Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 25 June 2008
Scotland
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) new builds and (b) major refurbishments were completed by his Department for a cost in excess of £0.5 million in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08 to which the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method or equivalent was applied; how many such buildings were assessed as (A) pass, (B) good, (C) very good and (D) excellent; and if he will make a statement. [213703]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office has not undertaken any new builds or major refurbishments in this period.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) new builds and (b) major refurbishments for a cost in excess of £0.5 million were completed by his Department in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08. [213754]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office has not undertaken any new builds or major refurbishments in this period.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08. [212049]
Departmental Sick Leave
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the average number of days taken as sick leave in his Department was in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. [213204]
David Cairns: All Scotland Office staff are on secondment from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice; the office does not maintain a central record of sick absences. Such records are held by the parent Departments who publish their sick absence statistics.
Transport
Aviation: Safety
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what modelling National Air Traffic Services have carried out on public safety zones; and what methodology underpins the modelling. [213478]
Jim Fitzpatrick: National Air Traffic Services have modelled all public safety zones (PSZs) since, and including, the review of PSZs undertaken by the Department for Transport in 2002. The methodology underpinning this modelling is considered in the Department's publication Third Party Risk Near Airports and Public Safety Zone Policy' (ISBN 1 85112 418 7) as part of the studies that informed the review.
This document is available on the Department's website at:
Bournemouth Airport
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there are plans to upgrade the main road serving Bournemouth International Airport in light of the planned expansion of the airport. [208775]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Manchester Airports Ltd., the owner of Bournemouth International Airport, has recently been granted planning permission to redevelop the existing terminal in order to cater for the predicted increase in passenger throughput from 917,000 passengers per annum in 2005-06 to 4.5 million by 2030. The approval was conditional upon its undertaking improvements to junctions on the existing network in the immediate vicinity of the airport and funding better public transport links to Bournemouth. It did not require the construction of a link to the A338 Bournemouth Spur road.
The draft Master Plan for Bournemouth Airport confirms that, based on current transport growth trends, a new road link from the A338 is not necessary for the airport to achieve its planned growth.
Furthermore, the South West region has not identified such a link as a regional priority within its regional funding allocation advice to Government, and no Major Scheme bid has yet been received by the Department for Transport.
Departmental Trade Unions
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which trade unions represent members of staff in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies. [212470]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport staff are represented by the following trade unions: Public and Commercial Services, First Division Association and Prospect. The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and the Government Car and Despatch Agency are also represented by Unite.
Departmental Vetting
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures her Department follows for checking the criminal records of employees; and if she will make a statement. [213134]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 18 June 2008, Official Report, column 938W.
Fuels: Prices
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information she holds on the percentage change in the pump price of (a) petrol and (b) diesel in each (i) EU and (ii) G8 country between January 2005 and April 2008; and what the average price change has been. [213487]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 24 June 2008]: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform publishes data on EU pump prices in their Quarterly Energy Prices publication available at:
Table 1 as follows illustrates the EU pump prices in each individual country between January 2005 and April 2008. These numbers are in nominal terms and during this time the €/£ exchange rate changed from €1.43/£1 to €1.26/£1.
The Department for Transport does not hold such information for G8 member countries.
| Table 1: Fuel prices in EU member states (pence per litre) | ||||||
| Petrol pump prices | Diesel pump prices | |||||
| January 2005 | April 2008 | Percentage change | January 2005 | April 2008 | Percentage change | |
| Note: No data for pump prices in January 2005 were available for Bulgaria and Romania. | ||||||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |