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22 May 2003 : Column 937W—continued
Weston Park
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress by His Honour Judge Peter Cory in the investigation of cases identified at Weston Park in July 2001. [114716]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Justice Peter Cory was appointed by the British and Irish Governments in May 2002 to carry out an investigation into six cases where collusion has been alleged. The judge is independent and his work programme is a matter for him.
As Justice Cory made clear in his third progress report to the British and Irish Governments in April, he has already completed his work on the cases of Patrick Finucane, Robert Hamill and Billy Wright. These reports are being stored securely by the Canadian authorities until the conclusion of his investigation. The judge has indicated that he is on schedule to complete his report in the Autumn. The Government is very grateful to Justice Cory for taking on this important task and remains committed to co-operating fully with his investigation.
TRANSPORT
Action Plan
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his Answer of 8 April, Official Report, column 157–58W, on the pay review, whether his action plan on the subject will be published. [112325]
Mr. Jamieson: The action plans for my Department and its agencies will be placed in the Library of the House in due course after full consideration has been given to the issues identified. This will not apply for NDPBs as there was no formal commitment for them to review their pay systems.
Agency Workers
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many agency workers have been employed by the Department in each of the last two years; and at what cost to public funds. [115197]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport was created following machinery of government changes on 29 May 2002. From that date to 30 April 2003 the cost of employing agency workers has been £933,229. The information requested in relation to the number of agency workers employed by the Department is not readily available or easily obtained and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
22 May 2003 : Column 938W
Air Travel
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what health impact assessment has been undertaken of the options contained in the consultation on the Future Development of Air Transport in the UK. [115726]
Mr. Jamieson: The consultation documents and supporting papers set out the range of impacts, including health-related impacts—in particular, noise and local air quality—associated with the various airports options under review. Following the consultation, we will ensure that all relevant considerations, including health-related ones, are taken into account in our decision-making process, through use of an integrated policy appraisal.
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on EU proposals for legislation to oblige air carriers to protect passengers in the event of bankruptcy; and what discussions he has had on voluntary initiatives by carriers to protect passengers in the event of airline financial collapse. [115378]
Mr. Jamieson: The European Commission has not published a proposal for legislation to oblige air carriers to protect passengers in the event of bankruptcy and I have had no discussions with airlines on a voluntary financial protection scheme.
Central Railway
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 15 May 2003, Official Report, column 337W, on Central Railway, if he will invite the Strategic Rail Authority to comment on further information submitted by Central Railway. [115104]
Mr. Jamieson: The SRA are fully involved in considering the proposals from Central Railway.
Civil Contingencies
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional expenditure over and above that identified prior to 1 April 2002 (a) was spent in 2002–03 and (b) will be spent in 2003–04 on national and regional resilience work for essential services; whether arrangements exist to release expenditure during the current financial year for resilience projects under consideration for essential services; and if he will make a statement. [113924]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 16 May 2003]: My Department's contribution to the essential services element of the Government's resilience capabilities programme has been undertaken within our existing budget. To support our overall effort on improving resilience we have committed £1.8 million capital this year and £0.6 million additional annual running costs.
The capabilities that we are working to deliver have been developed to allow the Government to deal with the fullest range of scenarios. Should a specific additional urgent operational need arise, at any point of the spending cycle, action would be taken to meet it. The public expenditure framework the Government have put in place provides the flexibility to deal with unexpected pressures.
22 May 2003 : Column 939W
Congestion Charging
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many local authorities have submitted plans for the introduction of local congestion charging regimes in each of the Government office regions; and if he will make a statement. [115549]
Mr. Jamieson: Apart from Durham County Council, whose scheme order was approved on 24 September 2002, no other local authority in England has submitted
22 May 2003 : Column 940W
either a road user charging or a workplace parking levy scheme order for confirmation by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
E-Government Projects
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by project the consultancies his Department and its non-departmental public bodies have used on e-government projects since 1 January 2001. [114188]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 16 May 2003]: The consultancies used by my Department on e-government projects since 1 January 2001 are in the following table.
| Name of ESD | Externalconsultancysince 2001 Y/N | Name of consultancy firm |
|---|---|---|
| Applications for clean up grants | N | — |
| Aviation: on-line consultation and white papers | N | — |
| Aviation: on-line permits to foreign airlines | N | — |
| Booking of disability driving assessments | N | — |
| Bus services operators' grant | N | — |
| Collecting local transport plans data | N | — |
| Computer-based theory tests for drivers | Y | Prometric |
| Computer-based theory tests for trainers | Y | Prometric |
| Cycling Advisory Scheme | Y | AEA Technology |
| Drivers hours regulations | N | — |
| Drivers' services | Y | IBM Fujitsu; Schlumberger/Sema; Capita; Prometric; Logica; Insight Consulting |
| Driving tests publications and information | N | — |
| Driving tests theory practice | N | — |
| DVO internal systems | Y | IBM |
| Electronic linking between mobility centres | N | — |
| Electronic service delivery of abnormal loads | Y | Anite.Net 3 October 2001 to 30 September 2002; PA Consulting 2 January 2003 to date |
| Integrated register of driving instructors | Y | Calibrand Ltd. |
| Integrated transport information | N | — |
| Internal sharing of information within DVO | Y | IBM Fujitsu; Schlumberger/Sema; Capita; Prometric |
| International coach service authorizations | N | — |
| International road haulage permits | N | — |
| Licensing of trucks, buses and coach operators | Y | Hedra |
| Management of utility company works | Y | Amtec |
| Mobility advice and vehicle information service | N | — |
| On-line roads consultations | N | — |
| Port traffic statistics | Y | MaTSU, part of AEA Technology plc |
| Powershift programme | N | — |
| Practical test bookings for driving trainers | Y | Capita |
| Traffic control centre | Y | Carlbro IBI; Denton Wilde Sapte; Tony Ham; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Halcrow Group Ltd. |
| Transport direct portal | Y | Schlumberger/Sema; Hedra; Centaur; Anite; TRL; AEAT; Capgemini |
| Transport security data | N | — |
| Transport security: vetting of staff | N | — |
| Vehicle registration and amendment | Y | IBM Fujitsu; Schlumberger/Sema; Capita; Prometric |
| New cars' fuel consumption and emissions data | Y | KMS Internet Solution Providers Ltd. |
| New cars fuel consumption and emissions labels | Y | KMS Internet Solution Providers Ltd. |
Efficiency Savings
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the target is for efficiency savings in 2003–04 expressed (a) in money terms and (b) as a percentage of the Department's expenditure limit. [114117]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department has a PS A target to achieve annual 2.5 per cent efficiency improvements across the Department. The target takes, as a measure of efficiency improvements, savings in the Department's total net administration costs as published in the 2003 Departmental Report.
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