| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
12 Jun 2008 : Column 397W—continued
Cycleways
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her most recent estimate is of the number of miles of cycle routes in the National Cycle Network. [209285]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Sustrans, the Transport Charity is the co-ordinator of the National Cycle Network (NCN). The Network consists of over 12,000 miles of walking and cycle routes on traffic-free paths, quiet lanes and traffic-calmed roads.
The Department for Transport continues to fund Links to School from the NCN. We have contributed over £18 million to link over 600 schools to the network. We plan to contribute funding for a further 250 links to approximately 500 schools through Cycling England's current work programme.
Cycleways: Construction
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the average cost per mile of new cycle path construction. [209071]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Local highway authorities are responsible for the delivery of cycle tracks and paths. They do so within their unring-fenced block grant for Local Transport.
The Department therefore does not hold information on cycle track/path construction costs. Furthermore the cost of an off-road cycle track/path varies greatly, especially depending on the design and location.
Sustrans, the promoters of the National Cycle Network estimate that the average cost of a mile of off-road cycle track costs around £45,000.
Cycling: Bournemouth
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what support her Department provides to assist the development of cycle networks in Bournemouth. [209677]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The responsibility for the development of cycle networks in Bournemouth rests with the local council, as the local highway authority.
The Department for Transport encourages all local authorities to develop a cycling strategy as part of their Local Transport Plan (LTP). I understand Bournemouth borough council produce a joint LTP with the borough of Poole council. DfT has awarded their joint LTP the following block grant for local transport for the next three years from which cycle projects could be funded.
| Integrated transport block allocations | |
| £000 | |
Departmental Higher Civil Servants
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date her Department’s Permanent Secretary took up the post. [209282]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Robert Devereux was appointed permanent secretary for the Department with effect from 30 May 2007.
Departmental Manpower
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what proportion of her Department's employees are (a) male, (b) female, (c) from an ethnic minority, (d) disabled and (e) not heterosexual; and if she will make a statement. [208401]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport recorded the following current data:
| Total | Percentage | |
Data on sexual orientation is not currently collected across the Department for Transport nor published centrally.
Departmental Travel
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance is given to her staff on use of sustainable travel for business purposes. [209048]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport and its agencies base their travel policy on the requirement that travel should only be undertaken where necessary, and after alternatives have been considered. Public transport should be used wherever possible.
Additional measures, such as detailed travel plans, are being developed and rolled out throughout the Department to reinforce the commitment to sustainability and the lowering of environmental impact. In addition, the central Department has published a sustainable travel site on its intranet which offers advice on alternatives to travel, and on sustainable travel choices.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether sustainability of mode of travel is taken into account by her Department when approving staff travel expenses. [209049]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport and its agencies operate travel policies that only permit travel to be undertaken when it is necessary and after alternatives have been considered, and stipulate that public transport should be used wherever possible. Management checks and approval of claims must include compliance with travel policy.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department paid in staff travel costs in each of the last three years, broken down by mode of transport. [209050]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Travel spend is accounted differently across the Department for Transport and its agencies, and hence it is not possible to provide a consistent breakdown by mode. Travel spend in 2005-06 was £12,650,748, in 2006-07 it was £13,574,340, and in 2007-08 £12,863,666. These figures do not include VOSA as the agency does not hold this information and so could not provide it without disproportionate cost. DSA figures are only included in the 2007-08 total, as the accounting system used before that period did not separate travel from other costs. The 2007-08 total does not include DFT(C) as the information for that year is not currently available.
Driving Tests: Personal Records
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Oral Statement of 17 December 2007, Official Report, columns 624-26, on data storage and use, when her Permanent Secretary was first informed of the loss of information by Pearson Driving Assessments Ltd. from its facility in Iowa City. [209281]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 5 February 2008, Official Report, column 1008W.
