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2 Nov 2006 : Column 564W—continued
Departmental IT
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of his Department’s databases are (a) wholly and (b) partly operated by external organisations or individuals; and which organisations and individuals own those databases. [97749]
Gillian Merron: The following Department for Transport databases are wholly or partly operated by external organisations or individuals:
| Database | External operator | Owner | Wholly | Partly |
|
RAMTED-Accidents and incidents involving transport of radioactive material | ||||
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which databases operated by his Department are located (a) wholly and (b) partly outside the UK; and where each of those databases and parts of databases is located. [97750]
Gillian Merron: The only Department for Transport database located outside the UK is the Driving Standards Agency Driving Theory Test. It is wholly owned and operated by Pearson VUE and the data centre is located in Ohio City, Ohio with a backup based in Minneapolis, USA.
Departmental Travel
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent by his Department on (a) chartering aircraft and (b) non-scheduled air travel in each of the last five years. [96228]
Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport and three of its agencies, HA, GCDA and MCA do not record chartered and non-scheduled flights separately from other air travel. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Department’s remaining agencies, DSA, DVLA, VCA, and VOSA have used only scheduled flights in the last five years.
In respect of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all overseas visits undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Where non-scheduled aircraft are used, this is shown in the list. Information for 2005-06 was published on 24 July 2006. Copies of the lists are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the “Ministerial Code” and “Travel by Ministers”, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members. All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the “Civil Service Management Code”, a copy of which is also available in the Library for the reference of Members.
Departmental Vacancies
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of vacancies in his Department in the last 12 months required candidates to have at least a grade C in (a) English and (b) mathematics GCSE. [96737]
Gillian Merron: In the past 12 months DFT (central) has run two external campaigns requesting GCSEs. One of these asked for a grade C in maths and English and the other recruitment exercise required five GCSEs at grade C or above with no subjects specified.
VOSA have run 50 external recruitment campaigns in the last 12 months, where they have required grade C in English but with no requirement for maths. If candidates do not have the required qualification in English, they are required to have two years admin experience instead.
The other Executive agencies of DFT have not requested GCSE qualifications in their recruitment exercises of the past 12 months. Posts advertised to internal staff only do not have GCSE qualifications as a requirement as employees would already have the necessary skills set.
East Coast Main Line
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the planned upgrading of the East Coast Main Line, with particular reference to improved station facilities at Peterborough. [97515]
Mr. Tom Harris: Network Rail is reviewing a number of upgrade and enhancement options for the East Coast Main Line.
There are currently proposals to develop the station facilities at Peterborough as part of a wider commercial development although the plans are at an early stage.
Eddington Review
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects Sir Rod Eddington to publish his review of British transport policy. [97829]
Mr. Tom Harris: Sir Rod Eddington’s transport study looks at the long-term impact of transport decisions on the UK’s productivity, stability and growth, within the context of Government’s commitment to sustainable development. He will publish his advice around the time of the pre-Budget report.
Infrastructure
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent by his Department on capital investment in transport infrastructure in each of the last 10 years. [99137]
Gillian Merron: The Department has spent the following capital investment on roads, rail and local transport infrastructure in accordance with its departmental annual report 2006:
| £ million | |
Figures for previous years cannot be provided on a comparable basis.
International GCSE
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department recognises the International GCSE as an acceptable substitute for a GCSE for the purposes of recruitment. [96868]
Gillian Merron: The Department and its Executive agencies have never been presented with this qualification. If GCSEs were a requirement for some recruitment exercises and this qualification was provided, the Department or agency concerned may possibly consider this as a substitute, but we would need to seek further advice from the QCA as to the content of the qualification.
Rail Freight
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much freight was transported by rail in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [98271]
Mr. Tom Harris: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 31 October 2006, Official Report, columns 301-2W.
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