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28 Oct 2008 : Column 834W—continued
Departmental Pensions
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department and its agencies are members of the (a) Classic, (b) Classic Plus, (c) Nuvos and (d) Premium civil service pension schemes. [229524]
Mr. Hoon: The number and proportion of Department for Transport civil servants in each of the civil service pension schemes is as follows:
| Classic | Classic Plus | Nuvos | Premium | Total | |
The remaining 0.4 per cent. of civil servants have either opted for the partnership scheme (which is a money purchase scheme), or have opted out of a pension provision.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants working in his Department and its agencies have pensions with a cash equivalent transfer value of over £1 million. [229544]
Mr. Hoon: It is not appropriate to disclose pension information for civil servants other than Board Members whose details are shown in the Remuneration Report in annual Resource Accounts. A copy of the Department for Transport Resource Accounts for financial year 2007-8 can be found in the Library or accessed electronically using the following link
Departmental Postal Services
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2008, Official Report, columns 1408-9W, on departmental postal services, how much (a) his Department, (b) the Highways Agency, (c) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and (d) the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency spent on its mail services in the last year. [229196]
Mr. Hoon: The requested information is provided as follows.
| Spend on mail services (£) | |
| (1) Comprising London HQ, Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Marine Accident Investigation Branch and Rail Accident Investigation Branch. (2) Relates to financial year 2007-08. The £22.9 million postal related expenses include £0.7 million in relation to contract carrier and cash carrying services. (3) The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) do not record this information. | |
Departmental Staff
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2008, Official Report, column 1372W, on departmental staff, how many individuals in the rail network strategy division are examining options for supporting further growth in the longer term. [230065]
Paul Clark: Five members of staff within the rail network strategy division are directly engaged in work relating to options for supporting longer-term growth. The work is part of the Department for Transport's multi-modal approach to strategy development, supported by its wider technical and professional resources.
Departmental Training
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what personal training courses at public expense he has undertaken since his appointment. [230951]
Mr. Hoon: I have not undertaken any personal training courses at public expense since my appointment.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Consultants
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency spent on external information technology consultants in each of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement. [226754]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Prior to the implementation of the new financial accounting system (SAP) in 2007, as part of the new Shared Services Arrangements, DVLA did not separately identify the different types of consultancy expenditure incurred. To interrogate the data for 2003-2007 would incur disproportionate costs so the following table details all contracts awarded to external information technology consultants and the value of those contracts, between 2004-05 and 2007-08.
| £000 | |
A large proportion of the spend allocated to 2006-07 was for a single project which actually spans several financial years.
Driving: Licensing
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people hold a UK driving licence. [227102]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The estimated number of people in Great Britain with a full driving licence in 2007 was 33.8 million.
East Coast Main Line
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the production of Network Rail's capacity analysis of the East Coast Main Line; and when it will be completed. [228573]
Paul Clark: Network Rail's East Coast Main Line capacity assessment report was published on 26 September 2008, and is publicly available on the website operated by the Office of Rail Regulation:
Fuels: Renewable Energy
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 15 October 2008, Official Report, column 46WS, on the Post-Gallagher update, what assessment he has made of the effect of slowing down the rate of increase of the renewable transport fuel obligation on (a) global food prices, (b) food insecurity in developing countries, (c) biodiversity loss and (d) greenhouse gas emissions arising from indirect land use change. [229150]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Professor Gallagher's review into the indirect effects of biofuel production acknowledged that there are uncertainties about the environmental, social and economic effects. However, he also concluded that there is a risk that the uncontrolled expansion and use of biofuels could lead to unsustainable changes in land use, such as the destruction of rainforest to make way for the production of crops. That might, in turn, increase greenhouse gas emissions, as well as contributing to higher food prices and shortages.
Professor Gallagher recommended that the Government amend but not abandon their biofuels policy. The Government agree with this recommendation and are currently consulting on a proposal to slow down the rate of increase of the RTFO.
The Renewable Fuels Agency is also required to include an assessment of the wider effects of biofuel production in its annual report to Parliament. This will enable the Government to continue to gather evidence on the impacts of biofuel use to help ensure that targets are set at appropriate levels.
Fuels: Rural Areas
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with ministerial colleagues at HM Treasury a fuel tax derogation for rural areas. [228382]
Paul Clark: Decisions on fuel duty, as with all decisions on taxation, are matters for HM Treasury. Treasury Ministers routinely consult with ministerial colleagues on all relevant matters as part of the pre-Budget report and Budget processes.
Heathrow Airport
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on whether a third runway should be built at Heathrow Airport. [228279]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the written statement made by the former Secretary of State for Transport on 8 July 2008, Official Report, columns 74-76WS.
Lorries: Fuels
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider requiring foreign hauliers entering the UK to have the same level of fuel when leaving the UK as when entering. [228381]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Consideration was given to fuel restrictions as part of Haulage Industry Task Group discussions. It is likely that any restriction would contravene European single market rules.
Lorries: Working Hours
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider bringing forward proposals to limit the number of hours per week that foreign hauliers may spend on UK roads. [228379]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The current EU drivers’ hours rules, which apply to drivers of large goods vehicles from all EU member states, restrict daily, weekly and fortnightly driving time, and require the taking of mandatory breaks and rests periods.
In addition in June, at the EU Transport Council, political agreement was reached on a Commission Proposal which would limit the number of cabotage operations performed by EU hauliers to three in seven days if preceded by a loaded international journey.
Motorways: Repairs and Maintenance
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of new (a) motorway and (b) motorway widening were completed in each of the last 10 years. [227087]
Paul Clark: The following table shows (a) the number of miles of new motorway and (b) the number of miles of motorway widened in each year since 1998.
| (a) New motorway | (b) Motorway widened | |
Parking: Disabled
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will encourage local authorities to allow blue badge holders to park free of charge in (a) residents’ parking bays and (b) parking bays; and if he will make a statement. [229511]
Paul Clark: The Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Exemptions for Disabled Persons) (England) Regulations 2000 already require local authorities to exempt holders of a disabled person’s badge from any charges that apply to other classes of traffic for the use of on-street parking spaces.
Public Transport: Visually Impaired
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the number of visually impaired people injured whilst using public transport in the last 10 years. [229462]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not available.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) blind and (b) partially sighted people had a free bus pass (i) in each year since 1997 and (ii) at the latest date for which information is available. [229510]
Paul Clark: Local authorities are responsible for issuing concessionary bus passes and the Department for Transport does not hold detailed information about the breakdown of different types of pass holder.
From 1 April 2008 local authorities outside London have been required to issue all concessionary bus passes as ITSO smartcards. To date around 7.2 million have been issued. Approximately 900,000 London Freedom Passes have been re-stickered for national use. From 2010 London will be required to issue their passes as ITSO smartcards.
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