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8 Dec 2005 : Column 1463W—continued
Race Equality Impact Assessments
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Race Equality Impact Assessments his Department completed between (a) April 2004 and March 2005 and (b) April 2005 and November 2005; and how many assessments in each period resulted in a change of policy. [32839]
Ms Buck: The Department for Transport is committed to valuing diversity and promoting equality. The Department's Race Equality Scheme 2005–08 covers the activities of the Department and its executive agencies as an employer as well as a policy maker and service provider.
Race Equality Impact Assessments are being completed across all areas of our business. From April 2004 to March 2005 the Department for Transport has completed eight Race Equality Impact Assessments, two of which have resulted in policy changes.
No centrally co-ordinated figures are yet available for the period April 2005 to November 2005 as we collect statistics on an annual basis. These figures will be collected as part of our next race equality data monitoring exercise and published in our 2005–06 Race Equality Report.
Railways
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with rail operating companies about fares. [35484]
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will take steps (a) to re-establish and (b) to improve rail services between Leeds City Centre and the towns and villages in the outlying areas of Leeds metropolitan district council; and if he will make a statement; [33999]
(2) if he will take steps to re-open rail services to East Ardsley. [34000]
Derek Twigg:
There are no plans to re-establish rail services between Leeds city centre and the outlying areas of Leeds metropolitan district council or East Ardsley. The Department nevertheless continues to work with West Yorkshire passenger transport executive which has responsibility for rail services in this area, to secure improvements, based on proposals that show value for money and affordability.
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Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of the impact of the returned rolling stock to the c2c Fenchurch Street line on the availability of seats for commuters entering the line at Benfleet Station; and if he will make a statement; [34818]
(2) if he will make a statement on the return of rolling stock to the c2c Fenchurch Street line; and when stock will be available to commuters. [34819]
Derek Twigg: Of the five units transferred away in May 2004, three returned to service on c2c in September. This allowed capacity increases on three morning and three evening peak services, all of which call at Benfleet. The other two units are due to return to c2c by the end of this month.
Sick Leave
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of his Department's employees who are within one year of the official retirement age are on extended sick leave. [32590]
Ms Buck: The number of employees who are within one year of the official retirement age (age 60) is 424, and the number of those who are on extended sick leave (over 6 months) is 11.
The Department is committed to managing sick absence effectively and to putting in place the recommendations of the 'Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector' report. The DfT Board takes an active interest in the issue of attendance management, and a number of steps have already been taken.
The 'Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector' report covers a requirement for Departments to demonstrate progress against four generic recommendations:
line managers are trained in both systems and procedures and the skills to deal with absence management;
all public sector organisations should review individual cases and case management arrangements for long-term sick absences (e.g. over six months);
departments should consider whether recruitment procedures are robust in terms of pre-employment checks as to an individual's absence record.
The consumption data has been 'weather corrected' by the Building Research Establishment as part of their work in analysing the annual Government energy data.
The Department is on course to meet the target in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate to source at least 10 per cent. electricity from renewable sources by 2008, and a range of actions are currently under way in our HQ buildings, including the commissioning of a Carbon Trust energy audit, to minimise our energy usage. Our executive agencies are undertaking similar actions to meet the energy targets contained in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.
SRA (Former Staff)
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many former Strategic Rail Authority staff have been employed by his Department. [35396]
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Derek Twigg: 161 former SRA staff have been employed by the Department for Transport.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff the Strategic Rail Authority employed prior to its abolition. [35398]
Derek Twigg: As at 31 March 2005, before functions and staff began to transfer to successor organisations, the Strategic Rail Authority employed 404 staff.
Statutory Instruments
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many statutory instruments introduced by his Department had to be (a) withdrawn, (b) amended by a further statutory instrument and (c) reprinted because of defective drafting in each session since 1997; and what steps he (1) is taking and (2) plans to take to prevent this. [34257]
Ms Buck: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 since then no statutory instrument produced by it has been withdrawn or reprinted on account of defective drafting.
The Department's records reveal that in that period 16 statutory instruments have been amended by a further instrument in order to correct defective drafting in an earlier instrument. This number breaks down by parliamentary Session as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 1 |
| 2002–03 | 3 |
| 2003–04 | 5 |
| 2004–05 | 7 |
During this period the Department produced over 520 general statutory instruments.
The Department endeavours to keep the number of defective instruments to a minimum through the provision of training for officials involved in this work and a system involving checking by two lawyers in addition to the principal drafter. The present arrangements are being reviewed.
Tyne and Wear (Financial Bids)
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what payments have been made to Newcastle city council and its partners for the Quayside Transit System, broken down by year. [34378]
Ms Buck: The Department has paid Newcastle city council a total of £7.211 million for the Quayside Public Transport Scheme, broken down by financial year as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 1.050 |
| 2002–03 | 0.526 |
| 2003–04 | 0.708 |
| 2004–05 | 2.110 |
| 2005–06 | 0.317 |
8 Dec 2005 : Column 1466W
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when rail passenger partnership funding for the reopening of the Newcastle-Blyth-Ashington freight line to passenger traffic will be made available. [34379]
Derek Twigg: The Rail Passenger Partnership fund was suspended by the Strategic Rail Authority in January 2003. No new projects have been funded since that date.
US Aircraft
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since 2001 US-registered aircraft tail number (a) N44982, formerly N8068V and N379P and (b) N313P has landed in the United Kingdom; and at which airports. [33246]
Ms Buck: The Department for Transport has no record of these aircraft landing at UK airports, which indicates that if these aircraft landed in the UK they were either not involved in civil commercial transport or that they were stopping for technical purposes, for example, to refuel. As such they would not require the Secretary of State for Transport's permission.
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