Written Answers to Questions
The following answers were received between Wednesday 23 July and Friday 29 August 2008
Transport
Airports: Security
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average time taken to pass through security checks at each London airport was in the latest period for which figures are available. [218658]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport's report on improving the Air Passenger Experience (November 2007) provided some indications of security waiting times at Heathrow and Gatwick based on BAA data. Average daily queues were less than 10 minutes for 95 per cent. or more of the time at Heathrow in August 2007.
No Government published data are currently available on average time taken to pass through security checks. The Department has also commissioned the Civil Aviation Authority to collect data on the average time taken through security checks at four selected UK airports.
Aviation: Carbon Emissions
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how she plans to measure the emissions from UK aviation when the sector is included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. [218791]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The UK reports annually to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFGCC) estimates of emissions from UK sales of aviation fuels—known as "bunker fuels"—for domestic and international aviation. In doing so, the UK follows guidelines published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Estimates of emissions from fuel used for international aviation do not form part of the UK's national emissions inventory, as there has been no international agreement on how to allocate them to individual countries.
The Government will continue to press internationally for an approach that would allocate responsibility for international aviation emissions, and therefore require action to be taken globally to address them. Such allocation may be, for example, to countries or to the international aviation sector as a whole.
The inclusion of aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) will not change directly international reporting arrangements. The Government do not believe that inclusion of aviation in the EU ETS will provide a suitable emissions allocation methodology. Responsibility for meeting the cap will be placed directly on airlines; responsibility for regulating airlines will be placed on member states, in a process designed to achieve administrative simplicity. As a result, the UK regulator
will be responsible for administering airlines from the UK and other countries, some of whose flights will not pass through UK airspace or land at a UK airport.
The EU ETS will cap emissions from flights arriving in, or departing from, the EU. Any growth in emissions above that cap will require airlines to pay for equivalent emissions reductions from elsewhere within the scheme, thereby maintaining total emissions below the cap. The UK's reports to the UNFCCC on emissions from bunker fuels would not reflect achievement of the EU ETS cap. The differences between the UNFCCC and EU regimes reflect the different purposes for which they were established.
Aviation: Standards
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the financial (a) incentives and (b) disincentives to (i) airport operators and (ii) airlines to provide good passenger service. [216323]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Currently, airlines compete for customers on a number of factors including price, route and passenger service. They must also comply with the EU regulation on denied boarding, cancellation or long delay of flights (Reg (EC) 261/2004) by providing passengers with the requisite refreshments, accommodation, re-routing or compensation.
The Secretary of State for Transport announced a review of the economic regulation of airports on 22 April 2008, Official Report, columns 149-50WS. Among other aims this work will look at how best to provide incentives to improve passenger experience.
In addition, in November 2007 the Secretary of State for Transport wrote to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), in its capacity as the Government's expert aviation adviser and in accordance with section 16(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, requesting advice on passengers' experience in two areas where responsibility for delivering a good passenger service lies with a combination of bodies. These areas were passage through airports, with particular reference to Terminal 5 at Heathrow, and the resilience of airports to recover from problems such as extreme weather conditions. Work by the CAA is under way.
Departmental Appeals
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions her Department and its predecessor instructed the Treasury Solicitor to seek leave to appeal to the House of Lords from (a) the Court of Appeal and (b) the House of Lords itself in each of the last 10 years; and on how many occasions the application was rejected. [220814]
Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held in the form requested and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Betts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her Department’s policy is on improving the energy efficiency of the buildings which it (a) rents and (b) owns; what changes there have been in the energy efficiency of such buildings in the
last (i) five and (ii) 10 years; and whether her Department has adopted targets on energy efficiency improvements in the buildings it occupies over the next (A) five and (B) 10 years. [221091]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport is committed to achieving the published Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets, which include improving the energy efficiency of its estate by 15 per cent. by 2010 and by 30 per cent. by 2020. The target does not differentiate between rented and owned buildings.
