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19 Apr 2006 : Column 697W—continued
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Correspondence
Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she will reply to the letters dated (a) 27 October 2005, (b) 30 January 2006 and (c) 9 February 2006 from the hon. Member for Brent, East on access to legal help for Mrs. French-Walsh. [64280]
Ms Harman: The Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, East (Bridget Prentice), responded to the hon. Member's letters of 30 January and 9 February on 7 March. A copy has been forwarded to her. My Department has no record of receiving her letter of 27 October.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what proportion of (a) staff and (b) new staff employed in (i) her Department and (ii) each of the agencies for which she has responsibility were registered as disabled in each of the last three years for which data is available. [61375]
Ms Harman: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the Civil Service by Department. These include data on the number of staff in departments who have declared a disability.
Declaration of a disability is voluntary.
The latest available information at April 2004 is available in the Library and on the Civil Service website and the following addresses: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/publications/xls/disability_ apr04_4nov04.xls for data relating to 1 April 2004, and http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/archive/index.asp for previous reporting periods.
Electoral Registration (West Lancashire)
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of young people in West Lancashire were not on the electoral register in (a) 1997, (b) 2001 and (c) 2005; and what steps her Department is taking to increase the proportion registered. [64114]
Bridget Prentice:
Other than for those due to turn 18 before the next statutory annual publication of the register, electoral registers in the UK do not identify the age of electors and no record is kept of categories of electors upon that basis. The Electoral Administration Bill currently before Parliament includes a new duty on electoral registration officers to take all necessary steps to ensure comprehensive registers. The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) is actively working with committed organisations to promote awareness of voter registration at the national and local levels, in particular it has delivered a pan-London campaign ("1824
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Collective") directed at London's 'urban youth'. Lessons learnt from these initiatives will be used to inform the DCA's ongoing programme of work in democratic engagement (which includes raising voter registration levels). At present, DCA is working with the Department for Education and Skills, student unions, universities and colleges and local authorities to encourage eligible student populations to register to vote. It is hoped that the introduction of 'citizenship' into the school curriculum will prove to be a major step in raising awareness of young people in the democratic process and can be expected to develop further over time.
FIFA World Cup
Mr. Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many complimentary tickets her Department has received for games taking place at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. [63910]
Bridget Prentice: The Department for Constitutional Affairs has not received any complimentary tickets for World Cup matches taking place in Germany this summer.
Legal Aid
Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discussions she has had with the Legal Services Commission on recovering payments from legal aid solicitors. [62751]
Ms Harman: It is the duty of the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to recover payments owed to it by solicitors when it is appropriate to do so, and forms part of its normal operational function.
Statutory Measures (EU)
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what percentage of statutory measures passed between (a) 1998 and 2004 and (b) 1 May 2004 and 1 May 2006 had their origin in (i) EU regulations, (ii) EU directives and (iii) other EU legislation. [64267]
Ms Harman: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
TRANSPORT
Buses
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving buses were recorded in England in each year since 1997, broken down by region. [63977]
Dr. Ladyman:
The number of personal injury road accidents, involving at least one bus 1 between 1997 and 2004 (the latest year for which data is available) is given in the table.
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(26) Buses including coaches
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bus services operated in Taunton constituency for each year since 1997. [64071]
Dr. Ladyman: The information is available only at disproportionate costs.
Car Sharing
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) financial and (b) other measures he is taking to promote car sharing; and if he will make a statement. [63566]
Dr. Ladyman: The Government encourages local authorities to promote car sharing through a range of initiatives, including:
Researching and disseminating publications such as "Making car sharing and car clubs work" and "Making Smarter Choices Work"; and
Encouraging the inclusion of car sharing and car club schemes in the Local Transport Plans that local authorities submitted on 31 March this year.
It is not possible however to disaggregate from these projects the amount spent specifically on car sharing.
Through the Highways Agency, the Government are also taking direct measures to encourage and facilitate car sharing. This includes implementing workplace travel plans on the strategic road network and piloting the use of dedicated car share lanes.
Climate Change
Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what input his Department had into the preparation of Cm 6764, "Climate Change: The UK Programme 2006" in respect of (a) aircraft passenger travel, (b) aircraft freight transport, (c) road passenger transport and (d) road freight transport. [64303]
Dr. Ladyman:
The Department for Transport was fully involved with all stages of the preparation of "Climate Change: The UK Programme 2006". As part of this, the Department was an active member of the Climate Change Project Board, the Sustainable Energy Policy Network and the Interdepartmental Analysts Group.
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As a result of the transport measures in this and the previous Climate Change Programme, carbon emissions will be reduced by 6.8 million tonnes, 13 per cent. lower than they would have been had we not acted at all.
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