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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 1 March 2005
CABINET OFFICE
Civil Service Pensions
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether years spent in the Civil Service Pension Scheme up to 2013 will continue to attract pension rights based on the final salary of the employee on their retirement at age 65 years following the proposed changes to the scheme; and if he will make a statement. [218185]
Mr. Miliband: The Cabinet Office's consultation document, Building a sustainable future", proposes that pension rights earned before April 2013 by staff in post on 5 April 2006 will continue to be calculated by reference to a pension age of 60 and their final salary whenever they choose to retire or leave service.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the effect that the changes to the Civil Service Pension Scheme retirement age will have on serving prison officers who may become unable to carry out their prison work beyond the age of 60 years due to physical incapacity; and if he will make a statement. [218186]
Mr. Miliband: The Cabinet Office's consultation document, Building a sustainable future", proposes that the new pension arrangements will, as now, include provisions for members who have to retire before pension age because of ill health or physical incapacity. The document also recognises that the physically-demanding nature of some members' jobs may not be compatible with a pension age of 65. Officials are discussing with employers of civil servants in physically-demanding occupations (including the prison services) the most appropriate way to handle these groups.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people who transferred pension rights from the armed forces to the Prison Service who will work for a number of years at the end of their careers without building up any further pension rights; and if he will make a statement. [218188]
Mr. Miliband: No assessment of the number of people who transferred pension rights from the armed forces to the Prison Service has been made. The Cabinet Office's consultation document, Building a sustainable future", addresses the issue of restrictions on benefits and asks whether we should allow members to build up their pension without limiting them to 40 years' service.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many serving (a) prison officers and (b) other civil servants will be affected by the changes to the Civil Service Pension Scheme. [218189]
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Mr. Miliband: The Cabinet Office's consultation document, Building a sustainable future", proposes that the main changes to the Civil Service Pension arrangements should apply to existing staff from 1 April 2013, but that some changes might apply before then. As at 31 March 2004, there were 617,000 members of the scheme, of which some 27,000 are prison officers. The Scheme Actuary estimates that, of those members who are likely to be in post on 5 April 2006, 420,000 will still be in service in April 2013.
Statutory Regulatory Bodies
Denzil Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many statutory regulatory bodies have been established since 1997. [217999]
Mr. Miliband: This information is not collected centrally.
PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Prime Minister if hewill list his official engagements for 11 February 2005. [218885]
The Prime Minister: I had no official engagements on 11 February 2005.
Lord Levy
Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish a list of all the individuals or organisations who have met Lord Levy in 2004 to discuss public policy; if he will list the representatives of the gaming industry who have met Lord Levy to discuss the Government's proposals for gaming; how many meetings in 2004 have been attended by Lord Levy on official premises or in the presence of officials; what subjects were discussed; and which countries have been visited in 2004 by Lord Levy as his personal envoy. [218907]
The Prime Minister: The information is not held in the format requested. However, in his capacity as Prime Minister's envoy, Lord Levy undertakes meetings to exchange views on a range of issues, including the Middle East Peace Process, Latin America and Kazakhstan. Lord Levy's diary for 1999–2004 is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website under the Freedom of Information Act.
Parliamentary Questions
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Prime Minister when he will reply to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole on 24 January, reference 211247. [218836]
The Prime Minister: I replied on 28 February.
Queen's Flight
Chris Grayling:
To ask the Prime Minister (1) on how many occasions he has used the Queen's Flight in each of the past five years; [213444]
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(2) how much money his Office spent on chartering aircraft in each of the past five years. [213687]
The Prime Minister: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year.
All travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, and the Civil Service Management Code.
TRANSPORT
Aircraft Charters
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State forTransport how much money his Department has spent on chartering aircraft in each of the past five years. [213690]
Charlotte Atkins: The department was formed in May 2002.
Travel by Ministers makes it clear that special flights may be authorised when a scheduled service is not available, or when it is essential to travel by air, but the requirements of official or parliamentary business or security considerations or urgency preclude the journey being made by a scheduled service. In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The list published in 1999 covers the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 1999. Where RAF/Private Charter aircraft are used this is shown in the list. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2004–05 will be published in due course.
In addition, the Department has spent the following on chartering aircraft since its formation:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | 2,893.54 |
| 2004–05 | 5,720.00 |
Departmental Communication
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's policy is on informing hon. Members of key decisions affecting their constituency transport infrastructure. [208219]
Charlotte Atkins: The Department's policy is to keepthe House of Commons and individual Members informed as appropriate.
Driving Instruction
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines on the Pass Plus course are issued to driving instructors and others involved in driving tuition; and if he will make a statement. [218563]
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Mr. Jamieson: The Pass Plus Scheme is a voluntary scheme undertaken by Approved Driving Instructors (ADI). On registering as a Pass Plus instructor the ADI receives a Pass Plus starter pack which includes a comprehensive 34 page instructor guide. The guide explains the scheme and sets out the instructors role and the syllabus to be followed.
The starter pack also contains several copies of a 39page pupils guide, which explains the scheme and syllabus from the pupil's perspective, training report forms, and copies of a list containing the names of the participating insurance companies. A copy of this information is supplied to the pupil upon entry to the scheme.
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Transportwhat statistics his Department collects for (a) motorway accidents and (b) motorway accidents involving newly qualified drivers; and if he will make a statement. [218565]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport collects detailed statistics on road accidents involving personal injury, including motorway accidents. These are reported in the annual publication Road Casualties Great Britain: Annual Report", which can be found on the Department's website. There were 8,746 motorway accidents involving personal injury in 2003. Information on whether drivers in motorway accidents are newly qualified is not collected in this system.
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statistics his Department collects for (a) all road traffic accidents and (b) road traffic accidents involving newly qualified drivers; and if he will make a statement. [218772]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport collects detailed statistics on road accidents involving personal injury. These are reported in the annual publication Road Casualties Great Britain: Annual Report", which can be found on the Department's website. There were 214,030 road accidents involving personal injury in 2003. Information on whether drivers are newly qualified is not collected in this system. However, we know from research we have undertaken that one in five new drivers has some sort of accident within one year of passing their driving test. A cohort study of new drivers currently under way will refresh this information.
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