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Office of the Traffic Commissioner (Eastbourne)

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cases have been investigated by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in Eastbourne following anonymous tip-offs in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003. [164478]

Mr. Jamieson: Investigations are carried out on behalf of the Traffic Commissioner in Eastbourne by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's (VOSA).

In 2003 VOSA received 22 anonymous tip-offs. All such information received is investigated by VOSA's Intelligence Officers and appropriate action taken. This may involve reference to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner for further action. VOSA does not hold information on the number of anonymous tip-offs for 2001 and 2002.

Crossrail

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when he expects to announce his decision on the Crossrail project; and if he will make a statement; [166455]

(2) when he will publish the Montague Report into the Crossrail project; and if he will make a statement. [166456]

Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 18 March 2004, Official Report, column 404W, to the hon. Member for Romford (Mr. Rosindell).
 
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Cycle Lanes

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of new cycle lanes have been provided using public funds in Wirral, South since 1997. [166633]

Mr. McNulty: 8.34 miles of new cycle lanes have been constructed in Wirral, South since 1997.

Departmental Computers

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to update computer (a) hardware and (b) software standard packages used in his Department. [166365]

Mr. McNulty: The Department reviews its software and hardware assets regularly to ensure they meet the organisation's business needs.

Office Automation and Desktop Software:

The Department is currently undertaking a project to upgrade our Microsoft Windows NT and Office 97 software to the XP versions. Licences to use the software have already been purchased under the Office of Government Commerce's (OGC's) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Microsoft.

Electronic Document and Record Management (EDRM):

We are negotiating a site licence for the Oracle relational database software to support the DfT system. We intend to use the OGC MOU with Oracle for this purchase. This will licence the use of the standard Oracle software for all DfT users.

Other software:

The SAP Finance system, the Peoplesoft HR system and our Group Wise e-mail system are all covered by support agreements that include software upgrades and helpdesk support.

Hardware:

It is expected that the move to Windows XP will not require any fundamental change to PC hardware, which will continue to be replaced on an "as needs" basis, with desktop hardware replaced when it has reached the end of its useful life.

Driving Instructors

Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will lay before the House regulations requiring approved driving instructors to pass a hazard perception test. [166763]

Mr. Jamieson: As announced in the Adjournment debate on 14 January 2004, Official Report, columns 936–40, we plan to lay regulations before the House towards the end of the year to introduce the computer-based assessment for approved driving instructors.

East London Line

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to give final approval for the construction of the East London Line extensions. [166483]

Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Battersea (Mr. Linton) on 29 March 2004,Official Report, column 1159W.
 
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Highways Budgets (Compensation Payments)

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much local authorities with highway responsibilities paid in claims for personal injury or liability, as a proportion of their total highways budgets, in 2002–03. [165895]

Mr. McNulty: This information is not collated centrally from local authorities, although we are looking at whether and how we could do so in the future.

However, the Department for Transport carried out a survey last year. This found that at present local authorities do not collect information on compensation paid on a consistent basis. The best estimate from the survey was that between £50 million and £75 million was paid by local authorities in respect of compensation claims related to highway maintenance in 2002–03. This represents between 2 per cent. to 3 per cent. of the total capital and revenue funding of £2.53 billion made available for local highway maintenance in 2002–03 (not including PFI credits).

Light Rail Schemes

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 36W, on light rail schemes, if he will list the light rail schemes that he expects will be under construction by 2010, with their expected (a) cost, (b) construction start dates and (c) completion dates; and what the stages of (i) appraisal, (ii) assessment and (iii) procurement will be. [166005]

Mr. McNulty: Five schemes are currently under development. Of these two have received provisional approval from my Department. They are:

Midland Metro extension—Birmingham to Five Ways and Wednesbury to Brierley Hill (estimated total cost £227 million; expected construction start 2005 and expected completion 2008); and

Merseytram Line 1 (estimated total cost £225 million; expected construction start 2005 and expected completion 2007).

Three schemes have received approval but the estimated cost subsequently increased. The value for money of the schemes therefore needs to be reappraised. They are:

Manchester Metrolink Phase 3;

South Hampshire Rapid Transit System; and

Leeds Supertram.

Bids have also been received for Merseytram Line 2 and extensions to the Nottingham Express Transit. The Department is also in discussions with promoters about further extensions to the Midland Metro, Sheffield Supertram, Tyne and Wear Metro, Merseytram, Manchester Metrolink.

Currently the Department's approach to the assessment of appraisals of light rail schemes includes:

Promoters of major local transport schemes submit their bids for central funds as part of their Local Transport Plan (LTP).

The business case supporting the bid should be written in accordance with the Department's New Approach to Appraisal (NATA), details of which can be found on the Department's appraisal website: www.webtag.org.uk. NATA involves assessing the impact of the proposal against the Government's five objectives for transport: economy, safety, integration,
 

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accessibility, and the environment. The NATA approach includes the analysis of both monetised and non-monetised costs and benefits.

The Department's officials examine the case presented for funding, including the benefits, costs, risks, affordability and public acceptability. This usually requires a period of dialogue with the promoters in addition to the information submitted through the written business case.

The Department issues guidance to promoters of schemes to help them prepare a business case that meets the Department's requirements.

A pre-procurement business case is needed to secure Provision View for funding, which is dependent on the necessary statutory powers being obtained, and the scheme design or costs not changing substantially as a result of further work to obtain powers and the procurement process.

Once statutory powers have been obtained and tender received from bidders an updated business case is needed if details of the scheme have changed to secure Full Approval for scheme funding.

The Department leaves the choice of procurement method to the promoter of a scheme, although on larger schemes it will usually consult with the promoter on the approach being taken from an early stage. Promoters may present a case for PFI or capital funding via the same business case process. Capital funding for public transport schemes is usually split between section 56 grant and borrowing approvals.

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