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12 Dec 2005 : Column 1615W—continued
Braintree Bypass
Mr. Newmark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what was the (a) total construction cost and (b) cost per mile of the dual carriageway Braintree bypass in 1989; and if he will express those costs at present day prices; [35609]
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(2) what was the construction cost of the (a) crossing of the London to Liverpool Street railway line and (b) crossing of the River Brain required by the Braintree bypass in 1989; and if he will express those costs at present day prices. [35610]
Dr. Ladyman: These roads were constructed by Essex county council as local highway authority.
Coastguards
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make long service medals available to professional coastguards. [36709]
Dr. Ladyman: There are currently no plans to recommend a change. The intention of the Coastguard Auxiliary Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is to reward long and faithful service by volunteers.
Consultants
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list departmental projects conducted by consultants in each year since 2000; what the cost was in each case; and what the total cost of employing consultants was in each year. [29062]
Ms Buck: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 7 December 2005, Official Report, column 1315W, given to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake).
Departmental Expenditure
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Department and its agencies have spent on (a) the design and production of new logos and (b) employing external (i) public relations and (ii) graphic design agencies in each year since 2000, broken down by project. [33225]
Ms Buck: For details of how much the Department for Transport spent on design and production of new logos since 2000, I refer the hon. Member to the reply to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 25 October 2005, Official Report, column 236W, which details the cost of branding. Separating out the individual costs of design and production of new logos could be done only at disproportionate cost.
For details of expenditure on employing external public relations, I refer the hon. Member to the reply to the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) on 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 146W, which details the spend on external media relations since the Department for Transport formed in 2002–03.
The provision of the remaining information requested—the costs of external media relations and expenditure on graphic design agencies by project—could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Research
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research projects commissioned by his Department are being undertaken; and what the publication arrangements are in each case. [32990]
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Ms Buck: Details of research contracts awarded by DfT(c) are posted on the DfT website and are accessible, through the research database, at http://www.rmd.dft.gov.uk/. Publication arrangements are as shown under the science class of the DfT Publication Scheme (see extract at end). While delivery mechanisms may vary in Highways Agency and Maritime and Coastguard Agency, both agencies have adopted arrangements based on similar principles to the DfT(c) .
DVLA
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 562W, on the DVLA, what percentage of complaints were subsequently reopened after the substantive response had been despatched in each year from 1997–98 to 2004–05. [36390]
Dr. Ladyman: DVLA does not keep statistics on the number of complaints that have been subsequently reopened following a substantive response.
Early Retirement
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of his Department's employees have taken early retirement in each year since1997. [34044]
Ms Buck: The Department was created on 29 May 2002 and the numbers of employees who have taken early retirement in each year since then are shown in the table:
| Number of employees | |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 57 |
| 2003 | 50 |
| 2004 | 105 |
The figures include those who have retired voluntarilywith an actuarially reduced pension, those who have retired with benefits under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme and those who have retired on ill-health grounds.
Forest of Dean
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on public transport services in the Forest of Dean. [36248]
Ms Buck: It is for Gloucestershire county council, the local transport authority, in consultation with members of the community, key stakeholders and partners (including Forest of Dean district council), to determine local transport priorities and the provision of services.
Transport priorities are brought forward to Ministers through the Local Transport Plan process and my officials are currently assisting the local authority in the development of the second Local Transport Plan for Gloucestershire county council. During the first round of Local Transport Plans funding for the area increased from £15.78 million in 2000–01 to £17.49million in 2005–06.
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I understand that Gloucestershire county council already commits £1.6 million of its budget and disburses £1.1 million of Rural Bus Subsidy Grant from central Government to ensure the operation of bus services. Within the last year, bus patronage in the area has increased between 2 and 30 per cent. (and up to 50 per cent. on one route). The network of services in the Forest of Dean now carries substantially higher numbers of passengers at a lower subsidy cost.
I welcome these improvements and look forward to working with the authority as they build on their public transport strategy in their second Local Transport Plan.
Free Off-peak Bus Travel
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pensioners in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley will qualify for free off-peak local bus travel. [36773]
Ms Buck: The number of residents aged 60 or over who will qualify for free off-peak local bus travel from April 2006 are:
Highways Agency
Mr. Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria the Highways Agency uses when assessing the impact of transport schemes on (a) commercial and (b) residential property; and what weighting is given to (i) the preservation of established residential properties and (ii) recent commercial developments. [35756]
Dr. Ladyman: The Highways Agency when assessing the impact of transport schemes takes into account both the natural and human environments. This includes consideration of the impacts schemes may have on both residential and commercial properties. The Agency makes every effort to avoid the majority of properties within a given area, in order to reduce the potential impacts of new routes on local towns and villages. However, it is not always possible to find a perfect solution.
The detailed appraisal of transport schemes is undertaken in accordance with the Department for Transport's web-based transport analysis guidance (WebTAG; http://www.webtag.org.uk). The guidance does not provide weighting which distinguishes between established residential property and commercial developments.
Mr. Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines he has issued to the Highways Agency on timely response to statements of objection which arise from public consultations; and what upper limit for an acceptable response time he has set. [35758]
Dr. Ladyman:
All statements received by the Highways Agency in response to public consultations are logged and assessed. All responses which require a reply are dealt with within 15 working days, either by a full or an interim reply. Where an interim reply is sent, this is followed up by a more detailed reply when information has been gathered.
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All comments are summarised in a public consultation report which forms part of the decision process that identifies a preferred route.
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