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25 Feb 2008 : Column 1130W—continued
Joan Ruddock:
The list of species to be removed from Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 has not been finalised and will be subject to
further discussions with the devolved administrations. I hope the revised schedule will take effect from 1 October this year.
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the Statutory Nature Conservation Agencies support a range of bird surveillance and monitoring schemes in the United Kingdom, usually in partnership with specialist non-government organisations. Surveillance schemes may include annual or periodic assessment of population size and distribution and allow trends in both to be derived. Schemes are tailored to provide comprehensive coverage of common and rare species in both breeding and non-breeding seasons. Monitoring is undertaken as part of the JNCC’s and Statutory Nature Conservation Agencies’ statutory obligations and would not incur any additional costs.
Transport
Dartford Tunnel
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average number of (a) daily and (b) annual crossings made at the Dartford Crossing, broken down by vehicle category, was in the last five years. [188868]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The figures requested are in the following tables.
| Average daily traffic flows | |||||
| Motorbikes | Cars | Vans | HGVs/PSVs | Total | |
| Annual traffic flows | |||||
| Motorbikes | Cars | Vans | HGVs/PSVs | Total | |
Dartford Tunnel: Tolls
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received on the Dartford Crossing tolls. [188867]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport received several thousand representations in response to the consultation on the Dartford Crossing charges that finished in March last year. These included representations from local residents, trade associations, local government and local MPs. The views expressed in these responses have been taken into account in the proposals for a local residents’ discount scheme, issued for consultation on 15 February 2008.
Driving: Licensing
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to publish the consultation document on fitness to drive. [188252]
Jim Fitzpatrick: We intend to consult on options for change to health and driver licensing arrangements later this year.
Motor Vehicles: Lighting
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate her Department has made of the likely increase in annual fuel consumption resulting from the requirement to have daytime running lamps on motor vehicles. [188257] [Official Report, 3 March 2008, Vol. 472, c. 22MC.]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Research undertaken for the Department for Transport indicated that the requirement for new types of motor vehicle to be equipped with dedicated daytime running lamps would result in an increase of about 5 per cent. in fuel consumption.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2008, Official Report, column 788W, on motor vehicles: safety, what provisions have been agreed with her EU counterparts on the exemption of vehicles registered for road use before the commencement of the relevant European directive from the mandatory use of daytime running lights or their equivalent. [188253]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Following EU decisions on daytime running lights (DRL) issues, a European Directive will require new vehicle types to be equipped with dedicated DRLs from early 2011 (cars, vans) and summer 2012 (other vehicles). Vehicles registered before these dates will not be required to be retro-fitted with DRLs or to use existing lights as an equivalent.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines her Department has issued to statutory authorities on (a) measuring the level of degradation of road surfacing and (b) the time scales for resurfacing each of the categories of degraded road surfacing. [188517]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Local highway authorities have a duty under the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways in their charge. As part of the Best Value regime, they are required to report annually on the condition of those highways. Guidance on the calculation of such Best Value Condition Indicators, including reference to the road surface condition parameters to be measured, is provided on the Department’s website.
Decisions on what maintenance should be undertaken, and when, is a matter for each individual highway authority. The Department endorses ‘Well-maintained Highways’ (TSO, 2005) produced by the UK Roads Board, which provides best practice guidance on maintenance management.
Sexual Harassment
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints of (a) sexual harassment and (b) sexual discrimination have been made by staff in (i) her Department and (ii) its agencies in the most recent year for which figures are available. [184682]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Due to the low number of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination complaints in the Department for Transport and its agencies, this information is withheld on the grounds of confidentiality.
Transport: Finance
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the merits of ring-fencing local authority grants to community transport providers. [188055]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The conditions attached to the Department’s grants to local authorities, or other bodies, reflect the particular circumstances of each case. However, it is Government policy to reduce the proportion of total local authority funding which is given by means of ring-fenced grants to enable more decisions about local issues to be made locally.
The level and form of local authority support for community transport is a matter for local decision.
It is for each local authority to determine the conditions which apply to any grants they provide for community transport providers.
Travel: Concessions
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make it her policy to extend the concessionary travel scheme to (a) long distance coach travel and (b) other forms of public transport. [183107]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Since 2003 there has been a half-fare concessionary travel scheme for older and eligible disabled people on long distance coaches. It is a voluntary scheme but the major providers of long distance coach services take part. The scheme will continue following the introduction of the England-wide free off-peak local bus travel concession in April. There are no proposals at present to extend statutory concessionary fares to forms of transport other than local buses.
House of Commons Commission
Department of Resources: Pay
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, what pay grades are applicable to members of staff working for the Department of Resources. [186170]
Nick Harvey: As at 31 January 2008, the Department of Resources employed 136.28 full-time equivalent staff (FTE), broken down as follows:
| Pay band | FTE |
An organisational chart detailing individual pay bands for staff can be found on the Department of Resources intranet site.
Members: Allowances
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, what percentage of the Department of Resources staff time is spent administering the allowances of hon. Members. [186171]
Nick Harvey: About one quarter of all departmental staff time is devoted to administering Members’ allowances. This equates to some 35 full-time equivalent staff.
Security
Mr. Hayes: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, (1) how many persons who are not nationals of EU member states hold a parliamentary pass; [188572]
(2) how many non-European nationals hold a parliamentary pass. [188577]
Nick Harvey: There are currently 1,312 valid parliamentary passes issued to individuals whose nationality is other than British.
Records are not held in a form which distinguishes the number of non-European from European nationals.
Wales
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent by his Department on (a) alcohol and (b) entertaining in the last 12 months. [187952]
Mr. Paul Murphy: My Department spent a total of £12,631.87 on entertaining in the last 12 months. The figures for entertaining are not split between alcohol and food, and these could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by Senior Civil Service staff in his Department in the last 12-month period for which figures are available. [187548]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The amount claimed by senior civil service staff in the financial year 2006-07 was £2,582.79.
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