Previous Section Index Home Page

11 Jan 2007 : Column 648W—continued

Entertainment Budget

Mr. Heald: To ask the Prime Minister what the total cost was of official entertainment by the Prime Minister at 10 Downing street and Chequers in 2005-06. [113971]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Members for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) and for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on 11 October 2006, Official Report, column 788W.

Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Prime Minister on which occasions the Cross of Saint George is flown from Number 10 Downing street. [113688]

The Prime Minister: The Union Flag and other national flags are flown above Downing street as and when appropriate.

Foreign Travel

Mr. Heald: To ask the Prime Minister what No. 10 Downing street’s expenditure on foreign travel, including accommodation, was in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2005-06. [114096]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) on 19 December 2006, Official Report, column 1808W.

Minister without Portfolio

Mr. Heald: To ask the Prime Minister what the role and responsibilities are of the Minister without Portfolio. [114094]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the List of Ministerial Responsibilities, copies of which are available on the Cabinet Office website and in the Library of the House.


11 Jan 2007 : Column 649W

Northern Ireland

GCSE

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children from an (a) Protestant and (b) Roman Catholic community background left school with fewer than five GCSE qualifications at grades A to C in the last year for which figures are available. [113808]

Maria Eagle: The requested information relates to the 2004-05 school year and is as follows:

Justice and Policing Services

Mr. Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last met Northern Ireland party leaders to discuss the devolution of justice and policing services. [113063]

Mr. Hain: I keep in regular contact with party leaders to discuss the devolution of justice and policing and have met the Assembly’s Preparation for Government Committee—most recently on 9 January 2007. There remain a number of issues for the parties to resolve, and the Government will offer such assistance as it can to that end.

Parliamentary Questions

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the 2005-06 session were not answered wholly or in part on grounds of disproportionate cost. [113293]

Mr. Hain: The information requested is not readily available and would require a manual trawl of over 6,000 parliamentary questions tabled to the Northern Ireland Office in the first session.

My Department endeavours to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of tabling and named day questions on the date specified.

This month, however, a number of improvements have been made to my Department’s procedures for handling parliamentary questions. This includes improvements to the existing electronic system for tracking parliamentary questions which should allow for the provision of statistical data in due course.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the 2005-06 session were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before Prorogation. [113294]

Mr. Hain: In the last session, over 6,000 parliamentary questions were tabled for answer by my Department. Of these, 26 were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before Prorogation. Members remain free to re-table any unanswered questions.


11 Jan 2007 : Column 650W

Reoffending Rates

Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of all those convicted of a sexual offence went on to reoffend (a) during and (b) after their period of remission in each of the last five years, broken down into risk management categories A, B and C. [113487]

Mr. Hanson: While information is available on the number of reconvictions of sex offenders within a two-year period, the recorded information does not show whether the reoffending took place during or after a period of remission. Later this year, I shall be bringing forward legislation to remove automatic remission for sex offenders and to strengthen the processes for the management of the risk posed by sex offenders released from custody.

Saintfield Bypass

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the provision of a bypass for Saintfield, County Down. [113782]

David Cairns: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has written to the hon. Lady in response to this question.

Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 11 January 2007:

House of Commons Commission

Departmental Staff

Mr. Burns: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many posts in the House of
11 Jan 2007 : Column 651W
Commons attracted a salary in excess of the basic salary of an hon. Member; what the job titles are of those posts; and what the salary is in each case. [112841]

Nick Harvey: The basic salary payable to Members is £60,277 per annum. At 31 December 2006, 79 staff were paid an annual salary in excess of this figure. A list of posts in the Senior Commons Structure and at pay band Al, which have pay maxima higher than Members’ current salary, will be placed in the Library. Details of staff pay bands and staff pay arrangements are available on the parliamentary intranet. The salaries of Members of the Board of Management are disclosed in the House of Commons: Administration annual accounts.

Transport

Disability Discrimination: Aviation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with (a) British Airways and (b) other airlines on disability discrimination legislation and seat allocations. [113773]

Gillian Merron: Ministers meet British Airways and other airlines on a regular basis to discuss a range of policy matters, though there have been no specific discussions on seat allocations. British Airways and other airlines also attend meetings of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, the Government’s statutory adviser on the transport needs of disabled people.

M42

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the introduction of hard shoulder running on the M42, with particular reference to road safety. [114238]

Dr. Ladyman: M42 hard shoulder running was introduced on 12 September 2006 as part of the Active Traffic Management project. Operations are being closely monitored to ensure that the systems are working efficiently and that any potential issues that might compromise road safety are quickly resolved.

