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8 Mar 2007 : Column 2116W—continued
Ports: Planning Permission
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2007, Official Report, columns 1065-66W, on ports: planning permission, which of the projects (a) have received and (b) are expected to receive a subsidy from public funds. [124498]
Dr. Ladyman: Of the ports for which the Department has approved Harbour Works Orders since 1998, (a) Liverpool city council has received European regional development funding (ERDF) of £7.85 million towards construction of the new city centre cruise terminal; and (b) East Port Great Yarmouth has been granted (but not yet received) a composite package of public funding totalling £18.75 million towards construction of an outer harbour.
Public Transport: Cambridge
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the Cambridge Capacity Study. [126052]
Mr. Tom Harris: It is my intention to make a copy of the study available in the House Library. This will take account of any commercial sensitivities and will be available once the evaluation of the study's options is complete.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the timetable is for a decision on the Cambridge Capacity Study. [126053]
Mr. Tom Harris: DfT is currently in the process of evaluating the options proposed by the study, which was received in late December 2006. In order to take full advantage of potential minor infrastructure enhancements, a decision on the preferred option would be required by summer 2007.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes to the rail timetable are proposed in the Cambridge Capacity Study. [126054]
Mr. Tom Harris: The options currently under evaluation represent a combination of amending the current service pattern to make better use of the available train capacity, running a small number of additional services and some train lengthening.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to consult on rail timetable changes proposed in the Cambridge Capacity Study. [126055]
Mr. Tom Harris: To the extent that any proposed changes to the timetable arising from the preferred option are beyond the current First Capital Connect (FCC) service level commitment, FCC, not the Department for Transport, is obliged to consult with all statutory stakeholders.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Cambridge Capacity Study includes estimates of the likely changes to journey times for commuters in North East Hertfordshire; and if he will make a statement. [126056]
Mr. Tom Harris: The study includes various timetable options which may result in some journey time changes. To the extent that any of the options are taken forward and are in excess of the journey time specified in the current service level commitment, First Capital Connect is obliged to consult with all statutory stakeholders.
Railways: Thames Valley
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment of maximum passenger capacity was made prior to finalising Service Level Commitment 2 for the Greater Western Franchise. [123548]
Mr. Tom Harris: Bidders for the franchise were required to assess demand and propose plans to meet it. The Department for Transport, as part of its technical evaluation of bids, assessed bidders’ plans to meet their forecast demand, and concluded that the bid from First, to whom the franchise was awarded, was in this respect acceptable in terms of delivery.
First Great Western’s franchise contains ongoing obligations in relation to capacity.
Railways: Timetables
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last discussed the future of the printed version of the National Rail Timetable with (a) Network Rail and (b) the train operating companies; and if he will make a statement. [125967]
Mr. Tom Harris: Any decision to change the content, publication and distribution of the National Rail Timetable is the responsibility of Network Rail.
My hon. Friend should contact Network Rail’s Chief Executive at the following address for an answer to his question:
John Armitt,
Chief Executive,
Network Rail,
40 Melton Street,
London NW1 2EE.
Road Works: Regulation
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made in controlling and regulating road works by utilities. [125995]
Gillian Merron: The Government are currently implementing regulations under parts 3 and 4 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 to update the current system of managing roadworks by utilities, known as street works, and giving local highway authorities powers to implement more proactive controls by allowing them to apply to use permit schemes.
Safety Belts
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department allocated in each of the last five years to means of raising awareness of the dangers of travelling by car without using a seatbelt. [124614]
Dr. Ladyman: The dangers of travelling by car without using a seat belt form part of the Government’s THINK! road safety campaign. The Government are investing around £17 million in the THINK! campaign in this fiscal year (FY2006-07).
The total campaign costs for the THINK! seat belts campaign since the 2002-03 fiscal year are as follows:
| THINK! seat belts campaign costs | |
| Fiscal year | £ |
| (1) Expected outturn. | |
The expenditure for the THINK! seat belts campaign for this fiscal year (FY2006-07) was reduced so that more resource could be devoted to raising awareness to the changes in the law on mobile phones and child car seats.