The Department for Transport can confirm that by 2006-07 its energy efficiency performance had not improved in comparison to our baseline year of 2002-03. However, we fully expect the 2007-08 figures to show an improvement of at least 10 per cent. against the baseline, in the next Sustainable Development Commission annual report. The Department for Transport was formed in its current format under Machinery of Government changes in 2002. We therefore do not have figures prior to financial year 2002-03.
An initial step towards achieving the SOGE targets was the commissioning of a Carbon Management Energy Efficiency report by the Carbon Trust. This report centred on the five major areas of the Department which will give the highest reduction in Carbon emissions and subsequent improvement in energy efficiency. The Department is currently developing detailed implementation plans from the recommendations of this report.
Some of the specific steps being taken include:
The introduction of Smart metering at a number of the departmental sites;
The aim of achieving Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) “Excellent” rating on all new builds and “Excellent” or “Very Good” ratings for all major refurbishments;
The adoption of Office of Government Commerce (OGC) “Quick Win” standards as a minimum requirement as part of our sustainable procurement action plan;
Extending Environmental Management Systems;
Improving Building Management System controls; and
Exploring the opportunities for self generated energy.
In addition the Department for Transport is actively participating in the Display Energy Certificate initiative being implemented by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account her Department takes of the level of energy efficiency of buildings before entering into agreements to (a) rent and (b) purchase those buildings. [221107]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department is committed to purchasing new freehold offices with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of A or B and aims to do the same for leased offices wherever practicable.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisations have received (a) free and (b) discounted room hire from (i) her Department and (ii) its agencies in each of the last five years; and what the commercial value of the discount was in each case. [221589]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, during the last five years the following organisations have received free accommodation at Department for Transport buildings:
Benenden Healthcare
Charities Trust
Civil Service Benevolent Fund
Civil Service Healthcare
Civil Service Motoring Association
Institute of Civil Engineers
Medifit Healthcare
National Blood Service
PCS Trade Union
Prospect Trade Union.
The Driving Standards Agency provided the Friends of Cardington free use of the cinema at the Cardington training facility (Bedford) on 4 July 2008. The commercial value of hiring the cinema for an evening would be £275.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s Richard Ley Development Centre (Swansea) offers a Government/public sector 25 per cent. discount rate for use of its facilities. During the last five years the discounted rate has been offered to the following external organisations:
Arts Council of Wales
Environment Agency Wales
Mid and West Wales Fire Service
National Assembly
South Wales Police Authority
Swansea City Council
Swansea Council for Voluntary Services
Swansea Local Health Board
Swansea Local Education Authority.
Departmental Communications
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies (i) are classified as Government communicators and (ii) have access to the Government Communication Network. [215110]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is as follows:
The Department does not have a ‘communicator’ grade. Figures shown are for communications specialists engaged in a range of communications activities including news media, marketing, publicity, strategic communications, internal communications, e-communications and speechwriting. The full-time equivalent (FTE) number employed is estimated as follows using information readily available and dated February 2008.
| Estimated communicators February 2008 | |
The DFT(C) figure is only for relevant staff working in the Department’s Communication Directorate. DFT(C) also employs other staff who may perform communication roles but numbers are not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
(ii) Government Communication Network
All civil servants in the Department may register to access services of the Government Communication Network and those in a communication role may become a member and access additional network resources.
Departmental Overtime
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost of overtime payments paid to staff in her Department was in each of the last 12 months, broken down by pay grade. [221289]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Paper
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of paper used (a) for photocopying and (b) in printed publications by her Department was from recycled sources in each of the last two years. [220733]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 May 2007, Official Report, columns 1672-73W, for percentage figures relating to 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.
The following tables show the percentage of paper containing recycled content used in 2007-08:
| Percentage of photocopier paper with recycled content | |
| 2007-08 | |
| Percentage of paper with recycled content used in printed publications | |
| 2007-08 | |
| (1) Figure refers to publication work carried out by central Communications Directorate only. | |
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