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28 Nov 2006 : Column 514W—continued
Bembridge Harbour Improvement Company
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what response he has received from the Bembridge Harbour Improvement Company to his letter reminding them of their obligations to file accounts with his Department. [105835]
Concessionary Fares Scheme
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much each (a) district and (b) unitary council in Hampshire has allocated for the National Concessionary Fares Scheme in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08; how much will be covered by Government grant; and if he will make a statement. [101424]
Gillian Merron: From April this year, older and disabled people have been guaranteed free off-peak local bus travel within their local authority area. The Government provided an extra £350 million in 2006-07 and will provide a further £367.5 million in 2007-08 to fund the extra costs to local authorities. The funding for concessionary fares is provided through formula grant and is unhypothecated; therefore it is not separately identified for each local authority. Expenditure by local authorities on the statutory element of their local concessionary fare schemes entitlement is not held centrally.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to extending concessionary fares for pensioners to modes of public transport other than buses. [101670]
Gillian Merron: There are no current plans to extend the statutory bus concession to other forms of public transport. Local authorities have the discretion to vary their local schemes to include other modes. Many local authorities choose to do so, such decisions being based on their judgment of local need and their overall financial priorities. Any decision to extend the national entitlement would have to be fully funded and would require careful consideration of its full impact on the industry in question.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what costings he has undertaken of extending concessionary fares for pensioners to (a) trams, (b) local rail services, (c) domestic ferry services and (d) other non-bus modes of public transport. [101671]
Gillian Merron: Initial analysis suggests that the estimated annual cost of extending the statutory minimum to: (a) trams would be in the order of £15 million, (b) local rail around £250 million, (c) domestic ferries, no estimate, and (d) extending to community transport at least £25 million.
The Department is providing an extra £15 million per year to fund a half-fare concessionary coach scheme.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from (a) hon. Members and (b) others about the extension of concessionary fares for pensioners to non-bus modes of public transport. [101722]
Gillian Merron:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have received about 40 letters from hon. Members as well as letters from members of the public
about extending the statutory bus concession to other forms of public transport over the last two years. Ministers and officials, routinely meet with stakeholder groups to discuss concessionary fares policy.
Departmental Statistics
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which statistics have been put forward by his Department for consideration to become new national statistics in each of the last five years; and how many statistics sets his Department has produced in total in each of the last five years. [101642]
Gillian Merron: The current list of National Statistics produced by Department for Transport can be found on the National Statistics website at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/ns_ons/nsproducts/default.asp
A list of changes to the scope of National Statistics (additions and withdrawals) in each of the last five years can be found in the relevant National Statistics annual report available on the National Statistics website at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1051
In addition to National Statistics, the Department for Transport publishes a wide range of other numerical information in a variety of forms including other data produced from the management and administration of the Department and in research reports. There is no consistent definition of the term “statistics sets” and no centrally held information on the total published in each year on this basis.
Eddington Report
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects Sir Rod Eddington to publish his review of British transport policy. [102672]
Gillian Merron: 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.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Eddington Review has cost; and how much was budgeted for the Review. [102742]
Gillian Merron: The Eddington Transport Study will be published around the time of the pre-Budget report. Final costs will be made available after the Eddington study team has completed its work.
Government Car Fleet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether special advisers have access to transport provided by the Government Car Fleet in their own capacity if they are not accompanying a Government Minister. [102716]
Dr. Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 7 November 2006, Official Report, column 1063W.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Ministers were provided with cars by the Government Car Fleet in (a) 1996-97 and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available. [102721]
Dr. Ladyman: The Government Car Service provided 86 allocated cars and drivers for ministerial use during 2005-06, the most recent year for which figures are available. Figures for 1996-97 are not available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Highways Agency
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the level was of (a) traffic, (b) carbon dioxide emissions and (c) road traffic accidents (i) predicted before and (ii) recorded after construction of each Highways Agency scheme since 1997. [102657]
Dr. Ladyman: The Highways Agency is currently working on updating tables which will provide current information available on traffic, carbon dioxide and road traffic accidents. This work is expected to be completed in December.
I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested when it is available and place a copy of my letter in the Libraries of the House.
