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19 Dec 2006 : Column 1762W—continued
The number of journeys on National Rail to and from London are as follows:
| National Rail journeys to/from London | |
| Journeys (million) | |
There is a disproportionate cost associated with obtaining National Rail data for earlier years.
Railway Security
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many security guards are employed on the railways. [108917]
Mr. Tom Harris: The employment of security guards is a matter for individual train operators. Information on the numbers employed is not held by the Department for Transport.
Recruitment: Advertising
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on recruitment advertising in each of the last three years. [107745]
Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport was established in May 2002. The Department uses the most appropriate publication for recruitment advertising, be it national, regional, trade magazine or website depending on the nature of the vacancy.
Following are the costs incurred by DfT(central) in recruitment advertising in all grades together with advertising SCS jobs with Executive agencies. DfT(c) manage all SCS recruitment for the Department and its agencies. The following figures for the Department incorporate this and are not separated by SCS and non SCS recruitment.
| Recruitment costs (£) | |
Advertising costs for recruitment below the senior civil service in DfT's Executive agencies are as follows;
| Advertising costs for recruitment (£) | |
| (1 )High figure attributed to the recruitment of the Traffic Officer Service. (2 )No information available. | |
This information updates the answer of 8 May 2006, Official Report, columns 17-18W.
Road Pricing Scheme
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for a national road user pricing scheme; and if he will make a statement. [109937]
Dr. Ladyman: A national scheme will be a significant task. For now, we want to focus on local pilot schemes, implemented within the next four to five years, to test the technology, gain experience in different communities and increase public awareness.
Present estimates suggest a national road pricing scheme could be feasible by about the middle of the next decade.
Special Advisers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of his Department’s civil servants work full-time to support departmental special advisers; and what the salary is of each such civil servant. [106502]
Gillian Merron: One full-time civil servant at pay band 4L (Higher Executive Officer) level and one at pay band 3L (Executive Officer) level provide support to the Special Advisers to the Department for Transport. Their respective salary ranges are £28,463 to £34,710 and £24,030 to £27,714.
Sustainable Communities Plan
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding will be available in 2007-08 to support the amelioration of traffic congestion for growth areas within the Sustainable Communities Plan; and if he will make a statement. [109783]
Gillian Merron: We have committed nearly £4 billion of investment in transport infrastructure improvements in the growth areas. Separately, the community infrastructure fund (GIF) will deliver 26 transport schemes specifically aimed at facilitating housing development in these areas. The total GIF fund is £200 million: £50 million to be spent in 2006-07 and £150 million in 2007-08.
In addition, we are supporting (through integrated transport block allocations) investment by local authorities in smaller scale projects, delivered in their local transport plans.
This investment will help to deliver a number of outcomes—including reducing traffic congestion—in order to support the housing development set out in the Sustainable Communities Plan.
Track Conversions
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the conversion of main and branch line track to light passenger railway use in loss-making areas; and if he will make a statement. [110111]
Mr. Tom Harris:
The Government do not have a general policy of converting main and branch line
track to light rail. In particular circumstances it may be economically sensible to convert lines to light rail as part of a locally promoted scheme (as it was in Manchester for example). Use of lighter rail technology may offer benefits on other lines—but it is primarily for the industry, and especially Network Rail, to determine the benefits of such a change.
Transport Infrastructure
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by his Department on capital projects in transport infrastructure in each region in each of the last 10 years. [110353]
Gillian Merron: Identifiable capital expenditure on transport infrastructure by region is published in tables 7.5b to 7.10b of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2006, Cm 6811. Information on prior years may not be available on a comparable basis.
Transport Schemes
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which schemes have been funded by (a) the Community Infrastructure, (b) Growth Area and (c) Growth Point Funds since each fund's inception; how much each scheme cost; and which of the schemes are (i) public, (ii) road and (iii) other transport schemes. [104406]
Gillian Merron: Information on the schemes funded by the Community Infrastructure Fund is set out in the following table. While the Department works closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on Growth Areas, the funding for Growth Point Funds are the responsibility for DCLG.
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