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17 Mar 2004 : Column 288W—continued

TRANSPORT

Channel Tunnel

Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the operators of the Channel Tunnel rail services; and if he will make a statement. [161697]

Mr. McNulty: Officials hold regular meetings with parties involved in the Channel Tunnel industry to discuss a range of issues.

Disciplinary/Grievance Procedures

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether each agency in the Department for Transport has disciplinary procedures which comply with (a) the ACAS handbook on discipline and grievances at work and (b) the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. [161048]

Mr. McNulty: The disciplinary procedures used in the Department for Transport and its Agencies are considered to be compliant with both the ACAS Handbook and Code of Practice. However it is planned to review the procedures to ensure compliance with the revised ACAS Code of Practice that takes effect from 1 October 2004.

Employment Tribunals

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been spent (a) settling and (b) contesting claims registered at employment tribunals since the beginning of 2003 in the Department for Transport for (i) race discrimination, (ii) sex discrimination, (iii) disability discrimination, (iv) unfair dismissal and (v) equal pay. [161046]

Mr. McNulty: In 2003 the Department for Transport (excluding Executive Agencies) was the Respondent in the following Employment Tribunal cases:

Equal Pay—10 cases—the total cost of these cases was £44,244.78 made up of Treasury Solicitors and Counsels costs;

Disability Discrimination—1 case—total costs £3,350 made up of Treasury Solicitors costs only;

Race Discrimination—3 cases (with 2 originating from the same applicant)—total costs £16,220.73 made up of Treasury Solicitors and Counsels fees.

In addition to legal fees and disbursements the Central Department paid out a total of £16,727 in settlement costs.

There were no claims for unfair dismissal.

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Infrastructure Improvement

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the transport infrastructure improvement schemes for which he is responsible in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough; and what their projected cost is. [158407]

Mr. McNulty: Most transport infrastructure improvement schemes in London are now the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). Those for which the Secretary of State retains some responsibility are:

Crossrail:

The Government received Cross London Rail Link Limited's (CLRL) Crossrail Business Case in July 2003. We are supportive of the principle of a Crossrail scheme to increase transport capacity across London. But we need to be sure that the current proposals are deliverable, affordable and value for money.

This is why the Secretary of State announced a review of CLRL's proposals, by an expert team under the chairmanship of Adrian Montague. He has now received advice from Adrian Montague which he is studying closely.

Channel Tunnel Rail Link Section 2:

Running from Ebbsfleet in Kent to St. Pancras station, construction of Section 2 began in July 2001. It is broadly on budget and is expected to have cost £3.3 billion when it opens in 2007. Section 2 is currently over 60 per cent. complete.

Additionally Network Rail and the Strategic Rail Authority are progressing the West Coast Route Modernisation, part of which is within Greater London, at a cost of some £7.5 billion. Other schemes in the wider South-east which impact on parts of London are the replacement of Mark I rolling stock (£1 billion), and the power supply upgrade in the Southern region (£2 billion).

Within London planned schemes include Thameslink 2000 with a projected cost of some £3 billion and the East London Line Extensions scheme, with an estimated cost of about £1 billion, together with the freight gauge enhancement on the North London line (£40 million). The Strategic Rail Authority have also been a partner in the launch of the "Overground Network" with Transport for London, involving branding and customer information enhancements at 40 south London stations at a total cost of £1.5 million. There are also a number of smaller scale improvements being taken forward via the Rail Passenger Partnerships (RPP) fund.

With the exception of one RPP scheme (Brentford station improvement), none of the schemes mentioned falls within a single London borough.

Motorised Scooters

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce requirements for (a) eyesight tests, (b) a road test and road awareness programme, (c) a requirement to have insurance, (d) a set maintenance standard and (e) training and testing, for people wishing to drive motorised scooters and if he will make a statement. [161966]

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Mr. Jamieson: Motorised scooters are motor vehicles within the meaning of Section 185 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and are therefore already subject to road traffic law. To be used on the road they must comply with construction regulations and meet registration, road tax, insurance and MOT testing requirements. The rider is required to hold an appropriate driver licence and wear a suitable motorcycle helmet.

This does not apply to Class 2 and 3 Invalid Carriages which are defined as "not being a motor vehicle" for certain parts of Road Traffic Law. We believe that most users of these vehicles operate them safely but a review of the law is needed. The review is due to be completed during the summer. Decisions will then be taken about whether any changes are required to the law.

Steer Davies Gleave

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many contracts, and of what value, the Strategic Rail Authority has placed with Steer Davies Gleave in each of the last five years. [161794]

Mr. McNulty: The information is provided in the following table.

£ thousand

	Number of contracts(2)	Total value(3)
1999	(4)1	48
2000	—	—
2001	—	—
2002	3	214
2003	12	1,184

⁽²⁾ With a value of over £25,000

⁽³⁾ Rounded

⁽⁴⁾ Contract let by Office of Passenger Rail Franchising

Stress

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many days have been lost owing to stress in (a) the Department for Transport and (b) Transec Division. [161047]

Mr. McNulty: In 2003 for the centre of the Department for Transport (excluding the Executive Agencies) 2,206 days were recorded with 'stress/anxiety/depression' given as the reason for absence. For Transport Security Directorate, 349 days were recorded under this heading during 2003.

Travel Costs

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the change in costs of travelling by (a) car, (b) train and (c) bus in each year since 1974, taking 1974 as a base figure of 100, and discounting inflation. [160584]

Mr. McNulty: The following table shows the information requested on real changes in the cost of transport as indices based on 1974=100. The information is available in Transport Statistics Great Britain, although the current edition does not include 2003 data and is based to 1992=100.

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	All motoring(5)	Rail	Bus
1974	100.0	100.0	100.0
1975	104.4	109.2	104.9
1976	101.2	124.3	114.9
1977	99.9	125.0	114.1
1978	99.7	132.0	119.4
1979	104.0	128.8	118.4
1980	103.8	135.6	127.0
1981	103.9	138.6	125.6
1982	101.0	146.5	133.3
1983	103.2	148.5	134.7
1984	100.7	142.0	131.1
1985	99.4	142.4	128.9
1986	94.7	147.0	135.2
1987	96.3	148.4	137.4
1988	95.9	151.3	140.1
1989	93.9	153.2	140.2
1990	91.0	152.2	135.1
1991	92.3	158.8	145.5
1992	95.0	164.2	150.2
1993	97.6	173.0	154.3
1994	98.5	176.3	154.6
1995	97.0	178.1	155.0
1996	97.5	180.3	156.9
1997	99.6	178.9	157.6
1998	99.3	180.1	157.3
1999	100.2	183.8	160.6
2000	101.0	181.6	162.3
2001	98.7	185.3	166.1
2002	96.3	186.5	168.5
2003	94.8	184.3	170.6

⁽⁵⁾ "All motoring" includes the cost of purchase, maintenance, fuel, tax and insurance

Source:

Retail Price Index, Office for National Statistics

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