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British Transport Police

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a decision on the capital funding for the British Transport Police for 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [196493]

Mr. McNulty: Capital funding for the British Transport Police for 2005–06 is under consideration as part of the detailed allocation of the Department's Spending Review 2004 Settlement. Regular meetings have been held between the Department and the BTP to discuss this matter and we expect to be in a position to let the BTP know shortly the sum of their capital funding.

Buses

Mr. Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the main causes of delay caused to bus services by (a) traffic congestion, (b) in-service mechanical failure and (c) fleet management. [196289]

Charlotte Atkins: Information on the causes of delays to bus services is not collected. However, data on bus mileage lost because of traffic congestion, mechanical problems and staffing problems are collected from bus operators. The results of this survey are published in the quarterly Bus Quality Indicators Bulletin, which is available in the House of Commons Library. In the latest quarter, the percentage losses of mileage for English bus services were 0.4 per cent. (traffic congestion), 0.4 per cent. (mechanical problems) and 0.4 per cent. (staffing problems).

Car Registrations

Mr. McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many suppliers of car registration plates have been registered since January 2003; how many have been subject to investigation due to concerns about their probity; and what action has resulted from such investigations. [195063]

Mr. Jamieson: As of 29 October 2004, there were 30,869 registered businesses operating from 37,466 retail outlets.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) responds to complaints about possible breaches of the regulations by writing to the supplier concerned and also to the appropriate trading standards office. DVLA has appointed three full-time enforcement officers who make follow-up visits where a supplier's procedures are in doubt. Cases where vehicle ringing is suspected are reported to the police.

There have been three prosecutions, all leading to convictions with fines totalling £1,600 plus costs. The police have also issued a number of cautions.
 
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Child Accidents

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many children died in road accidents in the Greater London area during the last 12 months. [193154]

Mr. Jamieson: There were 12 Child (under 16 years of age) road accident fatalities in the Greater London area during 2003, the last full year for which figures are available.

Civil Servants

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average length of continuous service for civil servants within the Department is. [194400]

Charlotte Atkins: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 3 November 2004, Official Report, column 268W, by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office. In addition, the Marine and Coastguard Agency has an average length of service of 8.92 years.

Consultants

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many consultancy firms or companies have been retained by the Department since June 2001; what the projects are for which each has been retained; and what the total is of the fees paid or incurred in each case. [193425]

Charlotte Atkins: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 3 November 2004, Official Report, column 251W given to the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Maples)

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent in each year since 2002 on employing external consultants to deal with the press and public relations of his Department; and if he will make a statement. [195450]

Charlotte Atkins: The Department uses Public Relations contractors primarily to promote our THINK! road safety and sustainable travel campaign messages to the public through print and broadcast media. In the current year we are also using a PR contractor to help publicise the benefits to the public of our Transport Direct website, which has been introduced to provide integrated travel information. Our aim is to raise awareness of our safety and travel messages and extend the reach of public service campaigns through features and promotions. Costs in financial years 2002–03 and 2003–04 were £496,004 and £347,666 respectively.

Crossrail

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet the Romford Crossrail Action Group to discuss concerns about Crossrail. [196174]

Mr. McNulty: Ministers have no current plans to meet the Romford Crossrail Action Group. Cross London Rail Links Ltd. (CLRLL) have undertaken two separate rounds of consultation on the Crossrail scheme, providing the opportunity for interested parties to register their views. In the course of their consultation, CLRLL have met with the Romford Crossrail Action Group and other concerned local
 
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parties on a number of occasions. The Group's views will be considered by CLRLL along with all those received through the consultation.

Departmental Staff

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many full-time equivalent jobs (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies had in (i) Yorkshire and the Humber and (ii) the City of York in (A) 1997 and (B) the latest year for which figures are available. [191851]

Charlotte Atkins: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 25 October 2004, Official Report, column 1053W, by my hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office. In addition, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) currently has a total of 65 full-time equivalent posts located at its Bridlington, Beverley and satellite offices. MCA does not have offices in the City of York.

In 1997, the work currently undertaken by the MCA was the responsibility of the Marine Safety Agency (MSA) and The Coastguard Agency (TCA). Both agencies merged in April 1998 to form the MCA. Given the existence of the two agencies at that time, we are unable to confirm figures for 1997. However, it is unlikely there has been any significant variation at either of the offices in question since 1997.

Disabled Parking Bays

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with Greater London local authorities on the provision of disabled parking bays. [196535]

Charlotte Atkins: The Department has not held discussions with local authorities specifically on the provision of such bays. Advice has been issued to local authorities in Traffic Advisory leaflet 5/95 on the provision of disabled person's parking bays and officials are available to advise on issues raised by local authorities and others with an interest. Copies of the leaflet have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Generally, The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 gives a wide range of powers to local authorities to provide parking places, including designated bays for disabled people. The decision to provide a bay is ultimately for the local authority.

Emissions

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what work has been undertaken to reduce emissions around Heathrow airport. [195202]

Charlotte Atkins: As a condition of the planning permission for Terminal 5, BAA plc is required to produce and keep under review an action plan that sets out how it intends to minimise emissions from Heathrow airport. The "Air Quality Strategy and Action Plan 2001–2006" is available from BAA's website (www.baa.com). The airport also lies within an Air Quality Management Area declared by the London boroughs of Hillingdon and Hounslow and Spelthorne borough council. In accordance with the duties placed upon them by the Environment Act 1995, these
 
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authorities are now preparing air quality action plans, identifying the steps that will be taken in pursuit of UK air quality objectives.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from road traffic. [196809]

Mr. Jamieson: The Transport White Paper ("The Future of Transport: a network for 2030"), published in July 2004 and available via the Department for Transport's website, summarised in some detail the main steps the Government is taking to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from road transport. The review of the climate change programme, on which the Government is due to publish a consultation document very shortly, will consider the scope for additional measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector and other sectors.

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