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26 Jun 2003 : Column 930W—continued

Overcrowding (Trains)

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the levels of overcrowding on trains have been in each year since 1992. [121342]

Mr. McNulty: Overcrowding is primarily a problem in London in the peak periods. Overall overcrowding levels fell from 1992 to 1996, rose in 1997, fell in 1998, rose in 1999 and 2000, were unchanged in 2001 and fell in 2002.

Nearly half a million people now travel by train into London each morning. This is the highest figure since the late 1980s. Despite this growth in use at peak times the number of operators that have overcrowding levels exceeding the Strategic Rail Authority's threshold has

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fallen to three. A graph showing London commuter numbers and crowding has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

An updated version of the chart showing passenger numbers and crowding figures from 1990 onwards has also been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Regulatory Bodies

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) number of staff employed by and (b) budget of each regulatory body for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1997. [117784]

Mr. McNulty: Two transport bodies can be described as regulatory: the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Rail Regulator (ORR).

(a) Staff (Full-time equivalent)(b) Budgetresource(£000)
ORR
1997–981328,005
1998–991348,513
1999–200013612,108
2000–0110415,049
2001–0211510,315
2002–0313313,129
CAA
1997–981,00870,836
1998–991,01174,063
1999–20001,01175,857
2000–01(3)1,083(3)76,305
2001–021,08281,280
2002–031,06080,432

(3) Note from 1.4.2000 staff numbers include the Directorate of Airspace Policy (54 staff).

Note:

For both regulators the figures are for 1 April to 31 March. The budgets are gross total (not just staff costs), without fee income being deducted.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his Department's regulatory impact assessment procedure, and how many RIAs have been reviewed in respect of the Department over the last year. [120756]

Mr. McNulty: A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) must be completed for all policy proposals that have a potential impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. It includes details of the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating policy proposals and their impact.

Information on the number of RIAs that have been reviewed in respect of the Department in the last year is not held.

Road Safety

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have (a) died, (b) been seriously injured and (c) been injured in road crashes caused by drivers with alcohol levels (i) between 50mg

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and 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood and (ii) between 20mg and 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in each of the last 10 years. [121509]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 25 June 2003]: The information requested is not available.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary concerning the role of the police in enforcing standards of road use. [R] [121491]

Mr. Jamieson: Ministers in my Department have discussions with the Home Secretary and his Ministers as and when necessary on a range of issues of which roads policing is one. Officials in both Departments have a regular dialogue on these matters.

Secondments

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 14 April 2003, Official Report, column 595W, on secondments, if he will name the organisations to which civil servants in his Department have been seconded since 2001–02 up to the date for which the most recent figures are available in (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, stating in each case the dates of the secondments, the number of civil servants seconded to that organisation and their grade. [114162]

Mr. McNulty: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Sewel Motions

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list Sewel motions passed by the Scottish Parliament since May 1999 that apply to his Department's responsibilities and Government Bills he has sponsored. [120688]

Mr. McNulty: Of the Bills sponsored by my Department, the following was the subject of a Sewel motion in the Scottish Parliament on the date indicated:


Sunset Clauses

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to include a sunset clause in all new legislation unless a specific case can be made to exclude a sunset clause. [120758]

Mr. McNulty: The revised RIA guidance 'Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment' was published on 28 January 2003. It advises policy officials to consider time limiting or sunsetting at an early stage of policy development and gives specific examples of where sunsetting maybe appropriate.

The Department for Transport actively promotes the better regulation agenda and the use of sunsetting where appropriate.

Wheel Clamping

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars were clamped by the DVLA

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in the Ogmore constituency (a) in the week commencing 9 June, (b) in the month preceding 9 June and (c) in the previous year. [121314]

Mr. Jamieson: In the week commencing 9 June, 30 vehicles were wheel clamped during the operation in the Ogmore constituency. No vehicles were wheel clamped during the previous month. 78 vehicles were wheel clamped between June 2002 and June 2003.

TREASURY

Budget Report

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much production and printing of the 2003 Budget Report and its accompanying notes cost; and how many copies of the 2003 Budget Report have been sold at the full cover price. [121507]

Mr. Boateng: The cost of producing and distributing the Financial Statement and Budget Report (FSBR) and associated documents was met from within the Treasury's three-year Departmental Expenditure Limits. The Stationery Office, the publishers, are responsible for the sale of the FSBR through their chain of bookstores.

Council of Ministers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department's vote in the Council of Ministers against a legislative proposal (a) was sufficient and (b) was not sufficient to achieve with other member states a blocking minority; [117211]

John Healey: The position and voting record of the UK on matters discussed by the ECOFIN Council and the ECOFIN (Budget) Council are set out in the statements made to Parliament after each Council meeting.

In addition, the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union publishes a monthly document listing legislative and non-legislative acts of the Council, including the results of votes, explanations of voting and statements for the minutes when the Council is acting in its capacity as legislator. This record is published on the Council's website at: http://register.consilium.eu.int/isoregister/frames/introacfsEN.htm

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Drug Seizures

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much illegal drugs were seized by HM Customs and Excise in the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost of such operations was. [122012]

John Healey: Details of drugs seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and the costs of their activities are published in their Annual Report for 2001–02, the last full year for which results are available, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House (CM 5671).

EU Committees

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials in the Department serve on EU committees or working parties. [116080]

Mr. Boateng: We do not keep central records of officials serving on EU committees or working parties. Departmental officials serve on EU committees and working parties as the business need requires. We have set out in previous Written Answers, for example on 10 June 2002, 18 June 2002, 28 April 2003 and 30 April 2003, the number of officials representing the Department on specific EU bodies about which details have previously been requested.

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