Government Car and Despatch Agency: Fuels
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Government Car and Despatch Agency spent on (a) petrol, (b) diesel and (c) other vehicle fuel in each of the last five years. [209444]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Since 2003-04 the Government Car and Despatch Agency has spent £3,352,937 on vehicle fuels as follows:
| £ | |||
| Petrol | Diesel | LPG | |
From 2005-06 onwards, vehicles in the van-based Government mail fleet ended their operational life and were replaced by diesel powered vans because these proved to be more reliable and efficient. This accounts for the sharp fall on the use of LPG in the last two years.
Heathrow Airport
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2008, Official Report, column 1384W, on Heathrow Airport, (1) which technical studies and documents regarding Heathrow expansion proposals have been made available to key stakeholders since 2003; [209249]
(2) which key stakeholders have been given access to technical studies regarding Heathrow expansion proposals conducted by her Department since 2003. [209250]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The only stakeholders given access to the Heathrow work were those directly involved in providing technical input, namely the Civil Aviation Authority, NATS and BAA. It is not practicable to list all the documents which respective parties have seen since 2003. The outcome of the work is represented by the Heathrow consultation document and the series of supporting technical reports issued last November, seven of which were provided variously by NATS and the CAA.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the likely effect of Heathrow Airport expansion on the level of chargeable landing fees by the airport operator. [209272]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The costs and benefits of additional capacity at Heathrow airport are set out in annex B (impact assessment) of “Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport”, November 2007, available at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/closed/heathrow consultation/
Further details of the methods used to estimate these costs and benefits are set out in “UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts”, November 2007, available at:
No assessment of the likely effect of additional capacity at Heathrow airport on the level of landing fees charged by the airport operator has been made.
The level of landing fees charged by the airport operator with additional capacity would be a matter for the airport operator, airlines, and the CAA.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what basis and by whom the assumptions referred to in paragraph 2.47 of Annex B to the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation document were made. [209277]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The assumptions are based on the Department for Transport future passenger forecasts with additional Heathrow capacity as set out in “Future of Air Transport White Paper supporting document Passenger Forecasts: Additional Analysis (December 2003)”. As stated in the consultation document, this analysis is preliminary and does not form part of the overall Heathrow net present value (NPV) calculations. The tourism analysis is currently being updated in line with latest information, feedback from consultation responses and input from the Heathrow impact assessment peer review process.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2008, Official Report, columns 953-4W, on Heathrow airport, what role was played by BAA in developing the economic impact assessment on Heathrow expansion set out in Annex B of the Adding Capacity at Heathrow consultation document. [209305]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Annex B of the ‘Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport’ consultation document, which assesses the potential impacts of options for adding capacity at Heathrow airport, was prepared by Department for Transport officials in line with the Better Regulation Executive's impact assessment guidance. As such it draws upon information from a range of sources, including BAA.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2008, Official Report, column 1014W, on Heathrow Airport, which (a) existing guidelines and (b) long-term targets recommended by the World Health Organisation were taken into account when preparing options for expansion included in the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation document; [209443]
(2) how many people live in areas of the UK where aviation noise is classified as dangerous by the World Health Organisation. [209446]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The reference in my earlier reply of 2 April 2008, Official Report, column 1014W, to WHO guidelines and long-term targets was in the context of noise policy generally, and was not specific to Heathrow.
The WHO guidelines for community noise (WHO, 1999) are essentially values for the onset of health effects. These are levels that would produce no significant health effects for the population at large. The WHO have recommended that the guidelines should be adopted as long term targets for improving human health which the Government have stated that they will take into account.
The WHO guideline targets and the Government definition of significant community annoyance are not incompatible but do not read across directly. The WHO values are set at the level below which there is no impact from annoyance on human health—the Government value is set in terms of community annoyance.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if her Department will commission an independent assessment of the information provided by BAA for the preparation of the Adding Capacity at Heathrow consultation document. [209664]
Jim Fitzpatrick: No. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 20 March 2008, Official Report, column 1383W.
Highways Agency
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to which bodies the Highways Agency is accountable. [209058]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Highways Agency is an Executive agency of the Department for Transport and is accountable to the Secretary of State for Transport.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |