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26 Oct 2004 : Column 1117W—continued

Hastings and Bexhill Link Road

Mr. Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a decision on the construction of the Hastings and Bexhill link road. [193189]

Charlotte Atkins [holding answer 25 October 2004]: East Sussex county council have submitted a bid for this major local transport scheme. We expect to announce our decision for this and other major scheme bids as part of the annual local transport capital settlement later this year.

Integrated Kent Franchise

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent to date on the Integrated Kent Franchise. [192195]

Mr. McNulty: Expenditure of approximately £2.2 million has been incurred to date on the tendering of the IKF and the total cost is expected to be £3.85 million.

Mobile Telephones

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many mobile phones were used by (a) Ministers and special advisers and (b) officials in his Department in each year since 1997; how many were (i) lost and (ii) stolen; and what their cost was. [191437]

Charlotte Atkins: The Department was created in May 2002. Since that date the number of mobile phones used by Ministers and special advisers was as follows:
Mobile phones used by:
MinistersSpecial advisors
200232
200342
200442

There is no central record of mobile phones and information about their usage by Officials could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Rail Network

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding improvements to the rail network since Network Rail assumed responsibility. [192666]

Mr. McNulty: Network Rail has made significant progress in putting right the failings of its predecessor, Railtrack, since taking over the rail infrastructure in October 2002.
 
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Achievements include:

Strategic Rail Authority

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost has been to the Strategic Rail Authority of transferring the South Eastern Trains franchise from Connex. [192227]

Mr. McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) engaged external advisers on the transfer at a total cost of £2.757 million. All but approximately £150,000 of this cost was recovered from Connex as part of the negotiations of the termination. The costs of internal SRA staff effort on the transfer are not separately identifiable but were contained within the SRA's then existing total staff complement and budget.

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether all functions of the Strategic Rail Authority are due to transfer to the Department of Transport under the proposals outlined in "The Future of Rail" White Paper. [192600]

Mr. McNulty: The Rail White Paper, "The Future of Rail", proposes the abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority. The strategic and financial responsibilities of the SRA will pass to the Department for Transport. Implementing this will require primary legislation and we will introduce a Bill as soon as parliamentary time permits. Activities related to the operation of the railway will pass to Network Rail and consumer protection licensing conditions will pass to the Office of Rail Regulation. Further, additional responsibilities, for rail will be devolved to the Scottish Executive and the Welsh National Assembly.

Theft and Fraud

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the cost of theft and fraud to (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1997. [191421]

Charlotte Atkins: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Ashford (Mr. Green) on 15 September 2004, Official Report, column 1570W, which covered the Central Department and Agencies.

There were no frauds reported in the NDPBs for 2002–03. In 2003–04, only one NDPB reported fraud. This involved two involving fraudulent use of a stolen
 
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credit card. The value of these cases amounted to £14,270 and £3,865 respectively. Both were reported in the Treasury Fraud return for 2003–04.

CABINET OFFICE

Communication Equipment

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average spending on communication equipment for each Minister was in the Department in the last year for which figures are available. [193315]

Ruth Kelly: The average spend on communications equipment for each Minister and their Private Office in the Department during 2003–04 was £5,700.

Departmental Consultants

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much the Department spent on outside information technology and communication specialists, consultants and engineers in the 2003–04 financial year. [192758]

Ruth Kelly: The Cabinet Office spent £13.9 million on outside information technology and communication specialists, consultants and engineers in the 2003–04 financial year.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of antisocial behaviour have been reported to the police in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [192866]

Ms Blears: There are currently no data on the number of incidents of antisocial behaviour (ASB) due to the subjective nature of ASB itself. The latest data collected on ASB relate to the public perception of ASB in England and Wales and are measured by the British Crime Survey.

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) arrests and (b) convictions for antisocial behaviour there have been in (i) the Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) Tyne and Wear and (iv) England and Wales in each year since 1997. [192882]


 
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Ms Blears: The information requested is not available.

Information on arrests collected centrally is based on persons arrested for "notifiable" offences by main offence group and police force area only and therefore does not identify individual offences.

Information on convictions is available by offence, of which some may have involved antisocial behaviour. Such circumstances are not identified by the Home Office Court Proceedings database.

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been taken out in each constituency in (a) England and Wales, (b) South Tyneside and (c) Tyne and Wear since the scheme's inception. [192880]

Ms Blears: Information on antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at constituency level is not collected centrally. The table (which has been placed in the Library) shows the number of ASBOs issued, as notified to the Home Office by all courts, and where restrictions have been imposed for a specific local authority area.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the latest figure is for the number of antisocial behaviour orders issued. [193989]

Ms Blears: The number of antisocial behaviour orders issued, as notified to the Home Office by all courts, up to 31 March 2004 (latest available) is 2,455.


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