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21 Jun 2004 : Column 1246W—continued
PFI/PPP Schemes
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) book value of the stakeholding, (b) onward sale price and (c) arrangements for sharing any windfall gain from subsequent refinancing arrangements are for each of the private finance initiative and public private partnership schemes his Department has entered into where there has been an onward sale of the private sector stakeholding into secondary market. [179065]
Mr. McNulty: The Department for Transport does not hold data on (a) book value of stakeholding or (b) onward sale price on PFI/PPP projects it sponsors. With respect to item (c) , the Department is not aware of any circumstances in which the onward sale of an ownership stake would alter the sharing arrangements of refinancing gains. Such provisions have never been included in central guidance on the Standardisation of PFI Contracts (SoPC), or in the provisions of departmental PPP contracts.
Rail Services
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to provide fast train services from Pendle to Manchester. [179438]
Mr. McNulty: There are no plans to introduce fast train services from Pendle to Manchester. A new Northern franchise has been competitively tendered. This will include local and regional services to Manchester.
Strategic Rail Authority
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) consultants and (b) contractors have been employed by the Strategic Rail Authority or employed on matters in each year since its creation expressed in full-time equivalent posts. [178867]
Mr. McNulty: Consultants are employed on defined, temporary tasks—typically studies into particular propositions—and their employment cannot be equated to SRA staff posts. Contractors, by contrast, may at times fill staff posts in lieu of permanently employed SRA staff.
Data was not held in the form requested for the full period since the SRA was set up in February 2001. The available figures are as follows:
| February 2001 | August 2002 | March 2003 | March 2004 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contractors on projects | — | — | 69 | 135 |
| Contractors covering vacancies | — | — | 64 | 37 |
| Other temporary staff | — | — | 22 | 9 |
| Total | 66 | 90 | 155 | 181 |
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Transport Council
Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the outcome was of the Transport Council held on 10–11 June; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement. [179173]
Mr. Darling: The transport session of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council met in Luxembourg on 11 June. I represented the UK.
The Council reached a General Approach on a Directive on enhancing port security. The agreement was based on a Presidency compromise text, which the UK was able to accept. The Directive will, complement Regulation 725/2004 on enhancing ship and port facility security adopted in March 2004.
The Council reached Political Agreement on a Directive on ship-source pollution and the introduction of sanctions, including criminal sanctions, for pollution offences. The agreement was on the basis of a revised text, which met many of the concerns of the UK relating to equity, consistency with international law and the apportionment of responsibilities between the First and Third Pillars of the European Union. The agreed text does differ from MARPOL; however, the UK and likeminded Member States did not command sufficient votes to prevent political agreement from being reached on this basis.
Reports to the Council on maritime issues under AOB dealt with: ratification of maritime conventions, identification documents for seafarers, and the recent maritime safety forum organised by the Presidency.
The Council reached agreement on a number of aspects of the Galileo satellite navigation project. Council conclusions were adopted calling for continuing progress in work leading to implementation of the project. Political Agreement was reached on a Council Regulation on the establishment of management structures. The Council adopted two Decisions on Galileo external relations, the first a cooperation agreement with Israel and the second an agreement with the USA on the operation of Galileo and the GPS. All of the agreed texts were acceptable to the UK.
The Council did not reach Political Agreement on the proposal to amend Directive 1999/62/EC on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructure (the 'Eurovignette' Directive). The key stumbling block to agreement at the March Council had been the hypothecation of revenues to the transport sector. At this Council, I re-stated that the UK cannot accept mandatory hypothecation and that decisions on how to spend revenue raised from road charging should be left to the discretion of member states. Further examination of this and other aspects of the text will now be carried out, so that the proposal can be put to a future Council.
The Council reached Political Agreement on a Regulation amending current legislation on drivers hours' legislation that applies to certain drivers' of large commercial vehicles, and on a Directive on enforcement of those hours. Both of the agreed texts were acceptable to the United Kingdom.
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The Council considered a proposal for harmonising weekend driving bans for heavy goods vehicles involved in international transport. A number of member states (including the UK) indicated that they were not in a position to support this. The proposal could be brought to a future Council.
The Council did not reach Political Agreement on those proposals relating to cabin crew training and flight time limitations contained within the draft Regulation amending Regulation 3922/91 on harmonised operational safety standards and administrative procedures in civil aviation (EU-OPS).
There was an exchange of views on EU-US air transport, based on a report from the Commission on its negotiations with the US. I was joined by other Ministers in stating that an agreement on the lines proposed would be unbalanced, and should not be accepted. It was agreed by the Council that urgent efforts should be made by the Commission in further negotiations with the US, with the overall aim of improving the balance.
There were two aviation items taken under AOB. The Commission reported on progress on passenger name records and on the proposal for mandates for negotiation on air transport with certain neighbouring countries.
Also under AOB, the Presidency gave a progress report on the third package of rail transport measures.
Working Time Directive
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many employees in his Department have (a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in his Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available. [178371]
Mr. McNulty: The Department for Transport has (a) 37 staff who have signed a waiver allowing them to work more than the maximum hours allowed under the Working Time Directive; (b) no staff who are exempt from the Working Time Directive. There are 26 staff who have recorded hours in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the 17 week period up to the week commencing 31 May 2004. These figures cover the central Department only.
The Department for Transport is committed to reducing the number of staff who are required to work in excess of 48 hours a week to an absolute minimum commensurate with meeting operational needs.
WORK AND PENSIONS
New Deal
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on the New Deal (a) by region and (b) by London borough in each year since 1997. [177050]
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Jane Kennedy:
The available information is in the table.
21 Jun 2004 : Column 1250W
| Region/country | 1997–98(20) | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands and Eastern(21) | 0 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 27 | n/a | n/a |
| East Midlands(21) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 18 | 18 |
| East of England(21) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 10 | 12 |
| Northern(21) | 0 | 12 | 25 | 28 | 29 | n/a | n/a |
| North East(21) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 26 | 27 |
| North West | 0 | 14 | 37 | 40 | 38 | 37 | 42 |
| London and South East(21) | (21)0 | 21 | 53 | 49 | 36 | n/a | n/a |
| London(21) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 38 | 54 |
| South East(21) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 11 | 13 |
| South West | 0 | 9 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
| West Midlands | 0 | 8 | 20 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 0 | 18 | 37 | 39 | 31 | 32 | 30 |
| Scotland | 0 | 10 | 34 | 40 | 35 | 38 | 39 |
| Wales | 0 | 7 | 20 | 23 | 19 | 21 | 20 |
(19) Figures are for regional programme spend and exclude head office and other departmental costs.
(20) Regional programme spend was less than £1 million per region in 1997–98.
(21) From April 2002 the nine Employment Service regions/countries were reorganised into 11 Jobcentre Plus regions/countries: East Midlands and Eastern region was split in to two regions (East Midlands region and East of England region). London and South East region was split in to two regions (London region and South East region). Northern region was also renamed as North East region at that time.
Note:
Information is not available broken down by local authority.
Source:
Employment Service regional records 1997–98 to 2001–02 and Jobcentre Plus regional records from 2002–03 onwards.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were working in permanent New Deal placements (a) by region and (b) by London borough in each year since 1997. [177051]
Jane Kennedy: The information is only available for New Deal for Young People and New Deal 25 plus.
The available information has been placed in the Library.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people registered with the New Deal failed to be placed in permanent employment after (a) six months and (b) 12 months in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) region and (ii) London borough. [177052]
Jane Kennedy: The available information has been placed in the Library.
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