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15 May 2003 : Column 334W—continued

Retention

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the retention rates were for (a) male and (b) female NCOs in each of the services in each of the last five years. [112622]

Dr. Moonie: Retention may be measured by looking at either the Premature Voluntary Release (PVR) rate that shows the number leaving voluntarily before the end of their engagement during a financial year as a proportion of trained strength, or the outflow rate, the total number of NCOs leaving the service during a financial year as a proportion of trained strength.

Figures for each service are as follows:

1. Naval Service NCO Retention

Percentage

	NCO PVR rates		NCO outflow rates
	Male	Female	Male	Female
1998–99	2.6	9.2	9.2	13.2
1999–2000	3.4	12.6	10.4	16.4
2000–01	3.3	7.3	9.5	11.4
2001–02	4.2	8.7	9.5	12.5
2002–03	2.9	5.7	8.3	10.1

Notes:

Data includes figures for Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

NCO is taken as leading rate and above.

2. Army NCO Retention

Percentage

	NCO PVR rates		NCO outflow rates
	Male	Female	Male	Female
1998–99	5.6	10.7	9.3	13.4
1999–2000	4.7	9.0	8.8	11.6
2000–01	4.9	8.0	8.9	10.8
2001–02	4.4	8.1	8.4	10.3
2002–03	4.1	7.6	8.4	11.4

Notes:

NCO is defined as lance corporal and above.

3. Royal Air Force NCO Retention

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Percentage

	NCO PVR rates		NCO outflow rates
	Male	Female	Male	Female
1998–99	3.7	4.8	6.5	7.8
1999–2000	3.9	5.2	7.3	7.1
2000–01	3.5	5.4	7.3	8.1
2001–02	3.8	4.8	7.7	7.9
2002–03	3.7	5.7	7.9	9.0

Notes:

NCO is defined as corporal and above.

Service Medals

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Committee headed by General Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank will report on the review of the issuing of a Medal to those who served in the Suez Canal Zone between 1951 and 1954; and if he will make a statement. [113601]

Dr. Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 May Official Report, column 274W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Mr. Martlew).

TRANSPORT

Alconbury Airfield

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the proposed airfield at Alconbury would be suitable for use by 747 Jumbo aircraft. [112642]

Mr. Jamieson: With a runway length of over 2,700 metres aircraft up to Boeing 747 size could use Alconbury (but not at maximum loads).

The option of a small-scale development at Alconbury, presented in "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East (second edition)" consultation document, allows for the use of a typical aircraft of the Boeing 737–700 type.

Aviation Safety

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will press the Council of Ministers to refer proposals by the European Parliament for increased flying hours to the European Aviation Safety Agency. [112345]

Mr. Jamieson: The European Aviation Safety Agency, which was established in September 2002, currently has no powers in the fields of operator and personnel licensing. However the Commission is required to bring forward by October this year proposals to extend the scope of the Agency to cover these fields, which would include rules on flying hours.

The European Parliament's proposals on flight time limitation rules take the form of a first reading amendment to a proposed Regulation which would adopt EC standards for commercial airline operations, based on Joint Aviation Authorities requirements. The Council has not yet discussed the Parliament's amendment and it is for the Presidency to decide whether and when such a discussion should take place.

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The timing and substance of any such discussion are likely to be influenced by the development of the Agency.

Central Railway

Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional information he is awaiting before responding publicly to the report of the SRA on Central Railway; and from whom. [112858]

Mr. Jamieson: We have asked for further information from Central Railway on several matters before any decision can be taken on whether the Department should support its project.

In particular, we need to be assured that all outstanding operational and financial issues have been resolved.

Crossrail

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the preparatory and planning costs incurred on the proposed crossrail link in London. [113201]

Mr. Jamieson: It is estimated that, from inception to the end of the 2002/2003 financial year, Cross London Rail Links (CLRL) had incurred total costs of around £32 million on preparation and planning for Crossrail.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects an announcement to be made on the future of Crossrail; and if he will make a statement. [113254]

Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Transport to my hon. Friends the Members for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey), and Ilford, South (Mike Gapes) on 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 149.

East London Line

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a statement on the future of the East London line extension. [113202]

Mr. Jamieson: Not while there are matters before the Court of Appeal.

Honours

Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials in his Department have received honours; and how many honours are held by his officials, broken down by category of honour. [111488]

Mr. Jamieson: Due to the machinery of Government changes over the past two years, these data are not held by my Department.

London Underground

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what limitations have been placed on Infracos involved in the refurbishment of the London Underground in passing further work to third party contractors. [113206]

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Mr. Jamieson : A significant proportion of London Underground's engineering work has always been delivered by approved contractors, where this is the most effective means. This will continue. The standards for approving contractors have not changed, and the PPP contracts require the Infrastructure Companies to continue to follow them.

Mental Health

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of his staff have taken sick leave due to mental health problems in the last year. [111975]

Mr. Jamieson: During 2002, 107 staff in the centre of the Department for Transport have taken sick leave for causes which may be considered as 'mental health problems'.

Information from the Department's Agencies is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many sick days were lost over the last year by his Department through staff mental health problems. [112072]

Mr. Jamieson: During 2002, the centre of the Department for Transport recorded 4,067 days as sick absence for causes, which may be considered as 'mental health problems'.

Information from the Department's Agencies is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Motorways

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures will be taken by his Department to reduce noise levels emitted from the M5 for Hucclecote residents in the Gloucester constituency. [113574]

Mr. Jamieson: The Highways Agency has plans to lay a quieter road surface on both the northbound and southbound carriageways of the M5 motorway at Hucclecote for a length of 1.32km. This will be a continuation of the noise mitigation measures recently carried out at Upton St. Leonards.

This work was recommended in a report on noise from the M5 at Hucclecote. I have asked the Highways Agency to send my hon. Friend a copy of the report and to keep him informed on future progress.

National Rail Card

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received covering the introduction of a national rail card to promote railway travel at off-peak times throughout the network. [113200]

Mr. Jamieson: Following the Strategic Rail Authority's public consultation on their Fares Review, they received around a dozen responses from organisations proposing or supporting a National Railcard. This included a response sponsored by the Friends of the Earth, which consisted of around 1,200

15 May 2003 : Column 338W

individual postcards from members of the public. In reaching conclusions on future fares policy, Ministers will take account of these representations together with all other responses to the consultation. An announcement on the outcome of the review on national fares policy will be made shortly.

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