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18 Jun 2008 : Column 936W—continued
Departmental Publications
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on models and photography for internal and external Departmental publications in the last 12 months. [211406]
Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was of models used for the photographs in the Department for Transport annual report 2008. [211407]
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on photographs and illustrations for the Department for Transport annual report 2008. [211408]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department spent £2,699 excluding VAT on photographs for the annual report 2008. Other graphs and diagrams were created from the Department's data at no additional external cost.
Departmental Training
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which training courses were (a) available to and (b) taken up by civil servants in her Department in the last 12 months. [210581]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The following list of development opportunities are available to DfT staff:
Absence Management;
Accountancy;
Assessment Centre Training;
Avoiding Harassment and Bullying;
Coaching;
Coastguard training;
Communication—Oral and Written skills;
Coping with Traumatic Incidents;
Customer Service;
Data Protection;
Diversity Awareness;
Driving Examiner Assessment;
Emergency Officer Training;
Employment Law;
European Union Training;
Finance and Audit;
Health and Safety;
Impact Assessment;
Induction for new entrants;
Information Technology;
Interviewee Skills;
Language Courses;
Leadership Skills;
Manual Handling training;
Marine Vessel Inspection;
Marine Search and Rescue;
Mentoring;
Parliamentary Process;
Performance Management;
Personal Development;
Personal Effectiveness;
Pre-Retirement courses;
Procurement;
Professional Qualifications;
Programme and Project Management;
Recruitment and Selection Interviewing;
Risk Assessment Training;
Stress Management;
Talent Management;
Telephone Skills;
Traffic Officer Service training;
Transport Security Officer training;
Vehicle Safety and Inspection.
A good deal of these opportunities are available through the Department's training framework contract. Staff are encouraged to make full use of the framework contract to meet their development needs. However, where development needs cannot be met via the framework contract, there is flexibility for them to explore other options.
Departmental Vetting
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether (a) UK citizens born in the UK, (b) UK citizens born abroad and (c) foreign nationals recruited into her Department and its agencies are subject to (i) UK and (ii) overseas criminal record checks; and if she will make a statement. [206474]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport's (DfT's) aim is to ensure that all employees are subject to baseline personnel security standards.
DfT (C) and its Agencies carry out Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), counter-terrorist check (CTC), security check (SC) and developed vetting (DV) clearance for all relevant posts where this level of clearance is necessary, for example working with vulnerable people, or in sensitive areas of the department.
It is recognised that overseas criminal record checks are more difficult depending on the country and will not in any event be picked up by Disclosure Scotland. The Home Office is taking forward work to improve access to overseas criminal conviction data as set out in the reply by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office (Meg Hillier), to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) on 4 February 2008 Official Report, columns 824-5W.
Driving Tests: Southend on Sea
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when a final decision will be announced on the future of the Southend Driving Test Centre. [211526]
Jim Fitzpatrick: A decision is expected to be announced in August 2008.
Fixed Penalties: Appeals
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what method of redress is available to those who have paid a penalty charge notice subsequently found to be invalid under section 66(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1991. [209467]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Section 66(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1991 has been repealed but any enforcement action in respect of a parking contravention observed or detected before 2400 hours on Sunday 30 March 2008 must be taken under the provisions of that Act. Those provisions included the right of the recipient of a penalty charge notice to appeal against it to an adjudicator on various grounds. If the adjudicator allowed that appeal, the adjudicator could give the authority concerned such directions as he or she
considered appropriate (for example the refund of the penalty) and such directions had to be complied with by the authority.
First Great Western Trains
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason her Department specified service level reductions in respect of the present period for the franchise operated by First Great Western. [211087]
Mr. Tom Harris [holding answer 13 June 2008]: The specification for the greater western franchise was described in a stakeholder briefing document published by the Strategic Rail Authority in June 2005. Its primary objectives were to improve operational performance, and reduce the subsidy demand on taxpayers, by matching service provision more closely to demand.
