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8 Jul 2004 : Column 790W—continued
Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total value was of (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis, by the Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group in each year since 2001. [180884]
Mr. Jamieson: The central DVO Group spent:
| 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Technical and financial | 1,252 | 2,356 | 2,343 |
| (b) Technical consultants | 1,252 | 2,356 | 2,248 |
| (c) Financial consultants | 0 | 0 | 95 |
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisations provided (a) legal, (b) financial and (c) auditing services valued at over £25,000 to the Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group in each year since 2001; and what the value of these services was in each case. [180897]
Mr. Jamieson: With one exception central DVO Group has dealt with Department of Transport officials on legal, financial and auditing matters. The time/cost involved is not recorded or billed.
The exception was in February 2004 when we paid £95,235 to PricewaterhouseCoopers for half the cost of a fitness to trade financial review (category b) of the case for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to gain Trading Fund status.
Driving Standards Agency
John Thurso:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total value was of (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a
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call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by the Driving Standards Agency in each year since 2001. [180882]
Mr. Jamieson: The information is as follows.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 87,316 |
| 2002–03 | 623,171 |
| 2003–04 | 1,047,198 |
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 87,316 |
| 2002–03 | 247,171 |
| 2003–04 | 418,520 |
(c) Financial consultants used on a call-off basis:
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisations provided (a) legal, (b) financial and (c) auditing services valued at over £25,000 to the Driving Standards Agency in each year since 2001; and what the value of these services was in each case. [180900]
Mr. Jamieson: The information is as follows:
| Financial year | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wragge & Co | 31,752 | — | — |
| Eversheds | 70,280 | — | — |
| DLA | — | 39,150 | 65,100 |
| Beachcroft Wansbroughs | — | 45,838 | 111,877 |
Galileo Satellite
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2004, Official Report, columns 1247–48W, if he will make a statement on the rights afforded to (a) Israel and (b) the United States under the agreement reached on the Galileo satellite navigation project. [182245]
Mr. Jamieson
[holding answer 5 July 2004]: The draft agreement with the state of Israel is still to be ratified. The agreement itself will confer few rights upon Israel. It will define the areas where the parties agree to work together to their mutual benefit as partners in the programme. It gives Israel the right to enter into negotiations with the European Commission for this purpose and to participate in a Steering Committee established to manage the agreement. Israel may, subject to a further agreement, participate in the Galileo Joint Undertaking and its successors but this will depend on the level of funding that Israel is prepared to invest in the programme.
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The agreement with the United States focuses on achieving full interoperability between Galileo and its Global Positioning System (GPS) without interfering with the performance of either. It provides a framework for co-operation between the parties and defines the compatibility between the GPS and Galileo systems. It also affirms the right to free trade in goods and services related to both civil systems. Each party has a right to object to any proposed changes to the other's radio signals. The agreement also establishes joint committees that will meet to oversee the working of its various aspects.
Government Targets
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what progress has been made towards meeting the targets set out in, Our towns and cities: the future, relating to (a) journey times on the London underground, (b) road congestion in large urban areas, (c) increasing bus use, (d) increasing rail use, (e) reducing the number of people killed and injured in road accidents and (f) increasing light rail use; [180856]
(2) what public service agreement targets were due to be met by his Department by 31 March; how many of these have been met; and if he will make a statement; [180904]
(3) what performance targets have been set for his Department, agencies and non-departmental bodies since June 2001, stating in each case (a) the target to be reached and (b) the date by which it was to be reached. [180950]
Mr. McNulty: The targets, which make up the Department's public service agreement, were agreed in the Spending Review 2002 and came into effect in April 2003. Most of these have a 2010 deadline. They replace earlier targets set out in the "10 Year Plan, Delivering Better Transport" and reflected in "Our Towns and Cities: the Future".
The Department's Autumn Performance Report, presented to Parliament in December 2003, and its Annual Report, presented in April 2004, give details of progress towards each target. The Department will report again on progress in December 2004.
The Annual Reports of each of the Department's agencies and non-departmental bodies give details of their contribution towards the Department's public service agreement targets.
Hazard Perception Testing
Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what formal (a) training and (b) qualifications are required for trainers of hazard perception testing. [181043]
Mr. Jamieson:
In order to join the statutory Register of Approved Driving Instructors, potential instructors are required to pass a three-part examination comprising practical and theoretical elements. Qualified instructors also undergo a periodic test of continued instructional ability, which will be augmented by a computer-based assessment later this year. While statute does not require formal training or qualifications for those providing training to learner drivers in preparation for the theory test, we strongly recommend
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that such training is linked with practical driving lessons, and those can only be provided by Approved Driving Instructors within the statutory scheme.
Highways Agency
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisations provided (a) legal, (b) financial and (c) auditing services valued at over £25,000 to the Highways Agency in each year since 2001; and what the value of these services was in each case. [180891]
Mr. Jamieson: The Highways Agency's requirements for legal, financial and auditing services have largely been met by officials within either the Department for Transport or the Agency itself. However, since 2001, legal and financial services have also been provided to the Agency by the following external organisations:
Arnheim Tite and Lewis
Berwin Leighton Solicitors
Berwins
Bond Pearce Solicitors
Davitt Jones Bould
Denton Wilde Sapte
Eversheds
Greenwoods Solicitors
Mace and Jones
Michelmores
Pannone and Partners
Tite and Lewis
Treasury Solicitor
Valuation Office Agency
Cap Gemini Ernst and Young Uk Plc
Marconi Software Solutions Ltd
Maximum Connections Consultancy Ltd
Office Of Government Commerce
Oracle Corporation Uk Ltd
Sigma
The value of these services in 2002–03 and 2003–04 was as follows:
| 2002–2003 | 2003–2004 | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal | 27,097 | 31,697 |
| Financial | 6,172 | 3,878 |
It will take the Agency some further time to derive the corresponding information for 2001–2 from an accounting system that was decommissioned in May 2002. That information will be provided as soon as it is available.
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