Shipping: Safety
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the compliance with the UK’s treaty obligations under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of introducing a price mechanism into the maritime radio spectrum; and if he will make a statement. [122450]
Dr. Ladyman: The Independent Audit of Spectrum Holdings and the subsequent Government response, agreeing with the audit, found that there is scope for more effective use of public sector radio spectrum. The Office for Communications (Ofcom) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) are charged with beginning work to introduce Administered Incentive Pricing (AIP—the ‘price mechanism’) to some elements of maritime radio spectrum use, including radar and communications. In its response to the audit, the MCA stressed that the safety case is paramount in any proposals to introduce pricing and bandsharing. In respect of obligations both within the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Department is considering its position. There are no substantive proposals at this stage as to whether and how AIP should be applied to the maritime sector. Before any proposals are progressed, full technical trials will be undertaken together with assessments of conformity with relevant international conventions.
Smith Institute
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money from the public purse (a) his Department and (b) its agencies gave to (i) the Smith Institute and (ii) its subsidiary SI Events Limited in each year since 1997; and for what purpose each payment was made. [123101]
Gillian Merron: We have no record of money having been spent by the Department for Transport with the Smith Institute or SI Events Limited since the Department was formed in May 2002.
Transport: Orders and Regulations
Tony Baldry:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the (a)
one-off cost and (b) ongoing costs of implementing the Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Emission of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [126658]
Dr. Ladyman: These regulations introduced emissions requirements for small off-road petrol engines and portable diesel generating set engines in order to reduce emissions and contribute towards the Government’s air quality objectives. The costs, as set out in the regulatory impact assessment, are an average ongoing cost of £9.8 million per annum to purchasers of new, internal combustion engined, off-road equipment.
The regulations did not impose any costs on the Department.
Transport: Wales
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional funding will be made available for Wales from the Local Transport Capital Settlement for 2007-08. [125102]
Gillian Merron: The Local Transport Capital Settlement covers local authorities in England (outside London). The equivalent funding support for Welsh local authorities is distributed by the devolved Welsh Administration.
Trade and Industry
Departments: Electronic Equipment
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many items of electrical equipment were discarded by his Department in each year since 2001; and what percentage of those were recycled. [126017]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department of Trade and Industry did not maintain records of discarded electrical items until 2 January 2007. Since that date we have not discarded any electrical items.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidance his Department has issued to other departments on the disposal of electrical equipment. [126019]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department of Trade and Industry published Guidance Notes on the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations on 28 February 2007. These include information for users of electrical equipment on options available for the disposal of WEEE once the WEEE Regulations come into full effect on 1 July 2007.
Departments: Redundancy
Justine Greening:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent on (a) involuntary and (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in (i)
his Department and (ii) each agency of the Department in each year since 1997-98; how much is planned to be spent for 2007-08; and if he will make a statement. [123930]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has spent the following on voluntary and involuntary exit schemes:
| £ million | ||
| Voluntary | Involuntary | |
| (1)Estimated | ||
The information for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The Department will always try to deal with staff surpluses by means other than redundancy. If redundancies become unavoidable the Department will endeavour to reduce staff by voluntary rather than involuntary means wherever possible. The Department is currently restructuring and is administering a voluntary exit scheme to deal with emerging surpluses which will run into 2007-08. The full extent of voluntary and involuntary exit costs is not yet available.
Letters from the Department's agencies—the Companies House, Insolvency Service, National Weights and Measures Laboratory, and the Patent Office—are provided separately.
Letter from Jeff Llewellyn, dated 8 March 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 much was spent on (a) involuntary and (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in (i) his Department and (ii) each agency of the Department in each year since 1997-98; how much is planned to be spent for 2007-08; and if he will make a statement. 123930”.
The National Weights & Measures Laboratory has not conducted any such schemes in any year since 1997-1998, and has no plans to introduce any during the period 2007-2008.
Letter from Desmond Flynn, dated 8 March 2007:
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of the Insolvency Service in respect of your question (1343/2006), asking how much was spent on (a) involuntary and (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in (i) his Department and (ii) each agency of the Department in each year since 1997-98, and how much is planned to be spent for 2007-08.
No members of Insolvency Service staff have been included in such exit schemes during the relevant period. The Insolvency Service currently has no plans to offer exit schemes to its staff during 2007-08.
Letter from Ron Marchant, dated 8 March 2007:
Please see the following, from the Patent Office, in response to your recent parliamentary questions.
Written PQ 2006/1343: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much was spent on (a) involuntary and (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in (i) his Department and (ii) each agency of the Department in each year since 1997-98; how much is planned to be spent for 2007-08; and if he will make a statement. 123930
There were no involuntary staff exist schemes in the Patent Office in this period. The full cost of voluntary early retirement and severance schemes is charged to the office in the year the decision is made. The full figures charged to our accounts are:
| £000 | |
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