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11 Jan 2005 : Column 148W—continued
Swan Hunter
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial support the Department has given to the Swan Hunter shipyard in the last 30 years. [206389]
Jacqui Smith: Swan Hunter (Shipbuilders) Ltd went into receivership in 1993 and all records related to DTI contact with them have been archived. Consequently, information on financial support to that defunct company could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Swan Hunter (Tyneside) Ltd was established in 1995. Since then, DTI has awarded just one grant of £1.2 million in September 2000 under the Regional Selective Assistance programme.
Trade and Industry Conferences
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) which international trade and industry conferences have been attended by members of the Government in the past 12 months; on what occasions Labour Members have attended such conferences as part of the official delegation; and what places she has made available to Opposition parties to attend these conferences as part of the official delegation; [203944]
(2) whether all the places offered to the Government for delegates to attend international trade and industry conferences during the last 12 months have been filled. [203945]
Mr. Alexander:
The range and format of international trade and industry conferences is broad. Attendance at such conferences by members of the Government, Labour hon. Members and opposition party members is on the basis of business need and meeting international obligations. The Government does not collate data on the range of trade and industry conferences, the
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allocation of invitations and the acceptance figures for delegates attending. Full details could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Women Staff
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many women there are in senior positions in her Department. [205557]
Ms Hewitt: In my Department 20 of the top management posts are filled by women. This is 33 per cent. of the total number of DTI Senior Civil Servants in Pay Bands 2 and 3.
TRANSPORT
A628 Mottram Bypass
Mr. Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of the A628 Mottram Bypass, with particular reference to the spur to Glossop. [207610]
Mr. Darling: The proposed A628 Mottram to Tintwistle Bypass is a trunk road scheme promoted by the Highways Agency. Subject to successful completion of statutory procedures, the scheme is expected to commence construction in 2007–08.
The proposed Glossop Spur is a local road scheme promoted by Tameside Metropolitan borough council. This scheme was provisionally approved for funding through the local transport programme in December 2000. Final funding approval will be considered following completion of the necessary statutory processes and value for money assessments and in the light of discussions with the region about the prioritisation of schemes and the availability of resources.
Aircraft Security
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with British airline operators with regard to concerns expressed by insurance companies over the costs of potential damage arising from the use of a radioactive dirty bomb on an aircraft. [202806]
Bus Lanes
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will issue regulations to allow camera enforcement of bus lanes outside London; and if he will make a statement. [206893]
Charlotte Atkins: It is intended that the bus lane enforcement regulations, which will allow camera enforcement of bus lanes outside London, will be made in spring 2005.
Concorde
Lembit Öpik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations the Government has
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received from (a) industry and (b) the public regarding options for restoring a Concorde aircraft to flying condition; and if he will make a statement. [207122]
Charlotte Atkins: The Government has not received any representations from industry about restoring a Concorde aircraft to flying condition. Between April 2003 and December 2004, the Department for Transport received 164 letters from the public on this subject, including a 20,000 signature petition from the 'Save Concorde Group'.
Restoring Concorde aircraft to flying condition is a matter for British Airways as the owner and operator of the UK Concorde fleet.
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who owns the patent for the technical specifications, diagrams and related items for Concorde; and if he will make a statement. [207123]
Charlotte Atkins: Airbus UK and Airbus Industrie together own the design data, technical specifications, diagrams and related items for the Concorde fleet.
Selling or transferring this data to a third party is a commercial matter for Airbus.
Conferences
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many conferences were (a) attended by officials from his Department, (b) cancelled by and (c) facilitated by his Department in each year since 1997; and what the (i) cost to the Department and (ii) location was in each case. [205762]
Charlotte Atkins: This information is not held centrally and to collate it would incur disproportionate cost.
Congestion
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government plans to publish annual figures on levels of congestion in the UK following the publication of the new congestion measure and accompanying target in 2005. [206568]
Charlotte Atkins: Progress against all Public Service Agreement targets is reported every spring in departmental reports, with updates provided in autumn performance reports. We also intend to publish annual long-term projections of congestion.
Correspondence
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his target time is in 2004–05 (a) to reply to letters from hon. Members and (b) for the officials in his Office to reply to letters received directly from members of the public. [202420]
Charlotte Atkins:
The Department aims to reply to all letters as soon as possible and has a target time for replying to letters from hon. Members of 15 working days from their receipt. Information on the departmental handling of correspondence from Members of Parliament/Peers is published annually by the Cabinet Office. The 2003 annual report is available in the Library of the House.
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There is currently no target time for replying to letters received by the Central Department from members of the public. The Department's executive agencies do have target times for replying to such letters, which are:
Crossrail
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) consultants and (b) employees are employed by the Crossrail project team. [207608]
Mr. Darling: At Cross London Rail Links Ltd. (CLRL) 101 staff are employed on the Crossrail project. A number of consultancy firms provide expertise to CLRL to plan the railway and develop bill documentation. The number of consultants employed from time to time is dependent on the volume of work being undertaken. Currently, there are 90 consultants employed on the project.
At the Department for Transport the full-time equivalent of nine staff plus an advisory team of four consultants are currently employed on the project.
Departmental Credit Cards
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many credit cards for official expenditure are held by his Department. [206435]
Charlotte Atkins: None. The Department uses charge cards for official expenditure. 2,244 charge cards are currently held by the central Department and its agencies.
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