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10 Jan 2006 : Column 492W—continued
Departmental Expenditure
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many widescreen televisions have been purchased by his Department for use in London Headquarters in each of the last five years; and what the cost was in each year. [39137]
Ms Buck: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Staff
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2005, Official Report, column 1150W, on train operating companies, what the size is of the specialist team within his Department continuously managing the franchise contracts with train operating companies. [39374]
Derek Twigg: The Rail Service Delivery Directorate, which manages the delivery of rail franchises within the Department, consists of 77 posts. 43 are directly involved with the management of franchise delivery.
Docklands Light Railway
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2005, Official Report, column 2299W, on the Docklands Light Railway, what assessment he has made of the merit of bringing forward from 2009 the in-service date for increased capacity on the Docklands Light Railway. [40821]
Ms Buck: The upgrades to the Docklands Light Railway are the responsibility of Transport for London and the London Mayor. The planned upgrade to three car services on some sections of the Docklands Light Railway will require works at affected stations, to ensure that all platforms can accommodate the longer trains. On this basis, 2009 remains the preferred date for the introduction into service of the longer trains.
Light Rail Schemes
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria he used to assess the competence of (a) the Greater Manchester passenger transport executive, (b) Merseytravel and (c) Nottinghamshire passenger transport executive to develop and run a light rail scheme. [35259]
Derek Twigg:
In deciding whether to approve light rail schemes, the Department takes account of a number of factors, including value for money, the proposed contractual structure, financial and other risks, and deliverability. The competence of the authority in question is not separately assessed but can be relevant to the considerations noted above.
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London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the operation of sections 4 to 19 of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003. [39707]
Ms Buck: The London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003 ("the Act") resulted from a private bill jointly promoted by the Association of London Government (ALG), the City of Westminster and Transport for London (TfL). The operation of the Act under sections 4–19 (the whole of Part II) is a matter the ALG, TfL and the London boroughs. For more information contact:
Parking Fines
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the total value of unpaid parking fines was in each year since 1997; [38457]
(2) what the total revenue raised by parking fines has been in each year since 2001. [38607]
Paul Goggins: I have been asked to reply.
Information on unpaid parking fines and the revenue raised from parking summary offences is not available centrally.
The information collected by the Home Office identifies the number of fixed penalties ordered to be paid and the number and amounts of court-imposed fines issued for such offences. Not all fines and fixed penalties will have been paid.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs currently estimates the overall payment rate for fines in general to be 80 per cent. It is not possible to establish accurately the total value of unpaid parking fines.
Under the Road Traffic Act 1991, Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) powers allow local authorities to take over responsibility for enforcing parking contraventions from the police. Data on Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) from individual local authorities operating Decriminalised Parking Enforcement was first published in the Home Office publication 'Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales 2002 Supplementary tables'. The latest publication detailing 2003 information lists data by local authorities partaking in the scheme, [Tables 22(a) -22(b) refers], a copy of which is available in the Library. This publication can also be accessed on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics (RDS) website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm
Railways
Mr. Hollobone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with officials from the Growth Areas Directorate of
10 Jan 2006 : Column 494W
the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister about the reinstatement of passenger rail services to link Kettering to Corby. [39786]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 9 January 2006]: Discussions were held with the ODPM in 2005 which resulted in the East Midlands Development Agency providing a grant of £200,000 to carry out a detailed study of the technical feasibility of restoring rail passenger services to Corby. Catalyst Corby has commissioned Network Rail to carry out the study and work is now under way.
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the performance of Arriva Trains Wales on the Wales and Borders network since 2003. [40244]
Derek Twigg: The Arriva Trains Wales performance figures since 2003 are published in 'National Rail Trends', a copy of which is available in the Library.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many miles of track have been repaired in each year since 1997; and how many miles of track are awaiting repair; [38460]
(2) how many miles of track have been (a) commissioned and (b) decommissioned in each year since 1997; [38465]
(3) how many new miles of railway track have been commissioned for installation in each of the next five years. [38468]
Derek Twigg: Maintenance and renewal of the national rail network is the responsibility of Network Rail (NR). I have asked NR to respond directly to the hon. Member.
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the morning peak (a) annual passenger count for use of Leeds Station and (b) passengers in excess of capacity figure for trains entering (i) Leeds and (ii) London was in each of the last 10 years. [38720]
Derek Twigg: Information on the numbers of passengers arriving at Leeds station in the morning peak is not held by the Department. The Passengers in Excess of Capacity (PIXC) regime applies only to London and so PIXC figures for Leeds are not available. The figures for London are set out in the National Rail Trends Yearbook, a copy of which is available in the House Library.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many kilometres of railway track there are in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) each of the English regions and (d) Northern Ireland; and how many kilometres are (i) double or multiple-track and (ii) electrified in each case; [39211]
(2) how many (a) kilometres of track and (b) railway junctions in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) each of the English regions and (iv) Northern Ireland are controlled by (A) colour light signal systems, (B) radio-electronic token signals and (C) mechanical semaphore signals; [39212]
(3) how much track in kilometres in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) each of the English regions and (d) Northern Ireland has electronic train protection. [39213]
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Derek Twigg: Operation of the rail network in Great Britain is the responsibility of Network Rail (NR) and I have asked NR to write direct to the hon. Member. Railways in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Office.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans South Eastern trains has to increase fares for passengers in 2006. [39261]
Derek Twigg: In line with current fares regulation, South Eastern Trains will increase their regulated fares by 1 per cent. above inflation in 2006. The unregulated fares, which are set by the Train Operating Company and are not linked to inflation have increased by an average of 3.1 per cent.
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the final decision on the frequency of trains during the rush hour on the Hayes line as a result of the consultation conducted by the Strategic Rail Authority. [39172]
Derek Twigg: The Integrated Kent Franchise has now been awarded to London and South Eastern Railway Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Govia) and it is for the new operator to develop and agree a detailed timetable with Network Rail. The new franchise commences on 1 April 2006.
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