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Yellow Bus Schemes

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the cost of providing a yellow bus scheme (a) in England and (b) for each region. [32449]

Ms Buck: We have not made any estimate of the cost of providing a yellow bus scheme (a) in England and (b) for each region. We know from our evaluation of various small-scale yellow and other dedicated school bus schemes that well-designed schemes have the potential to reduce car dependency for journeys to school and the traffic congestion that results from this. However, care needs to be taken to ensure that they are appropriate to local circumstances and do not reduce levels of walking or cycling or undermine the viability of important bus services available to the wider public.
 
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We therefore want to encourage individual local authorities to consider school bus schemes as part of broader local transport planning and to decide whether or not they would be appropriate to their area.
 
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We are currently funding the MyBus school bus scheme in West Yorkshire. The £18.7 million we are providing over three years is expected to fund the capital cost of 150 dedicated buses.
 
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HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Energy Consumption

Martin Horwood: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what assessment he has made of the average energy consumption of the House of Commons between midnight and 6.30 am; how much of that figure is accounted for by (a) lights, (b) computers, (c) heating, (d) televisions and annunciators and (e) photocopiers; if he will estimate the energy consumed for each category in terms of (i) watts and (ii)metric tonnes of carbon emitted; and what the cost was of each category. [32467]

Nick Harvey: Electricity is purchased on a day/night tariff with the night period metered from midnight to 7am. The average electricity consumption by the House of Commons estate during the night period in 2004–05 was 11,650 kWh, costing on average £600 per night. The metric tonnes equivalent of carbon emissions due to this electricity consumption was 1.363 tonnes. There is no breakdown available of the electricity consumption between lights, computers, annunciators and photocopiers.

Heating is provided by natural gas and the night period is not separately metered. Assuming that 10 per cent. of natural gas consumption occurred during the midnight to 7 am night period, the average gas consumption by the House of Commons during the night period in 2004–05 was 5,090 kWh at a cost of £75.00. The metric tonnes equivalent of carbon emissions due to this natural gas consumption was 0.26 tonnes.

Light Bulbs

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the honourable Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what percentage of the light bulbs used on the House's estate are energy-efficient light bulbs. [32674]

Nick Harvey: 95 per cent. of fluorescent tubes and 70 per cent. of lamps on the parliamentary estate are energy efficient.

Parliamentary Communications Directorate

Martin Horwood: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Parliamentary Communications Directorate; and whether the Parliamentary Communications Directorate follows communications and customer service best practice. [32458]

Nick Harvey: The Parliamentary Communications Directorate (PCD) has been subject to external review in the past and is subject to regular audit. There will be a review of the effectiveness of the new Parliamentary Information and Communication Technology Department (PICT), of which PCD will be part, once it has been established on 1 January 2006 and has been operational for a suitable period of time.
 
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PCD aims to provide good quality communications and customer service. PCD, together with the rest of the House of Commons, has achieved Investors in People (IiP) accreditation and more recently was accredited by the Helpdesk Institute (HDI). PCD is also pursuing service management excellence through the adoption of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework, a government backed framework for organising and managing IT services which is being widely adopted by the private and public sectors both at home and abroad. Customer service training is provided to all customer-facing staff, with plans for this to be updated and re-run in the near future.

Security Barriers

Martin Linton: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will place in the Library the risk assessment conducted prior to the erection of permanent security barriers outside the Palace of Westminster; and if he will make a statement on their effect on road safety, with particular reference to cyclists. [33024]

Nick Harvey: The installation of the security barriers followed full consultation with Westminster city council and Transport for London, who are responsible for road safety for all road users, including cyclists. It is not the Commission's practice to publish papers relating to the security of the Palace.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Antisocial Behaviour

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures the Department plans to put in place as part of the Government's plans to tackle antisocial behaviour. [22468]

Mr. Caborn: My Department and its sectors are helping to address antisocial behaviour through involvement in a range of programmes that encourage participation by target groups in positive activities, including sport and the arts. These include the Positive Activities for Young People programme, Sport Action Zones and the Plus Strategy.

In addition, we anticipate that the Licensing Act 2003, which took effect on 24 November, will have an important role in the prevention of crime and disorder and public nuisance through encouraging a more orderly dispersal of customers bringing in new powers for tackling problem premises.

Casinos

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions officials in her Department have had with the Anschutz Entertainment Group regarding plans for a casino at the site of the Millennium Dome. [32492]

 
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Mr. Caborn: Ministers and officials have had a number of meetings with casino operators interested in securing licences for new casinos under the Gambling Act 2005. These include meetings with representatives of the Anschutz Entertainment Group and Kerzner International, its partner in the development of the Millennium Dome site. At no stage have representatives of these or any other companies received anything other than publicly available information.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received since the general election on increasing the number of regional casino licences. [32493]

Mr. Caborn: We have received a number of letters from local authorities and others in support of an increase in the number of regional casinos permitted by the Gambling Act 2005.

Despite these representations, we do not believe the case has been made for an increase, and we are therefore proceeding with implementation on the basis of the one regional casino specified in the Act.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what provisions and regulations govern the size of the non-gambling space in casinos licensed under the Gambling Act 2005; and whether alcohol sales can take place in the non-gambling spaces. [32494]

Mr. Caborn: Section 7(5) of the Gambling Act 2005 requires the Secretary of State to make regulations by reference to which any casino may be classified as a regional, large or small casino. Regulations under this subsection may make provision by reference to the floor area used or designated for a specified purpose. We set out our intentions in this respect in the Government's response to the First Report of the Joint Committee on the draft gambling Bill (Cm 6253). This information was also reproduced in my previous answer to the right hon. Lady of 18 October 2005, Official Report, column 711W.

Alcohol sales will be permitted in the non-gambling spaces, just as they were under the Gaming Act 1968.

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