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13 Dec 2006 : Column 1068W—continued
| 2003-04 | |||
| Agency | Number of temp agency staff | Average time | Longest time |
| 2004-05 | |||
| Agency | Number of temp agency staff | Average time | Longest time |
East Coast Railway Line
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how his Department estimates for planning purposes the number of passengers using the East Coast main line GNER services. [108902]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Franchise Agreement allows us to request passenger counts from the franchise operator.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many seats there are in a GNER Mallard standard class carriage. [108903]
Mr. Tom Harris: The seating capacity in a GNER Mallard standard coach is as follows:
Coaches B, C, D, E, have 76 seats
Coach G has 70 seats (including four tip-up seats)
Coach H has 30 seats (this coach includes the buffet and kitchen)
East London Line
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on the Network Rail services into London Bridge of the extension of the East London Line in 2010. [108432]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Department has worked closely with the East London Line (ELL) project team and with Network Rail to ensure that it will be possible to deliver satisfactory levels of service from south London to both London Bridge and ELL destinations when ELL commences operations.
The direct journey opportunities offered by the extended ELL services are expected to enable significant numbers of passengers to avoid the need to travel from south to east London via London Bridge, thus easing congestion at that busy station.
Fareham-Gosport-Portsmouth Light Rapid Transit Scheme
Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what tests were applied in judging the viability of the Fareham-Gosport-Portsmouth Light Rapid Transit scheme; and by what measures the scheme fell short of each such test. [105541]
Mr. Tom Harris: This scheme was appraised in accordance with our published guidance on appraising public transport schemes. Value for money is one of a range of factors Ministers consider when taking decisions. Funding approval was subsequently revoked in July 2004 because costs had escalated considerably.
Foreign Lorry Drivers
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many foreign lorry drivers have been involved in an accident on British roads in the last12 months; how many were taken to court; and how many failed to turn up for the trial. [107002]
Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is not available.
Kent Rail Services
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on fare increases on the Kent Integrated Franchise for 2007. [108563]
Mr. Tom Harris: A number of letters have been received from members of the public about fares changes on Southeastern.
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of the condition of the track on the performance of the North Kent rail services on 7 December; and if he will make a statement. [108811]
Mr. Tom Harris: This is an operational matter for Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to his question.
John Armitt
Chief Executive
Network Rail
40 Melton Street
London NW1 2EE
Low Carbon Vehicles
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) local and (b) national targets have been set by his Department for the uptake of low carbon vehicles in the public and private sectors since 1997; and what progress against each target has been made. [108661]
Gillian Merron [holding answer 12 December 2006]: DfT has not set local targets for uptake of low carbon vehicles.
The Powering Future Vehicles Strategy set national targets of 10 per cent. of all new car sales to be cars emitting 100g/km of CO2 or less at the tailpipe by 2012 and 600 or more buses coming into operation per year to be low carbon, defined as 30 per cent. below current average carbon emissions, by 2012. These targets are currently under review.
The European voluntary agreements on new car fuel efficiency require European, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers to reduce average new car CO2 emissions by some 25 per cent. from 1995 levels by 2008-09. In 2004 (the latest year for which EU-level data is available), average CO2 emissions from new cars sold in the EU were down by more than 12 per cent.
Official Cars
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) Government pool cars and (b) cars run by his Department were manufactured(i) in the UK and (ii) abroad. [104810]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on cars operated by the Government Car and Despatch Agency, an agency of the Department for Transport, is available on page 14 of its annual report and accounts 2005-06, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
Aside from the GCDA fleet, the Department and its other agencies have 843 cars. Of these, 134 were manufactured in the UK and 709 were manufactured abroad.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what sanctions are available against (a) special advisers, (b) ministers and (c) other civil servants if special advisers make use of official cars or taxis in circumstances which are not permitted; [107893]
(2) in what circumstances special advisers may use an official car or taxi; [107973]
(3) on how many occasions since 1997 his Department has taken action against (a) special advisers, (b) Ministers and (c) other civil servants for permitting special advisers to use official cars or taxis in circumstances that are not within his Department's guidelines; and if he will make a statement. [107984]
Dr. Ladyman: Guidance on the use and provision of Government cars is set out in the Ministerial Code and ‘Travel by Ministers’. Guidance on the use and provision of official cars and taxis by civil servants, including special advisers, is set out in the civil service management code and departmental staff handbooks. It is for individual Ministers and their Departments to account for the use of official cars and taxis.
Oyster Card
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2006, Official Report, column 412W, on fares technology, whether he expects smart card schemes outside London to be compatible with the Transport for London Oyster card. [108927]
Dr. Ladyman: The current Oyster card is not currently compatible with interoperable smartcard schemes using the ITSO standard being introduced elsewhere.
Research undertaken by the Department for Transport has demonstrated that it is possible for the Oyster card to be modified so that it can be used for ITSO standard ticketing. Decisions on the future of the Oyster card are for the Mayor of London.
As announced jointly with the Mayor of London on 10 May 2006, Transport for London has agreed to work with the Department to ensure that all Oyster equipment in London is capable of accepting ITSO smartcards.
Rail Overcrowding
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the five most overcrowded train services were outside London in the last 12 months. [108904]
Mr. Tom Harris: Passengers in Excess of Capacity (PIXC) only applies to weekday commuter trains arriving in London between 07:00 and 09:59 and those departing between 16:00 and 18:59.
The PIXC measure does not apply to other cities in the UK and so the information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Railway Security
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many passengers have been removed from trains for threatening staff or other passengers in each of the last ten years; [108923]
(2) how many passengers have been removed from trains for being drunk in each of the last ten years. [108924]
Mr. Tom Harris: This information is not held by the Department for Transport but by the British Transport Police, who can be contacted at:
British Transport Police
25 Camden Road
London NW1 9LN
E-mail: general.enquiries@btp.pnn.police.uk.
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