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Young Offenders

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether staff working in young offenders' institutions receive training on the management and identification of cases of racism following the inquiry into the murder of Zahid Mubarek at Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in March 2000. [17813]

Fiona Mactaggart: All staff working in young offenders' institutions receive training on the management and identification of cases of racism. The training includes explanations of what constitutes a racist incident and how to report and investigate complaints. It also highlights the importance of taking account of the diversity of individual needs. Training specifically for new officers on race relations includes a session covering the murder of Zahid Mubarek.

Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders were given custodial sentences in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) age, (b) offence, (c) police force area and (d) length of sentence. [20438]

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is shown in tables for the years 1997 to 2003, which is the latest year for which information is available. These tables have been placed in the Library.

TRANSPORT

A19

Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents there have been on the A19 between Teesside and Tyneside in the last five years. [21779]

 
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Dr. Ladyman: The number of personal injury accidents between 2000 and 2004 on the A19 between Teesside and Tyneside are shown in the table.

	Personal injury accidents
2000	134
2001	149
2002	135
2003	136
2004	176

Information is not held on the number of damage only accidents.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the total amount of carbon dioxide released by private motor vehicles in (a) 1984, (b) 1994 and (c) 2004. [23369]

Dr. Ladyman: The following table shows carbon dioxide emissions from the private use of household vehicles:

	Million tonnes of carbon dioxide
1990	58.7
1991	58.3
1992	59.0
1993	59.2
1994	57.9
1995	56.9
1996	60.0
1997	61.0
1998	60.5
1999	62.0
2000	61.3
2001	62.0
2002	64.1
2003	63.4

Source:
Environmental Accounts, Office for National Statistics




 
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Data prior to 1990 are not available on this basis, and 2004 data are not yet available. The figures are on the private use of vehicles and so exclude use of vehicles by businesses.

Central Milton Keynes Station

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when a decision on the upgrading of the platform at Central Milton Keynes train station is expected. [22715]

Derek Twigg: The proposal is at the final stages of consideration and an announcement on the Community Infrastructure Fund grant will be made in due course.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he expects the re-routing of the high pressure gas main from its planned route as part of the Crossrail works at Romford to increase the cost of building the depot in Romford. [20804]

Derek Twigg: The re-routing of the high pressure gas main is not expected to increase the cost of building the Crossrail depot at Romford.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff have been employed on the Crossrail project in each year since the project began; and what estimate he has made of the costs of employing them. [20807]

Derek Twigg: I understand from Cross London Rail Links Ltd. (CLRLL) that they employed 32 staff at a cost of £419,000 in 2001–02, 61 staff at a cost of £2,762,000 in 2002–03, 85 staff at a cost of £5,020,000 in 2003–04, and 112 staff at a cost of £5,080,000 in 2004–05.

The unit that deals with Crossrail sponsorship in the Department, which includes the Crossrail hybrid Bill team, employed seven staff in financial year 2003–04 at a cost of £261,613, and 17 staff in financial year 2004–05 at a cost of £642,267.

Other officials have been involved in Crossrail related matters from time to time, as have officials in Strategic Rail Authority and Transport for London.

Funding Allocations

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made towards basing transport funding allocations on economic development outcomes. [22070]

Ms Buck: The potential impact on economic development is a vital part of our appraisal of all proposed transport investment, and is considered carefully in all decisions on the allocation of funds. The Department for Transport assesses new transport
 
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infrastructure proposals using the New Approach to Appraisal (NATA) guidance. This guidance is published on the web and can be found at www.webTAG.org.uk

NATA assesses the impacts of new transport infrastructure proposals in terms of the Government's five transport objectives, one of which is to support sustainable economic activity.

The Future of Transport" White Paper (July 2004) set out the Government's intention to establish a Transport Innovation Fund.

One of the fund's objectives will be to provide funding to supplement the resources available regionally and locally in support of schemes which make a major contribution to national productivity.

In addition the Eddington Study has been asked to advise on the long-term impact of transport decisions on the UK's productivity, stability and growth.

Gershon Review

Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who in the Department has been made responsible for achieving the efficiency objectives set for the Department by the Gershon review. [21309]

Ms Buck: The Secretary of State is responsible for the overall delivery of the Department's efficiency programme.

London Olympics

Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the North Circular Road between the Lea Valley and Wembley will be designated as part of the Olympic Route Network. [22416]

Ms Buck: Yes, the North Circular Road is currently planned to be part of the Olympic Route Network.

Railways

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the statistics for train punctuality are collected and compiled. [22782]

Derek Twigg: Train punctuality statistics are collected from detailed data covering all train movements on the national network. Actual times at which trains run are recorded automatically at fixed points around the network.

These actual times are then compared with scheduled times, and the resulting differences are used to compile statistics relating to punctuality.

The principal way of compiling punctuality statistics is by recording the percentage of scheduled passenger trains which arrive at their destination within a specified time of their booked arrival.

This percentage forms the basis of the Public Performance Measure (PPM) which is the comprehensive standard measure used to quantify the performance of Britain's passenger railways.
 
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Similar destination-arrival percentages are also compiled where companies operate the Passenger's Charter arrangements for compensating passengers in the event of poor performance.

Temporarily Disabled Drivers

Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made in preparing draft regulations to allow the issuing of temporary badges for drivers with a temporary mobility impairment. [23526]

Ms Buck: Draft regulations incorporating a number of changes to the Blue Badge Scheme, including extending the scheme to people with clearly defined temporary disabilities lasting at least 12 months, are currently being finalised by officials. We will be consulting on these shortly with the intention of implementing the changes early next year.

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