Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 5 November 2008
Leader of the House
Members: Allowances
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Leader of the House what the limit on expenditure via the Communications Allowance in 2008-09 is, including transfers from Incidental Expenses Provision and Staffing Allowance to the maximum amount permissible. [232926]
Chris Bryant: The communications allowance is set at a maximum of £10,400 in 2008-09. This figure will be frozen for the next three years in accordance with the decision of the House on 3 July 2008.
The rules allow Members to transfer up to 10 per cent. of their staffing allowance, and up to 100 per cent. of their incidental expenses provision, into the communications allowance and Members may in certain limited circumstances carry forward an unspent balance or ask for an advance from the following year of up to 10 per cent. of the allowance.
Scotland
Departmental Mass Media
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which organisations provided media monitoring services to his Department in each of the last three years; and what the cost of each such contract was. [230225]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office recently renegotiated its media monitoring contract; however, the Office incurred the following expenditure on media monitoring:
| £ | |||
| PressData( 1) | PA Mediapoint( 2) | Newslink( 3) | |
| (1) Web-based press cuttings (2) Web-based news wire (3) Broadcast transcription | |||
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Maude:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) of 6 October 2008, Official Report, column 11W, on departmental procurement, what the monetary value of the expenditure undertaken in 2007-08 for goods or supplies was from (a) Bell Decorating Group, (b) ASM Locksmiths Ltd, (c)
Celtic Manor Resort Limited, (d) Dentons Catering Equipment Limited, (e) John Lewis plc and (f) the Scottish Storytelling Centre; and what the purpose of the expenditure was in each case. [233389]
Ann McKechin: The information is as follows:
Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre: Children
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland with reference to the announcement by his Department of 23 October 2008 on a pilot of an alternative to detention for children at Dungavel, when he expects the pilot to be operational. [232944]
Ann McKechin: I expect the Glasgow Alternatives to Detention pilot to be operational in early 2009. The exact date for commencement of the pilot will depend on the outcomes of ongoing discussions with our partners.
We are keen to minimise the detention of children where possible, and deal with the return of families in an appropriate and sensitive manner. The procedure will empower the families to make informed decisions on a return home through voluntary departure, and hopefully reduce the need for the enforced removals.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how long the trial for the pilot of an alternative to detention for children at Dungavel will last. [232950]
Ann McKechin: The Glasgow Alternatives to Detention pilot is expected to last 18 months, although this will be kept under review once the pilot is operational.
Electoral Commission Committee
Political Parties: Finance
Mr. Tyrie:
To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman), of 7 October 2008, Official Report, column 547W, on political
parties: finance, what the name of the public sector consultant commissioned to provide public sector auditor advice is; and what the cost of this contract is. [232936]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has engaged the temporary services of Mr. Peter Norris, a professionally qualified auditor, through a recruitment agency to provide public sector auditor advice two days per week within its party and election finance directorate. This role is paid pro rota at pay level 1 which for London based staff ranges from £59,045-£74,997.
The Electoral Commission further informs me that it has recently contracted with PricewaterhouseCoopers to provide assistance with developing standard requirements and guidance on the completion of statements of accounts. The value of this contract is approximately £26,000.
Transport
Bus Services
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made towards achieving the target of increasing bus passenger journeys by 2010 by 10 per cent., as stated in his Department’s Transport 10 Year Plan of 2000; and against what benchmark progress towards achieving this target is being measured. [232013]
Paul Clark: The target to increase bus passenger journeys by 10 per cent. by 2010 has now been superseded by one of a set of public service agreements (PSA) published in the cross-Governmental Spending Review 2004.
The new target outlines our aim, by 2010, to increase the use of public transport (bus and light rail) by more than 12 per cent. in England compared with 2000 levels, with growth in every region in the last three years.
With bus and light rail patronage already at 19 per cent. above the baseline, we are already on track to meet this target. London is largely responsible for the achievement.
While we are on course to achieve the national patronage target, the target for growth in patronage in every region remains challenging.
