Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 28 June 2006
Leader of the House
Access to Parliament
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Leader of the House if he will take steps to ensure that any future plans for Parliament Square and surrounding roads which involve pedestrianisation take into account the need for speedy access to the Palace of Westminster by hon. Members and Peers. [80527]
Correspondence
Mr. Amess: To ask the Leader of the House what the average cost to his Office was of replying to a letter written by (a) an hon. Member and (b) a member of the public in the last period for which figures are available; and how much of that sum is accounted for by (i) officials’ time, (ii) cost of stationery and (iii) postage costs. [80507]
Mr. Straw: The information requested is not held centrally.
The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006, Official Report, column 76WS.
Departmental Finance Directors
Chris Huhne: To ask the Leader of the House what the (a) name, (b) professional and academic qualifications and (c) relevant experience are of the finance director of the Privy Council Office. [80082]
Mr. Straw: HM Treasury and the National Audit Office have agreed that the Privy Council Office, which is a small Department, need not have a professionally qualified finance director. Financial management falls within the responsibilities of the director of corporate services, with professional support from a chartered accountant. A second qualified accountant (FCCA) is a non-executive member of the Department’s Audit and Risk Committee.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Leader of the House if he will make arrangements for the tabling of written parliamentary questions for answer during parliamentary recesses. [79564]
Mr. Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend for Wirral, South (Ben Chapman) on 24 May 2006, Official Report, column 1836W.
Political Party Funding
Philip Davies: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2006, Official Report, column 1057W, on the funding of political parties, when Sir Hayden Phillips is expected to make his report. [79520]
Mr. Straw: As set out in the terms of reference published on 20 March 2006, Sir Hayden Phillips is to report to the Government by the end of December 2006 with recommendations for any changes to the current arrangements.
Transport
Carlisle Northern Development Road
Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role the North West regional assembly will play in determining the priority given to the building of the Carlisle northern development road. [80690]
Dr. Ladyman: We asked the regions to advise us on their priorities for major transport schemes within the indicative regional funding allocations that were announced in July 2005. We are currently considering the North West region’s advice, which the North West regional assembly were involved in determining, on the priority it attaches to the Carlisle northern development route and other major transport schemes in the North West. We hope to announce our response to the region’s advice before the parliamentary summer recess. This scheme is currently assumed to be funded through the private finance initiative (PFI) with only a small element coming from the regional funding allocation. We are currently considering Cumbria’s bid for an increase in PFI funding requirement.
Departmental Finance Directors
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) name, (b) professional and academic qualifications and (c) relevant experience are of the finance director of his Department. [80077]
Gillian Merron: The Department’s finance director is Ken Beeton.
Mr. Beeton is a chartered accountant and was appointed to his current post in March 2003. He worked previously at the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), where he gained relevant experience in a range of financial and policy posts. Before joining DfES, Mr. Beeton worked in the private sector and gained relevant financial experience in insurance, building societies, manufacturing and the accountancy profession.
East Riding
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding for which his Department is responsible has been allocated to the East Riding of Yorkshire council for each year since 1997-98. [80531]
Gillian Merron: The East Riding of Yorkshire council has been allocated nearly £62 million in funding in the local transport capital settlements since 1997-98.
Table 1 shows the funding allocated to The East Riding of Yorkshire council in the local transport capital settlements since 1997-98. The funding allocation includes: the integrated transport block; road maintenance; and approximately £5 million provided in 2003-04 for the replacement of the Dutch River Bridge.
The integrated transport block allocations are available for local authorities to use on road and public transport improvements, according to their local priorities.
Additionally Table 2 sets out the bus subsidies received by The East Riding of Yorkshire council. Funding for rail and trunk roads has not been included as it is not possible to allocate it across any specific constituency.
| Table 1: East Riding of Yorkshire council | |
| Total funding (£000) | |
| Table 2: East Riding of Yorkshire council nature of funding | |||
| (£000) | |||
| Rural bus subsidy grant | Rural bus challenge | Total bus subsidy | |
Foreign-registered Vehicles
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the amount of fines and charges unpaid by the owners of foreign registered vehicles in the UK in each of the past five years. [80827]
Gillian Merron: Information on the amount of fines and charges unpaid by the owners of foreign registered vehicles in the UK in each of the past five years is not collected centrally, and so an estimate could be made only at disproportionate cost.
