Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 24 January 2007
House of Commons Commission
St. George Flag
Mr. Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2007, Official Report, column 584W, to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) on the St. George flag, for what health and safety reasons access to the flagpole on Portcullis House is denied; and for how long it has been non-operational. [110519]
Nick Harvey: A recent health and safety report identified the following risks.
Access to the flag pole is by ladder but there is no safe means of passing the flag up the ladder; the flag raiser needs to climb over a ventilation duct; lighting is poor and there is no emergency lighting. In addition there are heavy hatch doors with no means of preventing closure and no harness anchorage points.
The flagpole has been used only once since Portcullis House was opened when it was found to be dangerous and it has been non operational since September 2000. Means of rectifying the health and safety risks are being looked into and when the costs are known a decision will be taken on whether to fly flags from this location. If it is decided to do so, the aim will be to complete the necessary modifications by summer 2007.
Solicitor-General
Advocacy Services
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Solicitor-General how much purchasing advocacy services from (a) self-employed barristers and (b) in-house services cost in 2005-06. [115666]
The Solicitor-General: In 2005-06 the Law Officers’ Departments spent the following amounts on preparation and presentation in the Crown court and higher courts.
| £ million | ||
| Department | Advocacy services from private sector barristers | In-house advocacy |
| (1) The Serious Fraud Office does not employ in-house barristers. | ||
The Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol), spent some £14 million on civil advocacy services, most of which is recovered from other Departments, which instructed TSol. It is not possible separately to identify the cost of the small amount of advocacy done by in-house TSol barristers.
Electoral Commission Committee
Recruitment Agencies
Grant Shapps: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission how much the Electoral Commission paid recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [117485]
Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission came into existence on 30 November 2000. It informs me that the total amount paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each financial year from 2002-03 is as shown in the table. These amounts include the remuneration paid to the temporary staff and the agency fees.
| Expenditure (£) | |
| (1) Forecast | |
The equivalent figures for 2000-01 and 2001-02 are not readily available. In 2000-01, the commission’s total expenditure on recruitment, agency staff, and training was £84,270. In 2001-02, payments to recruitment agencies were not recorded separatelyfrom payments to other organisations in respect of secondees, and total expenditure under this combined heading was £190,000.
Wales
British Food
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of food served in buildings occupied by his Department was of British origin in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006. [111116]
Mr. Hain: My office does not have in house catering.
Recruitment Agencies
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department has paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [117506]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office spent £99,199 on agency staff in 2004-05 and £91,914 in 2005-06.
Information for previous years was not kept in this format and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Transport
A50
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of providing a quieter road surface on the A50 between Blythe Bridge and Uttoxeter. [110590]
Dr. Ladyman: The most recent estimate (at 2005 prices) for replacement of the concrete surface on this length of A50 was in excess of £9.9 million. There is no scheme programmed for resurfacing the A50 between Blythe Bridge and Uttoxeter in the foreseeable future, so no current estimate is available.
Buses
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average age is of buses in service in the public transport system in England. [110500]
Gillian Merron: The average age of the fleet in England at 31 March 2006 was 8.2 years. This information was published on page 6 in DfT’s “Public Transport Statistics Bulletin GB: 2006 Edition Supplement”, a copy of which is in the House Library.
Buses: Bedfordshire
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what level of Government funding was provided to Bedfordshire county council to support the provision of rural bus services in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement; [116133]
(2) what steps he is taking to support the provision of bus services in rural areas; and if he will make a statement; [116135]
(3) what steps he is taking to promote the use of rural based community bus services; and if he will make a statement; [116136]
(4) what steps he is taking to ensure pensioners in rural areas have access to free or concessionary bus travel; and if he will make a statement; [116137]
(5) what representations his Department has received on proposals to reduce the provision of bus services in rural areas of Bedfordshire; and if he will make a statement. [116146]
Gillian Merron: The Department has supported the provision of bus services in rural areas by the introduction in 1998 of the rural bus subsidy grant (RBSG), a grant paid to local transport authorities according to numbers living in rural areas. A total of £393 million has been allocated to authorities over the period 1998-99 to 2006-07.
