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11 Dec 2007 : Column 420W—continued
Departmental Consultants
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much was paid in consultancy fees by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions between 1997 and May 2002; [171781]
(2) how much was paid in consultancy fees by her Department in each year since its establishment. [171997]
Jim Fitzpatrick: For details of consultancy fees paid by the Department in each year since it was established I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers) of 3 December 2007, Official Report, columns 852-53W.
Due to machinery of government changes that took place in May 2002 information on what predecessor Departments spent on consultancy is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Manpower
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what proportion of posts in her Department have been recategorised from back office to frontline posts as classified by the Gershon efficiency review in each year since 2004. [172261]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department is committed to achieving work force reductions of 700 full-time equivalent posts by the end of 2007-08. The Department's response to Sir Peter Gershon's efficiency review does not include plans for any recategorisation of posts, only to achieve a net reduction.
Departmental Official Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions she has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months. [171310]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the standard terms and conditions of purchase used by her Department in the procurement of goods and services from the private sector prohibit the assignment of debt. [172434]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The standard terms and conditions used for the purchase of goods and services prohibit the assignment of debt without the prior written consent of the Department.
Departmental Publicity
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent by her Department on advertising in the last 12 months. [167947]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The last full year for which these figures are available is the 2006-07 fiscal year. In that fiscal year, the Department and its agencies spent £23,966,258 on advertising.
The majority of advertising investment by the central Department is in support of the THINK! road safety and Act on CO2 campaigns. Figures for recruitment advertising for specific posts are not included in this figure. These are not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidelines issued to staff maintaining her Department's and its agencies' corporate identity; and what the estimated annual cost is of (a) producing and (b) complying with such guidelines. [170226]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Corporate identity guidelines are generally published electronically on intranets. There is no annual cost.
The annual cost of guidelines that are produced as printed documents for staff in the Department and agencies is £1,325.
In producing publications and other relevant materials there are no additional costs involved in complying with corporate guidelines. Using corporate templates generally reduces design costs.
Departmental Relocation
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department plans to move any of its offices to Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency. [166561]
Jim Fitzpatrick: There are no plans in place to relocate any of the Department's offices to the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency. The Department remains firmly committed to examining the possibility of relocation opportunities in the future where this meets business need and delivers benefits.
Departmental Travel
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking to reduce the amount of travel her officials undertake. [168680]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport and its agencies have policies in place which require officials to consider alternative communication methods, such as video and teleconferencing, before deciding to travel, and then to travel only when strictly necessary. The Department has introduced a sustainable travel policy which requires officials to plan their travel effectively considering not only economy, but also environmental impact in choice of travel mode.
Across the wider Department further initiatives to reduce business travel and its impact are being introduced. These include car and lift sharing schemes, national travel plans and reductions in travel budget targets.
Measures are also being introduced to reduce the impact of commuting including flexible and remote working and cycle to work schemes.
Departmental Visits Abroad
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department spent on overnight accommodation for Ministers overseas in the last year. [171328]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Details of the cost of overseas travel, including the cost of travel and accommodation, are contained in the “Overseas Travel by Cabinet
Ministers” list. The latest list for the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 was published on 25 July 2007. Details for the 2007-08 financial year will be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year. All travel is made in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
Fisheries: Compensation
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of whether the arrangements made by London Gateway Port for a disturbance compensation scheme comply with the conditions of approval for the development. [172163]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The London Gateway Port disturbance payments scheme is a commercial matter between London Gateway Port Ltd. and local fishermen affected by dredging operations for port construction. The scheme is not a condition of the Secretary of State's approval for the development.
Fishing Vessels
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many UK fishing vessels have been lost at sea in the last 12 months. [171683]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Between 1 December 2006 and 30 November 2007 reports of 13 accidental losses at sea of UK registered fishing vessels were received by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
Great Western Trains
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the performance of First Great Western in operating its train franchise. [170740]
Mr. Tom Harris: Improving rail performance is a key objective for the Department for Transport. Joint action plans are in place between Network Rail and First Great Western to address performance issues. Additionally, First Great Western has implemented a 40-point recovery plan. These are monitored monthly. I recently met with First Great Western's new chief operating officer and Network Rail's new route director to discuss performance.
In the year to 13 October 2007 FGW achieved an average punctuality of 82.6 per cent. across the franchise as a whole and 84.5 per cent. during the preceding four week period.
Heathrow Airport: Noise
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the role continuous descent approach can play in mitigating noise from Heathrow airport. [170672]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Aircraft landing at Heathrow are required whenever practicable to follow continuous descent approach or “low power, low drag” procedures, although the main noise benefits are outside the 57dBA Leq noise contour. This is consistent with the recommendations in the industry Code of Practice
“Noise from Arriving Aircraft ; An Industry Code of Practice” on the benefits of CDA as a means of reducing both fuel burn and noise. The Code of Practice can be accessed on the Department's website (www.dft.gov.uk).
Heathrow Airport: Publicity
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many households have been sent the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport Summary consultation document, broken down by (a) London borough and (b) ward; and if she will make a statement. [172715]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 10 December 2007]: More than 200,000 households around Heathrow have been sent a copy of the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport summary consultation document and response form. This included over 165,000 households in 54 wards in seven London boroughs.
By London borough the breakdown of households which received these documents is as follows (all figures rounded to the nearest 100).
| London borough | Delivery addresses |
By ward the breakdown is as follows:
| Ward | Borough | Delivery address |
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