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13 Dec 2006 : Column 1073W—continued
Railway Track
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of railway track have been replaced in each of the last ten years. [108922]
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
Railways Franchises
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) franchise premiums are due to his Department and (b) subsidies are payable to each rail franchise for each of the next 10 years or the remainder of the franchise. [108967]
Mr. Tom Harris: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 6 November 2006, Official Report, columns 683-84W.
Road Accidents
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents involving one or more hit-and-run (a) drivers and (b) riders there were in each police force area in each year from 1997 to 2004; and how many (i) fatalities, (ii) serious injuries and (iii) other injuries resulted from those accidents. [104409]
Dr. Ladyman: Tables showing personal injury road accidents reported to the police involving one or more hit-and-run (a) drivers and (b) riders in each police force area in each year from 1997 to 2004; and the resulting (i) fatalities, (ii) serious injuries and (iii) slight injuries, have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues in the Home Office on the provision of face-to-face support for road crash victims. [108718]
Dr. Ladyman: I have had a number of discussions recently with ministerial colleagues in the Home Office on matters of road safety and the role of the police in enforcing traffic law in support of road safety. We have not specifically discussed the support for road accident victims and their families.
South West Trains
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated premium payment to the Exchequer is by South West Trains over the life of its franchise. [108699]
Mr. Tom Harris: Stagecoach is contracted to pay a net premium of £1.577 billion over the life of the South West franchise in 2006-07 prices to the Department for Transport. This equates to a net present value of £1.191 billion. The annual profile of these figures is available on the DfT website.
Waterloo to Reading Railway Line
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his plans are for future capacity on the Waterloo to Reading railway line. [108698]
Mr. Tom Harris: Stagecoach, the successful bidder for the South Western franchise, has committed to increasing capacity in the new franchise. Details of the allocation of the capacity increases are still to be finalised, but Stagecoach will announce its proposals in due course. However, it is recognised that the Windsor lines are crowded at peak times and that will need to be addressed.
Constitutional Affairs
Boundary Commission
Jim Dowd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs who the members are of the Boundary Commission for England; what qualifications are required for appointment to the Commission; and what criteria are used to appoint members. [108431]
Bridget Prentice: The Chairman of the Boundary Commission is the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Deputy Chairman is the Honourable Mr. Justice Sullivan, and the two other Boundary Commissioners are Michael Lewer, CBE, QC, and Robin Gray.
The position of Chairman of the Boundary Commission is ex officio for the Speaker of the House of Commons. The Deputy Chairman must be a High Court judge. There are no specific qualifications required for the other Boundary Commissioner positions.
There are no statutory criteria for appointments to the Boundary Commission for England. Prospective appointees will generally be expected to provide evidence of an ability to: understand and apply legislation; give objective consideration to sometimes lengthy representations, many of which will express conflicting views; and deliver recommendations supported by sound reasoning.
Departmental Entertaining
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of27 November 2006, Official Report, column 343W, on the Lord Chancellor (functions), how many functions the Lord Chancellor has held at his official residence in Admiralty House since taking up residence; and at how many of those functions staff from her Department assisted. [108476]
Ms Harman: Since taking up residence on11 October 2006, there have been seven functions. Staff from the Department assisted at four of them.
Family Courts
Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether it is her Department’s policy not to consider any proposals for reform of family courts which contravene the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. [108695]
Ms Harman: The Government are committed to implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in all of its policies. The UN Convention and the principles it enshrines have been and continue to be taken into account when formulating policy.
Gershon Review
Dr. Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what efficiency savings have been made in her Department and agencies as a result of the Gershon review; and if she will make a statement. [108360]
Vera Baird: The latest figures are contained within my Department’s autumn performance report and consist of £204.9 million of financial savings, 581 full-time equivalent staff reductions and 85 relocated posts.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent by her Department and its associated public bodies in order to achieve Gershon efficiency savings; whether these costs have been taken account of in reporting of headline efficiency savings; and if she will make a statement. [108361]
Vera Baird: We do not hold this information centrally and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Sir Peter Gershon’s independent report into public sector efficiency did not require that efficiencies be recorded net of up-front investment costs and the Department for Constitutional Affairs has followed this advice.
Litigants in Person
John Hemming: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 29 November 2006, Official Report, column 764W, on litigants in person, what reasons the Civil Procedure Rule Committee gave for keeping the rate at which litigants in person can claim costs at its 1995 level. [108808]
Vera Baird: There is no record in the minutes of the Committee of the reason for their decision.
Magistrates
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what her plans are to increase diversity of membership among the magistracy in Lancashire. [108557]
Ms Harman: Magistrates are recruited and selected by local Advisory Committees who follow the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor’s directions when making recommendations for appointment to the magistracy. This provides guidance that each local justice area should broadly reflect the community it serves. The Lancashire Advisory Committee will be meeting early in 2007 to consider what is required to improve the diversity of the magistracy in Lancashire. This will include reaching out to different parts of the community by, for example, arranging presentations for local community groups and articles in the local press.
Ministerial Residence
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which Government Department is paying the council tax bill on the Lord Chancellor’s ministerial residence in Admiralty House. [108480]
Ms Harman: The Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor pays the council tax from his personal income.
Small Claims Court
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department expects to publish details of her consultation on the small claims court process by the end of December 2006; and what the consultation period will be. [105423]
Bridget Prentice: The consultation paper will be published by the end of January 2007. The intention had been to publish by the end of this year but publication of the paper has been delayed to allow the Government to give proper consideration to recommendation 54 of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, which was published on 6 December. The consultation period will be 12 weeks.
Special Advisers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many of her Department's civil servants work full-time to support all departmental special advisers; and what the salary is of each such civil servant. [106514]
Ms Harman: Support to special advisers is provided in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
Trade and Industry
Departmental Staff
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff were employed on a consultancy basis in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest period was for which a consultant was employed in each year. [102973]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has engaged the following number of individuals to provide consultancy services as defined by the Office of Government Commerce:
| Financial Year | Number |
The Department does not have information on the number of individuals working on contracts entered with consultancy firms.
Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
I have asked the Chief Executives of the Executive Agencies to respond directly to the hon. Member.
Letter from Tim Moss, dated 13 December 2007:
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of Companies House to your question regarding how many staff were employed on a consultancy basis in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five
years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest period was for which a consultant was employed in each year.
The following table provides detail from the financial data available on consultants employed by Companies House over the last 5 years.
| Average time (days) | |||
| Financial year | Number | Estimate | Longest period |
Letter from Iain MacGregor, dated 13 December 2007:
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question regarding how many staff were employed on a consultancy basis in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which a consultant was employed in each year.
NWML employed staff on consultancy basis in each of the last five years as follows:
| Number | Longest days | Average days | |
Letter from Ron Marchant, dated 13 December 2007:
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