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12 May 2004 : Column 405W—continued
Parliamentary Questions
John Thurso:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many (a) Ordinary Written and (b) Named Day Questions his Department received in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) this parliamentary session, broken down by month; [171189]
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(2) what proportion of (a) Ordinary Written Questions to his Department were answered within five sitting days of tabling and (b) Questions for a Written Answer on a named day received a substantive answer on that day in (i) the 2002–03 parliamentary session and (ii) this parliamentary session, broken down by month. [171190]
Mr. McNulty: Ministerial colleagues and I endeavour to reply to parliamentary questions within the required deadlines wherever possible. At 5 May 2004, the Department for Transport had answered 4,744 written questions tabled since 13 November 2002, the beginning of the 2002–03 Parliamentary Session. This comprised 3,941 written ordinary questions (90 per cent. of which were answered within five sitting days) and 803 named day questions (76 per cent. of which were given a substantive answer on the specified date). The following table shows the monthly breakdown.
| Ordinary written | Named day | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number and percentage(18)answered within five sitting days | Number and percentage(18)answered on date specified | |||||
| Numbered tabled | Number | Percentage(18) | Number tabled | Number | Percentage(18) | |
| 2002–03 session | ||||||
| November 2002(19) | 199 | 184 | 93 | 109 | . 84 | 77 |
| December 2002 | 205 | 201 | 98 | 57 | 44 | 77 |
| January 2003 | 342 | 295 | 86 | 65 | 46 | 71 |
| February 2003 | 217 | 201 | 93 | 20 | 14 | 70 |
| March 2003 | 308 | 234 | 76 | 45 | 38 | 84 |
| April 2003 | 197 | 186 | 94 | 27 | 21 | 78 |
| May 2003 | 233 | 216 | 93 | 35 | 24 | 69 |
| June 2003 | 248 | 214 | 86 | 43 | 34 | 79 |
| July 2003 | 214 | 209 | 98 | 29 | 25 | 86 |
| August 2003 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| September 2003 | 183 | 177 | 97 | 24 | 20 | 83 |
| October 2003 | 258 | 231 | 90 | 54 | 44 | 82 |
| November 2003(20) | 181 | 174 | 96 | 29 | 26 | 90 |
| Total | 2,785 | 2,522 | 91 | 537 | 420 | 78 |
| 2003–04 session | ||||||
| November 2003(21) | 71 | 62 | 87 | 6 | 6 | 100 |
| December 2003 | 191 | 168 | 88 | 52 | 34 | 65 |
| January 2004 | 247 | 202 | 82 | 73 | 45 | 62 |
| February 2004 | 196 | 169 | 86 | 50 | 41 | 82 |
| March 2004 | 286 | 261 | 91 | 62 | 52 | 84 |
| April 2004 | 165 | 148 | 90 | 23 | 14 | 61 |
| Total | 1,156 | 1,010 | 87 | 266 | 192 | 72 |
(18) Rounded to the nearest percentage point.
(19) 13 November to 30 November 2002.
(20) 1 November to 20 November 2003.
(21) 26 November to 30 November 2003.
Public Transport (Wirral, South)
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rural bus services in Wirral, South are supported by rural bus grants. [172691]
Mr. McNulty: Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG) is paid to local transport authorities, in the case of Wirral, South this is the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (PTE). It is for the authority to decide which services should be supported with the grant. We understand from the PTE that one rural bus service in Wirral, South is provided by RBSG.
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of priority bus lanes have been created in Wirral, South since 1997. [172692]
Mr. McNulty:
There is one priority bus lane in Wirral, South 0.2miles long on the southern carriageway of the New Chester Road (B5136). It was created in 1997.
12 May 2004 : Column 407W
Rail Franchises
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what costs have been incurred by the Strategic Rail Authority in respect of the tendering process for the Integrated Kent Franchise; and what the anticipated final costs are. [171224]
Mr. McNulty: Expenditure by the SRA of approximately £1.8 million has been incurred to date on the tendering of the IKF and the total cost is expected to be £3.85 million.
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether a public sector comparator will be undertaken to establish whether South Eastern train passenger services could be provided more economically and efficiently than under a franchise agreement if the service were to be run through South Eastern Trains. [171225]
Mr. McNulty: Under the provisions of the Railways Act 1993, as amended by the Transport Act 2000, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) is able to act as operator of last resort for any railway franchise but only on a temporary basis. Section 30 of the Act gives the SRA powers to
"secure the provision of services until such a time as they begin to be provided under a franchise agreement".
