbon dioxide emissions of 100 grammes/kilometre or less, which will qualify for the new low carbon vehicle excise duty band. [110239]

Mr. Spellar: The Government announced in Budget 2003 the introduction of a new low carbon VED band for cars with carbon dioxide emissions of 100 grammes/kilometre or less. This measure is designed to improve further the signals faced by motorists about their choice of vehicle.

There are currently no cars on sale in the UK that fall into this new band. However, cars which fall into the band have been on sale in the UK before, and are currently on sale in other European countries. The Government expect more cars to fall into it in the near future. The new band demonstrates that the Government are taking a long-term approach to encouraging the use of cleaner vehicles. The Government set themselves a target in its Powering Future Vehicles strategy last year that by 2012, 10 per cent. of new cars sold should have carbon dioxide emissions of 100 grammes/kilometre or less. This is a positive step in that direction.

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Working Time Directive

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with representatives of the haulage industry concerning the implementation of the Working Time Directive. [110021]

Mr. Jamieson: Since the road transport directive (2002/15/EC) was adopted on 23 March 2002, DfT Ministers have held two meetings with representatives from both sides of the haulage industry, including the Road Haulage Association, the Freight Transport Association and the Transport and General Workers Union. In addition, on-going discussions are taking place at official level to consider the technical and financial implications of the new directive.

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