Early evaluation of the impact of hard shoulder running on traffic conditions is showing that average journey times during peak periods have been reduced. The day-to-day variability of journey times has reduced on weekdays, meaning users can plan their journeys better. There is reduced congestion on the section and average traffic speeds have been smoothed so that more drivers are travelling at around 50 mph. This has helped reduce the severity of traffic flow breakdown and improved road safety. Speed differentials between lanes have reduced, suggesting that drivers are less likely to change lanes unnecessarily, thereby improving road safety.

Early indications are therefore, that the scheme is working well, but it is too early to draw final conclusions of the impact of hard shoulder running on the safety of the section. This is because motorways are generally very safe and incidents occur infrequently.
11 Jan 2007 : Column 652W
Early information will be provided following collection of six months of personal injury accident data. This is expected by autumn 2007.

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the experimental use of the hard shoulder on the M42 motorway as an additional lane for moving traffic. [114561]

Dr. Ladyman: M42 hard shoulder running was introduced on 12 September 2006 as part of the Active Traffic Management (ATM) project.

The Highways Agency is monitoring the impact of hard shoulder running and early indications have determined that average journey times during peak periods have been reduced. The day-to-day variability of journey times has also been reduced on weekdays meaning that users can plan their journeys better. Congestion has been reduced on the section and average traffic speeds have been smoothed so that more drivers are travelling at around 50 mph. This have helped reduce flow breakdown and has therefore improved road safety. Speed differential between lanes has been reduced, suggesting that drivers will be less likely to change lanes unnecessarily, therefore improving road safety.

These results are indicative of the potential impact of hard shoulder running, but robust conclusions cannot be drawn until at least six months of reliable data have been collected. The assessment of traffic conditions will be produced by autumn 2007.

Roads Expenditure

Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on the trunk road networks in the area covered by the Government Office of the North East in the last year for which figures are available. [113735]

Dr. Ladyman: The trunk road networks of the North East are part of the strategic road network managed by the Highways Agency whose reporting systems do not provide information on a county or regional basis.

Toll Roads

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to increase the number of toll roads in (a) Staffordshire and (b) the Midlands. [114258]

Dr. Ladyman: There are no plans to build any new toll roads in Staffordshire or the Midlands.

The Government are exploring the scope for road pricing to help tackle road congestion. In the Midlands, the Government have awarded the metropolitan authorities in the West Midlands, and local authorities in the cities of Nottingham, Leicester and Derby and their surrounding counties, funding to study the nature of their congestion problem and the potential road pricing-based packages to address it. No proposals have been put forward and no decisions have been made.


11 Jan 2007 : Column 653W

Culture, Media and Sport

2012 Olympics

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, columns 99-100W, on the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, whether VAT costs for the Olympics were mentioned in (a) the 2002 ARUP London Olympics 2012 Costs and Benefits report, (b) the 2003 PricewaterhouseCoopers London 2012 Costs and Benefits report, (c) the 2004 PricewaterhouseCoopers Olympic Cost Review and (d) the advice provided in the Olympic report by KPMG. [108944]

Tessa Jowell [holding answer 13 December 2006]: The cost of VAT was not assessed in the ARUP report or either of the two PricewaterhouseCoopers reports because no decision at that stage could be made about VAT in relation to the proposed establishment of an Olympic Delivery Authority which we had not yet legislated for and the tax status of which had yet to be determined. KPMG included an assessment of VAT costs as part of the ongoing advice that I commissioned.

Maps Theft

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what co-operation there was between the US authorities and her Department before and after the conviction of Mr. E. Forbes Smiley III for theft of historic maps; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of such co-operation in minimising future such thefts. [113856]

Mr. Lammy: My Department was not involved with the prosecution in the US of Mr. E. Forbes Smiley III. The British Library Board is responsible for its collections and therefore was involved with the case through the Metropolitan police, who co-operated with the FBI investigation, and through their US Counsel. The British Library’s director of scholarship and collections made a victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing in New Haven. The British Library’s willingness to participate in a prosecution outside of the UK may act as a deterrent to future thefts.

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the possible implications for the security of national archives of the facts revealed in the conviction in the US of Mr. E. Forbes Smiley III. [113857]

Mr. Lammy: None. As the institution involved in this case, the British Library has reviewed its security procedures in the Rare Books Reading Room and shared issues with peer institutions in the UK through the British and Irish Committee on Map Information and Cataloguing Systems (BRICMICS).

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will undertake research to establish and record books containing rare
11 Jan 2007 : Column 654W
and valuable maps available in generalist British archives. [113858]

Mr. Lammy: No. Each institution has its own cataloguing system and it would be costly to combine them. It would also be highly unlikely to act as a deterrent or help to prevent theft.


Next Section Index Home Page