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3 Jun 2003 : Column 164W—continued
Deep Vein Thrombosis
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to encourage international airlines to contribute towards the World Health Organisation's funding of research into deep vein thrombosis and air travel. [116590]
Mr. Jamieson: When planning the research the World Health Organisation decided not to seek funding from the airline industry to avoid any possible conflict of interest.
Departmental Budget
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate his departmental underspend in the financial year 2002–03, broken down
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by (a) resource and (b) capital expenditure and consumption of resource type; and where this underspend has been or will be allocated. [115832]
Mr. Jamieson: My Department's estimated outturn relative to final provision for Resource and Capital DELs is shown in Tables 2.4 and 2.5 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2003 (Cm 5901).
I expect the Department's final outturn to be very close to budget. No decisions have yet been taken on the allocation of any underspend from 2002–03.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made (a) of the environmental impact and (b) against sustainable development criteria of the bids made for (i) contracts and (ii) grants awarded by his Department; who makes such assessment; and whether these assessments are published. [115731]
Mr. Jamieson: The standard conditions of contract used by my Department require contractors to provide goods and services in accordance with the Department's environmental policy. Where relevant, contractors' compliance with this requirement is assessed as part of the tender evaluation process, and subsequently as part of the contract management process. Details of the assessment of individual tenders against environmental requirements are not normally published.
In the case of grants, all requests for capital grants are subject to assessment by the Department which encompasses the principles of sustainable development. These assessments are not normally published.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff were employed in his and his predecessor's Department on functions relating to transport (a) full time and (b) part time, broken down by (i) units and (ii) divisions in each year since 1997. [115709]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport has only been in existence since May 2002.
The following table shows the breakdown of staff for Department for Transport (excluding Agencies).
The bold highlights are the Unit names and the divisions are listed under each unit.
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Drink Driving
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of drink driving laws; and what plans he has to amend them. [116587]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of people killed and seriously injured in drink-related collisions has fallen significantly since the introduction of drink-driving laws in the 1960s. The effectiveness of these controls is monitored regularly.
The Government consider that enforcement of the law is a key priority for reducing drink-driving casualties. To that end, we are planning to strengthen the police's powers to enable them to carry out evidential breath testing at the roadside. We have also announced our intention to increase penalties for those found guilty of causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs and for repeat drink-drive offenders.
Driving Licences
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 14 May 2003, Official Report, column 245W, on driving licences, how many claims he received in each of the last five years for driving licences lost in the post having been sent by the DVLA. [115499]
Mr. Jamieson: DVLA does not meet any financial claims for lost licences. However, when notified that a driving licence has not been delivered safely, DVLA will issue a free replacement, provided this is within three months of despatch. Beyond this timescale an application for a duplicate is appropriate.
During the financial year 2001–02, 175 free replacement driving licences were provided.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his Written Ministerial Statement of 7 May 2003, Official Report, columns 31–32WS, on driving licences, what estimates he has made of the number of people who will be eligible to reclaim for (a) car licence applications and (b) lorry and bus licence applications. [115848]
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Mr. Jamieson: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) estimates that there are approximately 200,000 drivers overall who may be eligible for a refund. Of these approximately 125,000 will be car licence holders and approximately 75,000 will be lorry and bus licence holders.
Euro
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he received the Treasury documents relating to the five economic tests and the 18 background studies; what discussions he has held with ministerial colleagues on the tests since receipt of the documents; when he expects to complete his analysis of the documents; and what representations (a) he and (b) departmental officials will make to other Departments before a decision is reached on the economic tests. [115395]
Mr. Darling: The Treasury's 18 supporting studies on EMU were sent to Cabinet Ministers on 16 May. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor are holding meetings with Cabinet Members. There was an initial discussion at Cabinet on 22 May followed by a special Cabinet meeting on 5 June. The Chancellor will make a statement to the House of Commons on 9 June.
3 Jun 2003 : Column 168W
Hard Shoulder
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to make use of hard shoulders on motorways and dual carriageways during peak traffic hours; and if he will make a statement. [115631]
Mr. Jamieson: A pilot of Active Traffic Management measures between junctions 3A and 7 of the M42 will start in summer 2004. The controlled use of the hard shoulder as a running lane for traffic at peak periods or when there has been an incident will start in summer 2006. We believe that this will help to reduce congestion on this section of the motorway network. Motoring organisations and emergency services have been consulted as part of the preparations.
Highway Maintenance
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of highway maintenance on Britain's road network in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [116588]
Mr. Jamieson: Funding for trunk and local road maintenance in England from 1997–98 to 2003–04 is shown in the table. Highway maintenance in Scotland and Wales is a matter for the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly for Wales respectively.
| Year | Motorways and Trunk Capital | Motorways and Trunk Revenue | Motorway and Trunk Road Totals | Local Roads Revenue | Local Roads Capital | London Local Roads Capital | Transfer to TfL for former Trunk Roads | Local Road Totals | TOTALS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 410 | 172 | 582 | 1,658 | 200 | 1,858 | 2,440 | ||
| 1998–99 | 425 | 216 | 641 | 1,721 | 247 | 1,968 | 2,609 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 449 | 252 | 701 | 1,763 | 309 | 2,072 | 2,773 | ||
| 2000–01 | 435 | 237 | 672 | 1,859 | 301 | 2,160 | 2,832 | ||
| 2001–02 | 421 | 244 | 665 | 1,905 | 545 | 32 | 73 | 2,555 | 3,220 |
| 2002–03 | 426 | 242 | 668 | 1,955 | 560 | n/a | 73 | 2,588 | 3,256 |
| 2003–04 | 426 | 296 | 722 | 2,005 | 610 | n/a | 73 | 2,688 | 3,410 |
Notes:
1. Local road revenue figures include London throughout.
2. Other London figures shown separately from 2001–02.
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