Park and Ride Schemes
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what policies his Department has implemented to encourage the introduction of park and ride schemes; and if he will make a statement. [100913]
Gillian Merron: The Department has provided a framework for local authorities, which encourages the introduction of park and ride schemes, consistent with local priorities and policies. Policy priorities for local transport plans are set out in “Full Guidance on Local Transport Plans”, published in December 2004, by the Department. The guidance identifies tackling congestion as one of four key policy priorities and indicates parking policies are part of the means that local authorities should consider.
The Department has also provided substantial resources for local authorities to invest in local transport improvements including park and ride. For the first year five year plan period (2001-02 to 2005-06) it allocated approximately £2.9 billion to local authorities outside London for investment in integrated transport improvements.
This investment has led to the opening of more than 55 new park and ride sites and extensions to more than 80 others between 2001-02 and 2004-05.
Public Transport
Mr. Andrew Turner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of public transport (a) journeys and (b) passenger miles were taken by (i) local bus, (ii) non-local bus and coach, (iii) local train services, (iv) non-local train services, (v) tram, (vi) taxi, (vii) domestic ferry services, (viii) domestic air services
and (ix) other modes of transport in the latest period for which figures are available. [101672]
Gillian Merron: The following table shows data for 2005 on the percentage of public transport (a) trips (or journeys) and (b) distance travelled by main mode of transport in Great Britain.
| Proportion of public transport trips and distance by main mode in GB: 2005 | ||
| Percentage | ||
| Trips | Distance | |
| Source: DfT National Travel Survey | ||
Railways
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the One Railway has paid to the Exchequer since it obtained the East Coast franchise. [103062]
Mr. Tom Harris: Details of payments and premiums from all franchised train operators are set out in National Rail Trends, copies of which are in the Library of the House. Premium payments from London Eastern Railway (One) are stated as £45 million in 2004-05 and £55.6 million in 2005-06.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many companies bid for the East Coast franchise. [103063]
Mr. Tom Harris: Four bids were received for the current East Coast franchise.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether One Railway's refurbishments to rolling stock have been in line with the conditions set out in the franchise. [103065]
Mr. Tom Harris: “One” rolling stock refurbishments are being delivered in line with the franchise commitments contained in the franchise agreement.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether penalties can be imposed on One Railway for (a) specific breaches of its franchise contract and (b) low overall performance levels; [103067]
(2) whether penalties have been imposed on One Railway for individual service failures. [103068]
Mr. Tom Harris:
There is no specific obligation within the ‘One’ Franchise Agreement to allow penalties to be imposed. However, an enforcement notice may be served requiring a remedial plan,
notifying the steps that will be taken to secure or facilitate compliance, to be provided.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions One Railway has failed to fulfil its levels of service as set out in the franchise contract. [103069]
Mr. Tom Harris: ‘One’ has failed to meet a service benchmark on 17 occasions since June 2005. This relates to the number of cancelled services. As required by the Franchising Agreement, ‘One’ put together a corrective plan of actions that has been the subject of a number of discussions with my officials to monitor progress.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what capacity arrangements were included in the new franchise agreement with South West Trains for the provision of (a) toilets and (b) seats; whether restrictions were imposed on the extent to which the capacity of these services could be reduced; and if he will make a statement. [103085]
Mr. Tom Harris: A programme of rolling stock modification is already under way as part of the existing South West Trains franchise. It includes the removal of some seats from some trains to provide more standing room.
The invitation to tender for the new franchise asked bidders to provide details of how they intended to cope with further growth in passenger numbers. The successful bid submitted by Stagecoach South Western (SSW) included incentives for passengers to travel outside peak periods and further rolling stock modifications to cater for those unable to do so. Discussions between SSW and the rolling stock owners are continuing.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the financial stability of rail franchises. [104506]
Mr. Tom Harris: The deliverability of Franchise proposals is assessed at contract award. The financial position of franchises is kept under review throughout the contract.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on the National Train Passenger Survey in each year since 1997-98; and what funding is planned for the next three financial years. [102653]
Mr. Tom Harris: The National Passenger Survey was set up in 1999. The following table outlines how much has been spent on the survey in each financial year since then, inclusive of VAT.
| £ | |
| Cost | |
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