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14 Jan 2008 : Column 847W—continued

Railways: Overcrowding

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of levels of overcrowding on rail journeys taken at (a) peak and (b) off-peak times between (i) Liverpool and Manchester, (ii) Leeds and Manchester, (iii) Newcastle and York and (iv) Liverpool and Birmingham; and if she will make a statement. [177858]

Mr. Tom Harris: The rail White Paper was published in July 2007. It sets out the resources we intend to make available to the rail industry and the increases in capacity, as well as safety and performance, that we expect the industry to deliver in return.

There are no specific requirements regarding levels of overcrowding on these routes. The Department’s general requirements for overcrowding are that passengers should not be expected to stand for more than 20 minutes.

Railways: Radioactive Wastes

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail journeys have taken place in which (a) spent nuclear fuel and (b) nuclear waste was carried through the Channel Tunnel since 2001; and for each such journey what the (i) place of origin, (ii) destination and (iii) volume carried was. [178147]

Jim Fitzpatrick: Eurotunnel does not permit these materials to be transported through the Channel Tunnel.

Roads: Safety

Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research she has commissioned on the effect on road traffic casualties of the introduction of 20mph zones in (a) Portsmouth, (b) Hull, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Aberdeen and (e) London. [175816]


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Jim Fitzpatrick: Individual highway authorities monitor the effectiveness of their local road safety schemes, including 20 mph zones.

TRL Report 215 "Review of Traffic Calming Schemes in 20 mph Zones", published in 1996, found that self enforcing 20 mph zones achieved an average 9 mph reduction in vehicle speeds, that accident frequency fell by 60 per cent. and that the number of accidents involving children reduced by 67 per cent.

No specific research has been commissioned by the Department on the effectiveness of 20 mph zones in the areas identified. The Department is intending to commission shortly a review of the implementation of 20 mph zones as part of a wider research project which will develop and deliver a programme of process and outcome evaluation of local road user safety policy and practice. It is likely that the review of 20 mph zones will include some of these areas.

Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department has taken to ensure that local authority best practice in road traffic speed management is shared. [175815]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department publishes best practice advice on a wide range of speed management measures in the form of Traffic Advisory Leaflets.

The Department's research project, ‘Research to Develop Guidance for Highway Authorities on How to Monitor and Evaluate Speed Management Interventions, Programmes and Strategies’, is involving extensive consultation with local authority practitioners, and will include a number of case studies.

The Department is also intending to commission shortly a wider research project which will develop and deliver a programme of process and outcome evaluation of local road user safety policy and practice. This will cover a wide range of road safety initiatives and measures, including speed management.

Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will (a) monitor and (b) assess the effect on road safety of 20 mph zones. [175818]

Jim Fitzpatrick: TRL Report 215 "Review of Traffic Calming Schemes in 20 mph Zones", published in 1996, found that self enforcing 20mph zones achieved an average 9 mph reduction in vehicle speeds, that accident frequency fell by 60 per cent. and that the number of accidents involving children reduced by 67 per cent.

The Department intends to commission shortly a review of the implementation of 20 mph zones as part of a wider research project which will develop and deliver a programme of process and outcome evaluation of local road user safety policy and practice.

Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she authorised the Article 14 directions under the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995, issued by the Highways Agency in relation to the Durham Green Business Park in (a) 2006 and (b) 2005. [176351]

Mr. Tom Harris: As an Executive agency of the Department for Transport, the Highways Agency has
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delegated authority to make the relevant decisions under the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 in the name of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State was not asked to approve the Highways Agency decisions and had no involvement in any part of the process.

West Coast Railway Line

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she last discussed the West Coast mainline with Network Rail; and if she will make a statement. [177856]

Mr. Tom Harris: While the Government have no power to intervene in Network Rail’s operations, the Secretary of State met with Iain Coucher, Chief Executive of Network Rail, on 3 January to discuss the engineering overruns on West Coast mainline. She made it clear that delays such as those faced by passengers over the new year period were completely unacceptable.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Admiralty House: Official Residences

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes have been made to the fittings and fixtures of the official Ministerial residence in Admiralty House previously occupied by the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull and now occupied by Lord Malloch-Brown in the last 12 months. [176930]

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 14 November 2007, Official Report, column 313W.