Bypasses
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made towards achieving the target of creating 100 new bypasses on trunk and local roads by 2010, as stated in his Department’s 2000 Transport 10 Year Plan; and which bypass road schemes were (a) started and (b) completed in each year since 2000. [232011]
Paul Clark: The 10-year plan published in July 2000 set out a broad package of measures for improving transport. Over the 10-year period individual projects of the Highways Agency and local highway authorities would flow from the outcome of multi modal studies and decisions taken through regional transport strategies and local transport plans. Although the 10-year plan gave an indicative figure for bypasses this is not a target that the Government monitor performance against
On (a) the following list sets out the bypasses which have been started since 2000. On (b) I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers) on 22 October 2008, Official Report, column 415W.
A27 Polegate Bypass
A43 Silverstone Bypass
A43 Whitfield Turn-Brackley Hatch Improvement
A43 M40-B4031 Dualling
Burntwood Bypass Phases 1, 2 and 3 Staffordshire
A6023 Denaby Main Diversion Doncaster
A428 Crick Bypass Northampton (developer funded)
A6 Great Glen Bypass
A6 Clapham Bypass
A66 Stainburn and Great Clifton Bypass
A500 Basford, Hough, Shavington Bypass
A650 Bingley Relief Road
A41 Aston Clinton Bypass
A151 Weston Bypass, Lincolnshire
C541 Addlethorpe Bypass and Bends Improvement, Lincolnshire
A143 Broome-Ellingham, Norfolk
A131 Great Leighs, Essex
A63 Selby Bypass
A5 Nesscliffe Bypass
A10 Wadesmill to Colliers End Bypass
A6 Rothwell-Desborough Bypass
A6 Rushden and Higham Ferrers Bypass
A6 Alvaston Improvement
Barnsley Coalfields Link Road (aka Shafton Bypass)
A53 Hodnett Bypass Shropshire
A4146 Stoke Hammond and Linslade bypass (Northern Link), Buckinghamshire
A527 Biddulp Inner Bypass Staffordshire
Wyre Piddle Bypass Worcestershire
A21 Lamberhurst Bypass
St. Clements Way Thurrock (aka West Thurrock Marshes Relief Road)
A350 Semington-Melksham Diversion Wiltshire
Mansfield Ashfield Regeneration Route, Nottinghamshire
A5 Weeford-Fazeley Improvement
A47 Thorney Bypass
A421 Great Barford Bypass
A607 Rearsby Bypass, Leicestershire
A167 Chilton Bypass, Durham
A158 Coastal Access Improvement Phase 1—Partney Bypass, Lincolnshire
A57 Cadishead Way (Brinell Drive to City Boundary), Salford
A505 Baldock Bypass, Herfordshire
Barnstaple Western Bypass, Devon
Cradley Heath Town Relief Road, Sandwell
Sheffield Northern Inner Relief Road Stage 2 (Northern Section)
A428 West Haddon Bypass, Northampton (developer funded)
South Lowestoft Relief Road, Suffolk
A142 Fordham Bypass, Cambridgeshire
A38 Northfield Regeneration Relief Road, Birmingham
Rugely Eastern Bypass Stage 2, Staffordshire
A4146 Stoke Hammond and Linslade Western Bypass, Buckinghamshire
Gloucester South West Bypass
A66 Carkin Moor to Scotch Corner Improvement
A590 High and Low Newton Bypass
A419 Blunsdon Bypass
A38 Dobwalls Bypass
A197 Pegswood Bypass, Northumberland
A1198 Papworth Everard Bypass, Cambridgeshire
A612 Gedling Integrated Transport Scheme, Nottinghamshire
A429 Barford Bypass, Warwickshire
A158/C541 Coastal Access Improvement Scheme, Phase 2—Burgh Le Marsh Bypass Lincolnshire
A165 Reighton Bypass, North Yorkshire
Ridgmont Bypass and Woburn Link Road, Bedfordshire
A3 Hindhead Improvement
A69 Haydon Bridge Bypass
Tunstall Northern Bypass, Stoke
Rugby Western Relief Road, Warwickshire
A47 Earl Shilton Bypass, Leicestershire
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