Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 18 July 2007
Transport
Airports: Security
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are in place to regulate and monitor the performance of private companies responsible for providing security at UK airports. [149761]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The national aviation security programme lays down the security measures and standards in the UK. Airports, airlines and others are legally bound to comply with mandated security measures but they are free to sub-contract specific statutory security tasks to third parties. The Department for Transport monitors through its compliance activity the standards of implementation and where performance is below the standards required will take action against the regulated party to ensure that improvements are made.
Humber Bridge
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for how much longer one carriageway in each direction is likely to remain closed on the Humber Bridge; on what basis it was decided that work on the bridge should not be carried out on a 24 hour basis; and if she will arrange for the tolls to be reduced while work is being carried out. [150263]
Ms Rosie Winterton: These are all matters for the Humber Bridge Board.
Off-road Vehicles: Leisure
Mr. Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance her Department has given local authorities on the use of off-road vehicles for recreational purposes; and if she will make a statement. [150228]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
DEFRA has published two guidance documents on the use of off road vehicles for recreational purposes, “Regulating the use of motor vehicles on public rights of way and off road—A guide for Local Authorities, Police and Community Safety Partnerships” and “Making the Best of Byways”. Together these documents set out the powers available to tackle illegal practices, provide good practice examples, and give advice on both the practical management and maintenance of routes.
Public Transport: Crimes of Violence
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidences of violent crime were recorded by the British Transport Police since 2004, broken down by region. [150574]
Mr. Tom Harris: This information is not held by the Department for Transport but by the British Transport Police who can be contacted at: British Transport Police, 25 Camden Road, London NW1 9LN, E-mail:
general.enquiries@btp.pnn.police.uk.
Railways: Freight
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the Minister for Railways to announce the upgrading of the freight route between Southampton and Birmingham. [150288]
Mr. Tom Harris: As detailed in the then Secretary of State's written ministerial statement to Parliament of 18 December 2006, Official Report, columns 134-6WS, the Southampton to west coast mainline rail gauge enhancement scheme is one of the strategic freight schemes being considered for funding from the productivity strand of the Transport Innovation Fund.
Final decisions on each of the schemes under consideration will be taken through the Department's investment appraisal framework on an individual basis, as each business case is completed. I hope to be in a position to make further announcements about the individual schemes in the course of this year.
Railways: Vehicle Access Barriers
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evaluation she has made of the trial of vehicle access barriers at Victoria and Waterloo stations. [149578]
Mr. Tom Harris: The aim of the trial was to test the practicalities of deploying and maintaining portable access control barriers in an operational environment.
The trial proved that such barriers could be deployed while maintaining adequate passenger flow rates and emergency access. It also proved, however, that the deployment of such barriers needs very careful planning due to their weight and the resulting loading on the supporting structure.
Further to this trial the Department for Transport is undertaking survey work at stations, in co-operation with operators and the British Transport Police, to assess options for more permanent vehicle access control measures. We are also working with operators to ensure that vehicle access control issues are taken into account as part of planned station developments.
Railways: Standards
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains were cancelled in (a) 2006-07 and (b) the last 12 months; and what reasons were given for cancellations, broken down by train operating company. [150575]
Mr. Tom Harris: Train cancellation data for the rail network as a whole is collected and processed by Network Rail. For a response, the hon. Member may wish to contact Network Rail's Chief Executive at the following address:
John Armitt,
Chief Executive,
Network Rail,
40 Melton Street,
London NW1 2EE
Roads: Safety Measures (Cornwall)
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions her Department has had with Cornwall county council on road safety issues in Cornwall. [150153]
Jim Fitzpatrick: There have been no recent road safety specific issues discussed between the Department for Transport and Cornwall county council.
In December 2006, the Department notified Cornwall of its assessment of their second local transport plan, covering the period 2006-07 to 2010-11. The road safety element of the plan was assessed as being “Excellent” which meant that the Department considered that Cornwall are on track to achieve beyond the 2010 national road safety targets.
House of Commons Commission
Members: Postal Services
Mr. Allen: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will take steps to restore the availability of casual stationery and envelopes in the Members’ Post Office; and how much has been saved by preventing Members from using franked envelopes in the Members’ Post Office. [149643]
Nick Harvey: The Post Office has continued to supply limited amounts of stationery including prepaid envelopes, and these are now recorded against Members' names. Savings of around £5,000 have been made in the first quarter of 2007-08 by ending the issue of casual stationery and envelopes in the Members' Post Office.