In addition, a total of £110 million has been awarded to authorities successful in Rural Bus Challenge (RBC) competitions held from 1998 to 2003. This scheme has encouraged the development of innovative solutions to meeting rural transport needs. Many of the 300 projects initially supported by RBC funding are now continuing with mainstream funding from local authorities and other sources.
A further step of particular relevance to rural areas has been the introduction of amended rules for the route registration of local bus services which has enabled the introduction of flexibly routed, demand responsive bus services. These services are also now eligible for bus service operators grant (BSOG) from the Department.
The following table shows the Department’s spending on grants to Bedfordshire county council under the RBSG and RBC schemes.
| RBSG/RBC spend (£ million) | |
| (1) Estimated. | |
It should be noted that the majority of support for local bus services is provided by local authorities using the Government’s revenue support grant (RSG) and authorities’ own resources. It is for each authority to decide how much of their RSG allocation to devote to bus support. I understand Bedfordshire county council is currently considering to what extent it can fund substitute services following an announcement of planned service changes by Stagecoach.
Many of the projects supported under the RBC have been community-based services. In addition, in 2002 we extended eligibility to receive BSOG to a wide range of community transport services. A total of over £4 million annually is now paid to such services of which approximately £0.15 million is to community transport operators in Bedfordshire. Our bus policy document “Putting Passengers First”, published in December, proposes a number of further measures to assist community transport provision.
From April this year, older and disabled people have been guaranteed free off-peak local bus travel within their local authority area. From April 2008, this will be extended further allowing free off-peak local bus travel anywhere in England.
We have received no recent representations on proposed changes to rural bus services in Bedfordshire.
Buses: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many bus routes were cancelled in Essex in each of the last five years; [115884]
(2) how many new bus routes were started in Essex in each of the last five years. [115889]
Gillian Merron: The information is not available without incurring disproportionate costs. Essex county council have advised that they hold back copies of their quarterly (previously monthly) publication “Passenger Transport News” which contain details for all bus service changes in the county of Essex.
Lifebelts: River Thames
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what responsibility his Department has for the renewal and maintenance of lifebelts along the River Thames. [117149]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department has no responsibility for the renewal and maintenance of lifebelts, which are provided at the discretion of a mix of private and public land owners.
Overseas Lorries
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of (a) the number of lorries with overseas licence plates which used UK roads in each of the last two years and (b) the miles travelled on UK roads by those lorries. [110491]
Dr. Ladyman: In 2004, 1.4 million foreign registered heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) travelled to mainland Europe from Great Britain, while in 2005 the figure was 1.5 million vehicles. It is not possible to provide a UK estimate since information on foreign vehicles leaving Northern Ireland via the Irish Land Boundary is not available.
The Department for Transport estimated that in 2003, the last year for which figures are available, foreign registered HGVs travelled 0.9 billion kilometres in Great Britain.
Parton-Lilyhall Bypass
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the A595 Parton-Lillyhall bypass will cost; when the scheme will be completed; and what assessment he has made of the effects of the bypass on Copeland. [117207]
Dr. Ladyman: The cost for the A595 Parton to Lillyhall scheme is £35.2 million. The scheme is due to be completed in winter 2008.
An environmental statement and an economic impact report have been published for the scheme, which includes the Copeland hinterland, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.
Safety Cameras
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Safety Camera Partnerships accounts for 2005-06 will be published on his Department’s website. [117126]
Dr. Ladyman: It is expected that these will be published on the Department’s website today, 24 January.
Vehicle Register
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many requests for access to data from the UK vehicle register have been made by private companies since 1 November 2006; and how many of these requests have been turned down. [117073]
Dr. Ladyman: Between 1 November 2006 and 31 December 2006 we received 184,483 requests for data from private companies and from private individuals. We cannot distinguish between these groups without manual examination of the papers and therefore without incurring disproportionate costs.
Nor can we say how many requests from private companies were rejected in that period.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisations have been given approved conditional access to data from the UK vehicle register. [117074]
Dr. Ladyman: No organisation has yet been given approved conditional access since the new measures were introduced on 1 November 2006. Any organisation wanting access to data electronically will need to become a member of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA) and to comply with that association’s code of practice that will have clear and enforceable rules governing the business, procedures of their members. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is currently discussing ATA status with several companies.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |