Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 30 April 2008
Scotland
Cycling
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department provides (a) tax-free benefits and (b) other allowances for its staff to purchase bicycles under the Cycle to Work Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [197011]
David Cairns: All staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice and are able to access any initiatives operated by their parent Departments.
Departmental Written Questions
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many days it took on average to answer written parliamentary questions tabled by each hon. Member for answer by him in the last six months. [201766]
David Cairns: Details of the percentage of questions answered within deadlines by the Scotland Office for the last six months are shown in the following table:
| Percentage | ||
| Ordinary written questions answered within five working days | Named day questions answered on the day requested | |
| (1) No named day questions were asked. | ||
Women and Equality
Equality: Legislation
Mr. Harper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if she will publish the responses to the consultation on the Government’s proposals for a single equality bill. [196983]
Barbara Follett: The Government intends to publish the responses from organisations to its consultation on proposals for a Single Equality Bill at the same time as it publishes its own full and formal response to this consultation.
Northern Ireland
Electronic Government
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether mechanisms are in place to monitor the extent to which his Department's (a) internal and (b) external (i) correspondence and (ii) distribution of publications is carried out electronically. [199198]
Mr. Woodward: There are no mechanisms in place to monitor the extent to which the Department's (a) internal and (b) external (i) correspondence and (ii) distribution of publications is carried out electronically.
Firearms: Licensing
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people with convictions for scheduled offences were granted a licence to carry a personal firearm in Northern Ireland in each year since 1998. [202237]
Paul Goggins: The chief constable has advised me that the information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
House of Commons Commission
Mobile Phones Recycling
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will make it their policy to introduce mobile phone recycling on the Parliamentary Estate. [201259]
Nick Harvey: Arrangements for the secure disposal of mobile phones provided for use by House staff are in place. This does not currently cover their recycling. The House authorities will review these arrangements with particular reference to the recent waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) regulations and the responsibilities that suppliers now have. No arrangements are currently in place for phones belonging to Members and their staff but the aforementioned regulations will apply.
The House already seeks to maximise re-use and recycling generally as a commitment in its waste policy. There are already facilities available for recycling batteries, including those used in mobile phones.
Wales
Cycling
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether his Department provides (a) tax-free benefits and (b) other allowances for their staff to purchase bicycles under the Cycle to Work scheme; and if he will make a statement. [198769]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Wales Office staff are able to apply for an advance of salary (which is then deducted at source and is therefore tax-efficient) to purchase bicycles and safety equipment.
The Wales Office does not have any non-departmental public bodies.
Transport
Biofuels
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account she took of the First Report of the Environmental Audit Committee, Session 2007-08, on Are Biofuels Sustainable?, HC 76-I before requesting the Renewable Fuels Agency to carry out a review of biofuels. [201270]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
New evidence has emerged in recent months on the net greenhouse gas benefits of certain
types of biofuels. There is currently little consensus on much of this new evidence and there are widely diverging views on the sustainability of current and future biofuels targets. The Environmental Audit Committee's report is an example of this evidence and the report both contributed to the Secretary of State's decision to call the review and forms part of the evidence that will be used in the production of the review. The Government's response to the Environmental Audit Committee's report has been submitted to that Committee.
Bird and Bird
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contracts were awarded by her Department to Bird and Bird Solicitors in each year since 2005; and what the (a) value and (b) duration of each such contract was. [201638]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The following contracts have been awarded by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency to Bird and Bird Solicitors since 2005:
| Contract description | Contract start date / award date | Contract end date | Contract v alue (exc. VAT) |
|
Legal Review of Transport for London Low Emission Zone Contract | |||
In addition work has been placed with Bird and Bird Solicitors by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) via OGC Buying Solution’s legal services framework. This was to represent DVLA in relation to a dispute on the procurement of a Storage Area Network and associated equipment. The value of this work was:
| £ | |
The central Department placed a one off order with Bird and Bird Solicitors in January 2006 for professional charges associated with a DVO e-Learning system. The value of this work was £1,969.
Bus Services
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with local authorities on maintaining and extending the provision of free or subsidised bus shelters funded by advertising companies; and what assessment her Department has made of the role of well-positioned, well-maintained bus shelters in encouraging passengers to make use of local bus services. [201276]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There have been no discussions between this Department and local authorities on the specific issue of maintaining and extending the provision of free or subsidised bus shelters funded by advertising companies.
However, waiting for a bus, train or tram is accepted as part of a public transport journey so infrastructure provision at the point of boarding or alighting will affect user experience and demand. The physical waiting environment includes shelters, vehicle access, information provision, and the safety and security of the location.
The Department has commissioned a detailed research project into a wide spectrum of factors that influence bus patronage, with particular reference to ‘softer’ factors, including the quality of the waiting environment, and the perceived safety of the walk to that point.
The results are due by the end of this year, and will be used to inform operators and local authorities about the most effective packages of measures to increase patronage, including what value passengers place on the waiting or interchange environment.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local authorities in England have withdrawn concessionary fare schemes offering reduced fares for people with disabilities travelling before 9.30 am in the last 12 months. [202018]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The Government are responsible for the statutory minimum concession that all travel concession authorities (TCAs) are required to provide. From 1 April this year, the statutory entitlement to concessionary travel is improved to give residents of England aged 60 or over and eligible disabled people free off-peak bus travel in any part of England. Off-peak is defined in legislation as 9.30 am to 11 pm Monday to Friday and at all times at weekends and bank holidays. TCAs have discretion to enhance its statutory minimum
at their own expense. They can give residents concessionary travel beyond the statutory times or extend eligibility to other groups of people. Any decision to change these discretionary elements is a matter for individual TCAs and, as such, no record is kept centrally of such changes.
As part of our monitoring of concessionary travel, the Department intends to carry out a survey of TCAs during summer 2008 to establish the range of local enhancements available at end of December 2007 and at end of June 2008. This will report in the autumn and provide an indication of the discretionary concessions that were withdrawn between these two dates and since the previous survey carried out in the summer of 2006.
Consultants
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what payments the Civil Aviation Authority made to (a) Waterfront Public Affairs, (b) Mandate Communications and (c) AS Biss in each of the last five years; and on what dates and for what purpose the payment was made in each case. [202273]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Civil Aviation Authority has advised that payments over the last five years to these companies were as follows:
For parliamentary monitoring services.
| £ | |
For various services including press-cutting, advertisements, market research, editorial, public affairs and political consultancy.
| £ | |
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what payments the Northern Lighthouse Board made to Grayling Political Strategy in each of the last five years; and on what dates and for what purpose the payment was made in each case. [202275]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Grayling Political Strategy has a contract with the Northern Lighthouse Board to provide the following services to highlight issues directly or indirectly affecting the board.
1. provide full information, intelligence and advisory service covering the proceedings of (i) the Scottish Parliament, its Committees, the Scottish Government and the political parties in Scotland; (ii) the UK Parliament, its Committees,
the UK Government and the political parties in UK; and (iii) the European Parliament, its Committees, and the European Commission;
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