| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
15 Jul 2003 : Column 164W—continued
CABINET OFFICE
Public Appointments
24. Linda Gilroy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps have been taken towards improving transparency in the public appointments process. [125459]
Mr. Alexander: The Cabinet Office fully supports the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice, which provides Departments with a clear guide to the steps required to ensure an open and transparent appointments process.
26. Mr. Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what age restrictions there are on public appointments. [125461]
Mr. Alexander: Generally, there are no age restrictions for people applying to be considered for public appointments. Appointments made by the Lord Chancellor to tribunals do have some restrictions.
Central Office of Information
25. Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement about the recruitment practices of the Central Office of Information. [125460]
Mr. Alexander: The Central Office of Information's recruitment practices follow the recruitment code laid down by the Civil Service Commissioners.
Mobile Phones
Mr. Flight: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the cost was to his Department of mobile phones supplied to Ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [123147]
15 Jul 2003 : Column 165W
Mr. Alexander: Information on the cost to the Cabinet Office of mobile telephones supplied to Ministers and officials in each year since 1997 is not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
Widows and Orphans Pensions Schemes
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make it his policy to allow widows who married officers after they had retired from the service to benefit from the Widows and Orphans Pensions Schemes; and if he will make a statement. [125213]
Mr. Alexander: Before April 1978, the Civil Service pension scheme, in common with other public service schemes, paid pensions only to widows who had been married to officers at the time they left service. For service from 6 April 1978, in accordance with the provisions of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975, pensions have been paid regardless of when the marriage took place.
TRANSPORT
Workplace Parking (Nottingham)
12. Mr. Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what support he is giving to Nottingham city council's policy for a workplace parking levy; and if he will make a statement. [125445]
Mr. McNulty: I support Nottingham city council's development of an integrated local transport policy in which a workplace parking levy could play an integral part, but I cannot make any statement that would pre-judge my decision should a scheme order be submitted to me for confirmation.
Rail Network
13. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to improve the rail network in northern England. [125446]
Mr. McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority's Strategic Plan sets out investment priorities and describes how delivery of the key targets in our 10-Year Transport Plan will be achieved. The SRA is in the process of establishing two new franchises for the north of England, which will separate long-distance and local services to allow concentrated management attention within each market.
Traffic Congestion (South-east)
14. Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he plans to reduce traffic congestion in the south-east. [125447]
Mr. Jamieson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport made a statement to this House on 9 July 2003 on transport investment. This announced a number of measures to be taken forward in our major transport corridors which will tackle traffic congestion, support economic growth and improve safety on our strategic road network, including the south-east.
15 Jul 2003 : Column 166W
A46/A47 Link Road
15. Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to visit Leicester to discuss the operation of the A46 to A47 link road. [125448]
Mr. Jamieson: None. As the A46/A47 link road is a local road scheme, the responsibility for its operation rests with the local highway authority, Leicester city council.
Royal Mail
16. John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the impact of the decision by Royal Mail to withdraw its mail services from the railways on the Government's plans to develop an integrated transport policy. [125449]
Mr. McNulty: Royal Mail's decision is a commercial matter for the company. The Government's policy is to promote a competitive sustainable distribution industry that brings economic and environmental benefits for the country. We remain committed to rail freight, and are giving the railways the sustained investment they have never had before.
Motorway Safety
17. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in each of the last three years for which figures are available in crashes involving vehicles parked on the hard shoulders of motorways. [125450]
Mr. Jamieson: Information is available for the total number of those killed and seriously injured in road accidents involving vehicles parked on motorways for the three-year period from 1999 to 2001. The figures are:
- (a) 62 people killed; and
(b) 118 people seriously injured.
Rail Freight
18. Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what Government financial incentives there are to encourage freight on the railways in (a) England and (b) Wales; and if he will make a statement. [125451]
Mr. McNulty: Grants are available from the Strategic Rail Authority and the National Assembly for Wales to enable companies to move freight by rail instead of road where this is justified by environmental benefits.
Rail Services (Edinburgh)
19. Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Strategic Rail Authority regarding long-distance rail services to and from Edinburgh. [125453]
Mr. McNulty: Ministers have regular contact with the Strategic Rail Authority over all aspects of their business. The Authority have recently announced that west coast trains will begin to serve Edinburgh from 2005. The Authority are also considering upgrade options for the east coast main line, on which they will consult later this year.
15 Jul 2003 : Column 167W
Air Safety
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessments of the risk of bird strikes at London Heathrow airport his Department has made in the last five years; [126018]
- (2) how many incidents of bird strike have been reported at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick and (c) Stansted in the last five years; [126023]
(3) what measures his Department undertakes to assess the potential risk of bird strike at UK airports. [126024]
Mr. McNulty: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible for the licensing of civil aerodromes in the UK. Licensed aerodromes are required to take all reasonable steps to secure that the aerodrome and its immediately surrounding airspace are safe at all times for use by aircraft. As a licensing condition, aerodrome operators are also specifically required to have in place procedures for the control of bird hazards. The CAA maintains an oversight of the effectiveness of the bird hazard control activities at all UK licensed aerodromes and comments on this activity in the individual aerodrome's annual audit report.
Although the Department for Transport has not conducted separate aerodrome bird strike risk assessments, it has organised, and currently chairs, a working group of representatives from relevant local authorities, private land owners, the CAA and Heathrow Airport Ltd. (HAL) to consider ways of expediting effective management of the bird population and habitat around Heathrow. This builds on HAL's on-going work with the Central Science Laboratory's Bird Strike Avoidance Team to develop and implement appropriate bird strike mitigation measures. It is anticipated that the results of the group's work will, in due course, be disseminated to other aerodromes around the country.
The following table sets out the number of reported bird strikes at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted over the last five years.
| Heathrow | Gatwick | Stansted | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 36 | 32 | 14 |
| 1999 | 56 | 39 | 16 |
| 2000 | 46 | 39 | 21 |
| 2001 | 59 | 40 | 28 |
| 2002 | 71 | 51 | 30 |
Car Tax
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action the Government is taking to reduce the number of people who are illegally avoiding paying car tax. [125954]
Mr. Jamieson: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in co-operation with police forces, local authorities and other enforcement agencies already uses a wide range of measures to tackle evasion of vehicle excise duty (VED). These include on-street enforcement, wheelclamping and the use of roadside cameras. The enforcement programme successfully
15 Jul 2003 : Column 168W
actioned some 820,000 cases, recovering some £110 million in fines, out of court settlements and relicensing revenue.
This programme is being strengthened by a range of new initiatives. These include combined operations with local authorities, police forces and fire services aimed at abandoned and unlicensed vehicles, wider use of police traffic cameras, and a new "hotline" facility to allow members of the public to report offences directly to DVLA, anonymously if they wish.
On 22 May I announced proposals to introduce a form of continuous registration, starting in 2004. Under these proposals a vehicle's registered keeper will remain liable for licensing it until it is formally transferred to a new keeper. Enforcement will include the imposition of standard penalties, with more severe fines for determined evaders following prosecution. There will be consultation on the details of these proposals later this year.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |