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12 Feb 2004 : Column 1659W—continued
Consultancy Fees
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on consultancy
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fees by (a) his Department and its predecessors, (b) Network Rail and (c) London Underground in the last three years. [151480]
Dr. Howells: The Department was formed on 29 May 2002. Orders for consultancy to the value of £123.6 million were raised in 2002–03 and £42.1 million in the first nine months of 2003–04.
Network Rail is in the private sector and the Department does not hold details of their spend on consultancy.
London Underground has provided the following information for the last three financial years on consultancy costs: 2000–01 £44.3 million; 2001–02 £42.6 million; 2002–03 £52.O million. These figures do not include spending on external consultancy by the infrastructure companies, as this information is not held by London Underground. However, they do include the consultancy costs arising from work on the PPP, which totals £103.5 million since March 1998, as explained in the written statement made by my hon. Friend, the parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mr. McNulty) on 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 121WS. Responsibility for London Underground transferred from central Government to Transport for London (TfL) and the Greater London Authority in July 2003. Expenditure by London Underground is now a matter for TfL and the Mayor.
Consultations
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those individuals and organisations to whom (a) his Department, (b) its executive agencies and (c) the non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible sent a copy of the consultations (i) The future development of air transport in the United Kingdom: Northern Ireland: a national consultation, (ii) Abandoned cars: a consultation document, (iii) Draft directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority: consultation paper and (iv) The future of aviation: the Government's consultation document on air transport policy: a report on the response to the public consultation; and from whom each received a response in each case. [152075]
Mr. McNulty: Government are committed to ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are identified and involved in consultation exercises. All the consultations referred to were undertaken by the Department; executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies were not involved.
The consultation documents were issued to interested parties and made available on the department's web-site. As the volume of information requested is considerable, a summary of the information requested is provided below. Details of organisations and individuals who were issued with copies of the consultation documents and those that replied will be placed in the House Library.
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(i) The future development of air transport in the United Kingdom: Northern Ireland: a national consultation
This consultation started in August 2002 and ended on 30 June 2003, 16000 copies of the consultation documents were issued to over 1100 organisations or individuals. There were 257 replies of which 19 requested privacy and 15 were anonymous.
(ii) Abandoned cars: a consultation document
This consultation started on 31 October 2001 and ended on 31 January 2002. Over 650 copies of the consultation documents were issued, there were 341 replies.
(iii) Draft directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority: consultation paper
This consultation started on 29 June 2001 and ended on 21 September 2001. The consultation documents were formally issued to 32 specialist organisations. There were 84 replies, of which one requested privacy.
(iv) The future of aviation: the Government's consultation document on air transport policy: a report on the response to the public consultation.
This document is in fact a report which summarises the responses to the public consultation document "The Future of Aviation".
It was not itself subject to consultation and was published only on the then DTLR web-site.
"The Future of Aviation" consultation itself started in December 2000 and ended on 12 April 2001. The consultation documents were issued to 1000 organisations, there were 561 replies.
Department Branding
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department and its predecessors spent on branding the Department between 1997–98 and 2003–04, broken down by (a) counsultancy fees, (b) design and orders for new stationery, (c) website design and (d) other material featuring new logos. [154069]
Mr. McNulty: The Department spent less than £25,000, from within existing budgets, to make the required changes to the departmental logo, stationery, signage and web site design in 2002–03. The work was carried out by contractors under our normal framework agreements for design and print of paper and electronic publications.
No costs have been incurred in 2003–04. Costs for previous years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Minutes
Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is his Department's policy to make notes of (a) meetings and (b) telephone conversations involving Ministers; and under what circumstances no notes would be made. [149804]
Mr. McNulty: The Department follows the central "Guidance on the Management of Private Office Papers" which makes clear that good record management procedures are necessary not least to ensure accountability and provide an audit trail. Among the records covered by the guidance are Ministers' meetings and telephone conversations.
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Departmental Staff
Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age. [145925]
Mr. McNulty: I refer my hon. Friend to the pursuant answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 6 February 2004, Official Report, columns 1084–86W.
Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many information technology projects within the Driver, Vehicle and Operator group are (a) under way and (b) planned; what estimate he has made of the (i) cost and (ii) timescale of each project; which of the projects underway will be completed within its original budget and timescale; and what assessment he has made of the benefits to be delivered when each project is completed. [153202]
Mr. Jamieson: There are 37 IT projects under way in Agencies within the Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group, at a total Departmental investment cost of some £173m. These are to be delivered over the next 2–3 years and will bring a range of benefits including operating efficiency, better customer service and improved enforcement.
There are further 22 IT projects being planned at present.
I have placed details of these projects in the Libraries of the House.
Exhaust Emissions
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the comparative motor vehicle exhaust emission statistics are for (a) liquefied petroleum gas, (b) compressed natural gas, (c) petrol and (d) diesel. [153671]
Mr. Jamieson: The comparative statistics in the tables are taken from the joint DfT/HMT consultation 'Road fuel gases and their contribution to clean low-carbon transport' released in June 2003.
The figures allow a comparison of the mandatory European emission standards for new petrol and diesel vehicles in comparison with typical emissions from LPG and Natural Gas vehicles.
Several sources of uncertainty arise when assessing the performance of LPG vehicles. The level of emissions improvement in LPG cars depends heavily on the particular engines and conversions involved and on the standard of conversion. For these reasons, absolute comparison of LPG and conventional cars is not possible. The table gives an indication of the comparative figures.
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| Diesel (g/km) | Petrol (g/km)(10) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| NOx | PM | NOx | |
| Conventional fuel cars—EU emission limits | |||
| Euro III—mandatory from 2001 | 0.50 | 0.05 | 0.15 |
| Euro IV—mandatory from 2006 | 0.25 | 0.025 | 0.08 |
| LPG cars—indicative performance(11) | LPG NOx (g/km) | ||
| 2002–03—typical powershift approved aftermarket conversion | n/a | n/a | 0.123 |
| 2002–03—typical OEM ('Original Equipment Manufacturer') LPG car | n/a | n/a | 0.035 |
(10) No PM limits for petrol or LPG vehicles, since emissions are very low.
(11) Data provided by Energy Saving Trust
Compressed natural gas is primarily used as an alternative fuel for heavy goods vehicles. The following table was included in the road fuel gas consultation document and shows the comparative performance of a natural gas version of one widely used vehicle, compared to EU diesel standards.
| Emission limits | Test cycle | NOx | PM10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel vehicle | |||
| Euro III | (13)ETC | 5 | (14)0.16 and 0.21 |
| Euro IV | ETC | 3.5 | 0.03 |
| Euro V | ETC | 2.0 | 0.03 |
| Natural gas vehicle | |||
| CNG Scania vehicle(15) | ETC | 0.96 | 0.007 |
Source:
(12) http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/automotive/pagesback/
pollutant emission/pollutant.pdf
(13) European Transient Cycle
(14) For engines having a swept volume of less than 0.75 dm3 per cylinder and a rated power speed of more than 3,000 min-1
(15) CNG Emission Tests based on Scania re-engineering programme Millbrook Vehicle Emissions Laboratory g/kwh
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