The Act reflects the Government's policy that passenger train services should be operated by private companies. It does not provide powers to the SRA to take such services
"back into the public sector"
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department have met representatives of the (i) Stagecoach Group and (ii) other private train operators and consortiums in relation to the proposed Integrated Kent Franchise. [171226]
Mr. McNulty: No. The franchising process is a matter for the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) which holds regular discussions with both existing and prospective franchise operators as part of discharging its duties.
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has received a report from the Strategic Rail Authority on the discussions that have taken place between the Chair of the Authority and the Stagecoach Group in relation to the Integrated Kent Franchise. [171227]
Mr. McNulty: No. Any such discussions are a matter for the Strategic Rail Authority.
Railway Crimes
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many crimes were (a) reported and (b) subsequently led to a conviction (i) on trains, (ii) at stations and (iii) on railway property in each year since 1997. [171906]
Mr. McNulty:
The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information on the total number of crimes reported and the total number of detections since 1998; information is not readily available for earlier than 1998. A split between trains,
12 May 2004 : Column 408W
stations and other railway property is not available. Prosecutions and convictions are a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service.
| Total crime | Total detections | Detection rates (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 107,769 | 35,916 | 33 |
| 1999–2000 | 110,604 | 33,614 | 30 |
| 2000–01 | 103,198 | 30,183 | 29 |
| 2001–02 | 104,292 | 23,647 | 23 |
| 2002–03 | 119,333 | 24,225 | 20 |
| 2003–04 | 123,463 | 26,400 | 21 |
| Total crime | Total detections | Detection rates (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 10,324 | 3,676 | 36 |
| 1999–2000 | 9,794 | 2,882 | 29 |
| 2000–01 | 9,859 | 3,250 | 33 |
| 2001–02 | 9,452 | 2,918 | 31 |
| 2002–03 | 10,323 | 2,694 | 26 |
| 2003–04 | 9,860 | 3,081 | 31 |
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many individuals working on the railways have been the victim of a crime while at work in each year since 1997. [171907]
Mr. McNulty: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information on numbers of railway staff who have been victims of crime while at work since 1999; information is not readily available for earlier than 1999.
| England and Wales | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 3,437 | 235 |
| 2000–01 | 3,571 | 236 |
| 2001–02 | 3,715 | 231 |
| 2002–03 | 4,283 | 264 |
| 2003–04 | 4,518 | 391 |
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many acts of vandalism were reported on railway property in each year since 1997. [171908]
Mr. McNulty: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information on acts of vandalism for both Incidents and Offences recorded since 1998; information is not readily available for earlier than 1998.
| England and Wales | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 7,835 | 999 |
| 1999–2000 | 8,531 | 1,091 |
| 2000–01 | 8,592 | 1,063 |
| 2001–02 | 9,424 | 1,153 |
| 2002–03 | 8,667 | 1,059 |
| 2003–04 | 11,720 | 1,094 |
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| England and Wales | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 5,738 | 835 |
| 1999–2000 | 6,013 | 813 |
| 2000–01 | 5,783 | 753 |
| 2001–02 | 5,499 | 531 |
| 2002–03 | 5,903 | 599 |
| 2003–04 | 7,989 | 563 |
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many crimes were committed in railway stations in each year since 1997. [171909]
Mr. McNulty: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information on crimes committed at stations, in station car parks, on railway lines and on other railway land since 1999; information is not readily available for crimes committed solely on stations or for earlier than 1999.
| England and Wales | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 83,449 | 8,336 |
| 2000–01 | 78,526 | 8,217 |
| 2001–02 | 79,110 | 7,969 |
| 2002–03 | 86,791 | 7,968 |
| 2003–04 | 89,229 | 7,544 |
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) train and (b) station staff were attacked in each year since 2000. [172337]
Mr. McNulty: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information on crimes committed against railway staff while on duty:
| Total number of crimes committed | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 1,297 |
| 2000–01 | 1,340 |
| 2001–02 | 1,436 |
| 2002–03 | 1,921 |
| 2003–04 | 2,273 |
The figures supplied represent the total number of assaults against railway staff; a split between train and station staff is not available.
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