Parking Act 1989
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the operation of the Parking Act 1989; what recent representations he has received about the operation of this Act; and whether he has plans to amend this Act. [80201]
Gillian Merron: The Parking Act 1989 amended the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to:
(a) allow the use of cashless parking systems in car parks controlled by local authority orders. Originally, such systems had to be type-approved by the Secretary of State but that requirement was repealed by the Deregulation (Parking Equipment) Order 1996;
(b) include provisions on the display of information at off-street parking places; and
(c) modify the offences and proceedings provisions concerning parking places.
We have not received any recent representations about this Act and do not have any current plans to amend it.
Railways
Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress First Great Western trains is making in refurbishing class 43 mark III coaches; and if he will make a statement. [80634]
Derek Twigg: First Great Western (‘FGW’) announced on 5 June 2006 that it had signed two contracts with Bombardier Transportation to the value of £63 million and £85 million for the improvement and overhaul of its High Speed Train fleet. FGW also said that the first of the new-look trains would be in service in November 2006, with all 405 carriages completed by December 2007.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to limit the environmental impact of the Crossrail project. [78612]
Derek Twigg: We are putting a number of mechanisms in place to control the environmental impacts of the construction and operation of Crossrail:
arrangements within the Crossrail Bill for local planning authorities to approve detailed design and construction arrangements;
policies, commitments and undertakings entered into outside the Bill; and
existing legislation, unless expressly or impliedly disapplied or modified by the Crossrail Bill.
In particular, any nominated undertaker will be contractually bound to comply with controls set out in the ‘Environmental Minimum Requirements’—a suite
of documents that is being developed in consultation with local authorities and other relevant stakeholders. The nominated undertaker will also be required to take such opportunities as may be reasonably practicable to reduce significant adverse impacts.
The information paper: ‘DO2 Control of Environmental Impacts’ sets out our approach. A copy of this paper has been placed in the Library and is also available on the Crossrail Bill supporting documents website at:
http://billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment the Government made of the Superlink proposals; and what criteria were used in deciding on the Crossrail option. [78622]
Derek Twigg: The route and service options considered as part of the development of the Crossrail project were appraised in a manner consistent with the Government’s New Approach to Appraisal (NATA). Guidance on applying NATA to projects is provided in the Guidance on the Methodology for Multi-Modal Studies (GOMMMS). The information paper ‘A1 Development of the Crossrail Route’ outlines the alternative Crossrail route options that were considered and the reasons for selecting the preferred scheme. A copy of the paper has been placed in the Library and is also available on the Crossrail Bill supporting documents website at:
http://billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2006, Official Report, column 1629W, on railways, what progress has been made in his examination of the case for establishing a direct rail service from Shrewsbury to London. [80334]
Derek Twigg: The West Coast Main Line Progress Report, published in May 2006, sets out the latest position regarding a direct rail service from Shrewsbury to London. A copy of the report has been placed in the House Library.
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in the development of the Crossrail system; and to what extent the system is to be integrated into the Thames Gateway redevelopment. [79282]
Derek Twigg: The Crossrail Bill—a Bill to provide the powers necessary to build Crossrail—is currently undergoing consideration by a Select Committee in the House of Commons. The overall Bill timetable is a matter for Parliament but we currently expect Royal Assent in 2007.
In parallel with the Bill process, Cross London Rail Links Limited (CLRL) are continuing to develop the Crossrail project and recently appointed Bechtel to act as the project’s development manager.
The Crossrail project would provide two stations within the Thames Gateway area, Custom House and Abbey Wood, which would increase capacity in this area and improve links with central and west London. Abbey Wood would also provide a convenient cross platform interchange with the North Kent line.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains were cancelled in each of the past 12 months, broken down by region. [77783]
Derek Twigg: The following table show the number of all trains cancelled, as a percentage, in the year 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006, by Network Rail route, listed by rail industry four-weekly business reporting period.
| Percentage of cancellations per period by route | ||||||
| National Rail route | PI | P2 | P3 | P4 | P5 | P6 |
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