First Great Western Trains: Rolling Stock
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many carriages will be withdrawn from west of Exeter when South West Trains cease operating west of Exeter; on how many services; and what steps she is taking to ensure that sufficient replacement rolling stock will be available to First Great Western. [211089]
Mr. Tom Harris: Currently, South West Trains run two trains in each direction between Exeter and Paignton, and two between Exeter and Plymouth, operating as extensions of the Waterloo-Exeter service. Each normally consists of three coaches. These extensions will cease in December 2009, when the Waterloo-Exeter train frequency is due to be increased to hourly. The Department for Transport is discussing the implications of these changes with relevant train operators and Passenger Focus, and will seek mitigation measures as necessary.
Heathrow Airport
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects to respond to the freedom of information request of 7 February, from the hon. Member for Putney, on the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport public consultation; and if she will make a statement. [205914]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The papers for this case are currently being collated. The Secretary of State for Transport expects to respond to the hon. Member shortly.
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, what tasks were included in the wide range of technical work in which BAA plc participated. [210598]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
As set out in the Heathrow consultation document, BAA's involvement included developing the technical basis for mixed mode operations, refining the proposals for a third runway (including supporting passenger terminal facilities and connectivity), advising on forecasting and fleet mix assumptions and leading on the surface access work. Throughout the project,
BAA's expertise as the airport operator assisted in ensuring that technical issues were properly understood and accurately represented.
Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what projections her Department has made of the volume of carbon dioxide emissions arising from motor vehicles in (a) 2010, (b) 2015, (c) 2020 and (iv) 2025; and if she will make a statement. [207310]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport published projections in October 2007 on changes in CO2 emissions from road transport in England.
These are summarised in the following table.
| Road transport | |
| In million tonnes of CO 2 | |
These have been produced by applying the forecast percentage change in CO2 emissions between 2003 and 2010, 2015 and 2025 from the Department's national transport model to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affair's official CO2 inventory data for 2003. We have not produced a projection for 2020.
These forecasts are in the absence of further policy measures such as the changes to vehicle excise duty announced in this years budget and the outcome of the latest round of Commission discussions on mandatory new car CO2 emissions and are consistent with what was announced in the Energy White Paper (2007). Further detail of the assumptions and policies underlying the road forecasts is available from:
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the commitment to the Gleneagles G8 Climate Change Action Plan to use public procurement policy to accelerate market development of low-carbon vehicles. [209771]
Jim Fitzpatrick: In the May 2007 Energy White Paper the Government announced that they would develop a new programme to help public sector organisations procure innovative, lower-carbon vehicles, with a view to accelerating their market development. In its initial phase the programme will have funding of £20 million and will focus on development of a lower carbon van.
To ensure that Government lead by example we also set a new target that, by 2010-11, new passenger cars purchased by central Government Departments and their agencies for administrative purposes will on average emit 130 g/km CO2 or lower. In addition, at EU level we are working on agreement of a new directive to promote public procurement of clean and energy-efficient vehicles, without imposing unacceptable additional costs on authorities.
Motor Vehicles: Fuels
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received on flexible fuel vehicles. [211877]
Jim Fitzpatrick: None, although Ministers and officials continue to engage with representatives from the automotive and fuel industries on this and on other biofuel-related issues.
Official Cars
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which models of cars available for ministerial use are manufactured in the UK. [211579]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 16 June 2008]: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 10 March 2008, Official Report, column 8W, given to the hon. Member for Houghton and Washington, East (Mr. Kemp).
Olympic Games
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department plan to attend the Beijing Olympic Games; to what purpose in each case; and what estimate she has made of the cost. [212116]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There are no plans for any Minister or official to attend the Beijing Olympics on behalf of the Department for Transport.
Parking: Income
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) gross and (b) net income was from parking in each English local authority in each of the last five years; and what the balance of each authority's Parking Places Revenue Account was in the most recent year for which figures are available. [210017]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
I have placed in the Library of the House a table showing the requested information on the gross and net income on parking services by each local authority in England in the last five years. Aggregate information for England is published in editions of Local Government Financial Statistics and the information is drawn from the Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) returns.
The information on Parking Places Revenue Accounts is not held centrally.
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