Brussels

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on Eurostar tickets to Brussels in each of the last 11 years; and how many first class Eurostar tickets to Brussels his Department purchased in each of the last 11 years. [175436]

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office spent a total of £214,373 on Eurostar tickets for official travel to Brussels in the last calendar year (January to December 2007). It would incur disproportionate cost, however, to collate information for previous years. It is also not possible to provide a breakdown of the number of first class Eurostar tickets purchased to Brussels as this information is not held centrally.

Craig Alden

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what recent efforts have been made by the Government to secure the release of Craig Alden, a British subject imprisoned in Brazil; and if he will make a statement; [178087]

(2) what response the British embassy in Brasilia has made to the recent letter from Mr. Craig Alden, a
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British subject imprisoned in Brazil, calling for a petition to be made to the Brazilian Supreme Court in relation to his case. [178088]

Meg Munn: We have provided Mr. Alden with full consular assistance since his arrest in July 2002. We supported his application for Presidential Expulsion (equivalent to clemency for foreign nationals) in 2005, but this was rejected by the Brazilian authorities. Most recently we supported Mr. Alden's appeal to the National Justice Council in May 2007, which was rejected in June 2007. Consular staff, from our embassy in Brasilia, propose to meet Mr. Alden and his legal representatives to discuss what further action may be open to Mr. Alden and his legal team. We continue to offer Mr. Alden consular assistance in the most effective way we can.

Cyprus

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 90W, on Cyprus: diplomatic relations, what meetings in the UK have been attended by the hon. Member for Enfield, North in her capacity as the Government’s Special Representative to Cyprus. [177843]

Mr. Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan), in her capacity as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Special Representative to Cyprus, provides a link between the Cypriot diaspora in the UK and Ministers, and explores how they can help promote a settlement in Cyprus, while also maintaining an overview of the political situation and UN settlement negotiations in Cyprus. As such, she regularly holds meetings with representatives of both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities from the UK and Cyprus, other interested parties, Foreign and Commonwealth Office representatives and Ministers.

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 90W, on Cyprus: diplomatic relations, when the Government’s Special Representative to Cyprus, the hon. Member for Enfield, North, next plans to visit Cyprus; and whom she plans to meet on the visit. [177845]

Mr. Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan), my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Special Representative to Cyprus, visited the island in October 2007. There are no plans at present for another visit.

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 90W, on Cyprus: diplomatic relations, what meetings were held during the visit to Cyprus by the Government’s Special Representative to Cyprus, the hon. Member for Enfield, North, in October 2007; and what the cost of the visit was. [177846]

Mr. Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan) met the following
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representatives from both communities during her visit to Cyprus in October 2007:

The cost of the visit was £937.60, which was met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008, Official Report, column 90W, on Cyprus: diplomatic relations, who accompanied the Government's Special Representative to Cyprus on her visit to that country in October 2007. [178265]

Mr. Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan), in her capacity as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Special Representative to Cyprus, was unaccompanied on her visit to Cyprus in October 2007. However, officials from our high commission in Nicosia accompanied her in meetings.

Departmental Internet

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2007, Official Report, column 828W, on departmental internet, how much equipment to film blog content cost; and whether this equipment is used for other purposes by his Department. [178336]

Meg Munn: The camcorders bought for filming blog content cost £5,612.77. The equipment has also been used for filming videos and pictures that have been loaded on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) website at:

as well as on the FCO's channels on YouTube at:

and Flickr at:


14 Jan 2008 : Column 852W

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2007, Official Report, column 828W, on departmental internet, what the grade is of each of the staff who deal with the blogging platform. [178408]

Meg Munn: Two members of staff work full-time on updating the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) blogging platform and on its upkeep. One is graded at C5, the other at B3. Other members of staff within the FCO devote a proportion of their time to the blogging platform, covering a range of grades, from the senior management structure to a locally engaged commercial officer.

Departmental Pay

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2007, Official Report, columns 1036-37W, on departmental pay, how many of those earning over £100,000 were employed as (a) special advisers and (b) in a political role in each year since 1997. [177185]

Meg Munn: None of the 42 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff listed in the 2007 FCO Annual Departmental Report as earning over £100,000 were employed as special advisers or in a political role.

Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the number of special advisers in each pay band. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 November 2007, Official Report, columns 147-150WS.

Before 2003 Ministers provided information on the number and cost of special advisers at regular intervals. This information is available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Plastics

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many FCO-branded plastic bags his Department has procured; and at what cost in the last 24 months for which figures are available. [176355]

Meg Munn: In the last 24 months for which figures are available 11,000 branded plastic bags were procured by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at a cost of £3,320.

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