In its report on the Communications Allowance (First Report 2006-07, HC 319), the Members Estimate Committee directly linked the new allowance to an annual limit of £7,000 per Member on pre-paid stationery. The House approved the report on 28 March 2007.
The operation of the arrangement will be kept under review.
Prime Minister
Ministers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library copies of the letters of appointment of each of the Ministers in the Government. [148924]
The Prime Minister: In forming the new Government, I spoke to Ministers and discussed the Government’s priorities, but did not exchange letters of appointment.
Select Committees: Publications
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister when he expects the Government to respond to the fifth report of the Public Administration Select Committee session 2005-06, “Whitehall Confidential? The Publication of Political Memoirs” HC689. [150489]
The Prime Minister: The Government are considering the report of the Public Administration Select Committee, “Whitehall Confidential? The Publication of Political Memoirs” and will respond shortly.
Duchy of Lancaster
Civil Servants: Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the salary range is for each pay band of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. [148908]
Gillian Merron: Since April 1996 all Departments and agencies have had delegated responsibility for the pay and grading of staff, except for those below the senior civil service. Current Cabinet Office salary ranges for each pay band can be found at:
http://careers.civil-service.gov.uk/Index.asp?txtNavID=176&;txtOverRideDocID=144&635132=&internal=true
Details on current senior civil service pay bands is available from:
Departments: Postal Services
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what volume of correspondence his Department sent (a) by Royal Mail and (b) by other commercial delivery services in each of the last five years; and what the reasons were for the use of other commercial delivery services. [150443]
Gillian Merron: Information on the volume of correspondence sent by (a) Royal Mail and (b) by other commercial delivery services can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The vast majority of our mail services are provided by Royal Mail. Commercial delivery services are used when a ‘same day’ service is required within the UK and for time sensitive international deliveries
Departments: Publicity
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of advertising commissioned by his Department in the last 12 months. [148504]
Gillian Merron: The Cabinet Office currently only uses advertising for recruitment purposes. Cost effectiveness plays a key part in recruitment advertising, for example all vacancies are advertised on the Civil Service Gateway at no cost. For the graduate fast stream, which the Cabinet Office runs for the whole of the civil service, the Cabinet Office employs a mixed media approach, which a 2007 survey of applicants confirmed as the most cost-effective.
Cost-effectiveness is a key part of the Cabinet Office's best practice guidance for Government communicators when commissioning advertising, this can be seen at:
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what funding his Department provided to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service in each of the last five years; and what funding his Department plans to provide in each of the next three years. [150031]
Mr. McFadden: BERR funding for ACAS over the last five years is shown in the following table:
| £ million | |
These figures do not include the following provided by BERR to ACAS:
Investment Funding of £15.2 million to finance efficiency savings for the three years from 2005-06;
Capital Funding of £1.2 million for 2005-06, £1.0 million for 2006-07 and £1.0 million for 2007-08.
Funding for the period covered by the 2007 comprehensive spending review (i.e. 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11) has yet to be agreed with ACAS.
Departments: Ministerial Duties
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the priorities of the Minister for the South West are in 2007. [148287]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 9 July 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
As the Minister for the South West, I am conducting a series of visits to all counties in the region to seek the views of local political leaders and other interested parties about their priorities. My role will be to champion the region and to represent the region in the formulation of central government policy.
Employment: Disciplinary Proceedings
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if his Department will bring forward proposals to increase the discretion of employment tribunals in their consideration of the rules governing employment disciplinary procedures. [150103]
Mr. McFadden: BERR keeps the employment tribunal rules under constant review, with the objective of improving the delivery of justice for all parties.
Employment: Industrial Disputes
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether his Department plans to abolish fixed conciliation periods in employment disputes. [150105]
Mr. McFadden: The consultation paper “Resolving disputes in the workplace”, published on 21 March 2007, invited views on whether the fixed terms for conciliation in employment disputes should be repealed. My Department’s plans on the way forward will be set out in our response to that consultation which will be published in due course.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |