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26 Nov 2008 : Column 1566W—continued
Departmental Senior Civil Servants
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff were employed in the Senior Civil Service within his Department on (a) 1st April 2007, (b) 1st April 2008 and (c) 20th November 2008; and what the total basic wage bill was for such staff, excluding bonuses in the last 12 months. [239719]
Mr. Hoon: The number of staff employed in the senior civil service (SCS) in the Department for Transport is set out in the following table. Figures are not readily available for the precise dates requested, but numbers for 31 January 2007 and 31 March 2008 are taken from the Department for Transport Annual Reports for 2007 and 2008 respectively. The total annual basic wage bill for the SCS, excluding bonuses, was £15,932,486 at 31 March 2008.
| Number of SCS staff | |
John McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost of bonuses paid to members of
the Senior Civil Service in his Department was in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08 and (c) 2008-09 to date. [239720]
Mr. Hoon: The total cost of bonuses paid to members of the senior civil service in the Department for Transport in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08 and (c) the current financial year to date is set out in the following table:
| Total cost of bonuses (£) | |
Departmental Information Officers
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many press officers were employed by his Department in each year since its inception; and what the total budget for press and communications in his Department was in each year. [228131]
Mr. Hoon: The Department for Transport and Executive agencies employ press officers, who liaise with media on behalf of Ministers. The average full-time equivalent (FTE) number of staff employed on press officer activities are set out in the following table.
| Staff FTE | ||||||
| Department for Transport | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| (1) VOSA were the Vehicle Inspectorate in this fiscal year. | ||||||
The Department’s major areas of press and communications spend were in support of our marketing activities on the THINK! road safety campaign, Act on CO2 campaign, Concessionary Bus Fares campaign, aviation security and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s continuous registration campaign. Figures for the Department and Executive agencies since the 2002-03 fiscal year are outlined as follows.
| Marketing costs (£) | ||||||
| Department for Transport | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| n/a = Not available (1) Figures could be provided only at disproportionate cost Note: Figure from May 2002 because of accounting changes | ||||||
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there has been any nugatory cost to his Department and its agencies relating to tendered procurement where the tender process has been cancelled prior to the award of the contract in the last three years. [239644]
Mr. Hoon: There have been a very small number of instances during the last three years where exercises have been cancelled and thereby costs have been incurred with no contract awarded. For the Department for Transport, this would normally amount to the effort expended on the procurement exercise before its cancellation. The precise number and costs involved are not recorded.
The Department has not reimbursed any supplier during the last three years for costs that they have incurred as a result of tendering for any contract advertised by the Department where the award process for that contract was subsequently cancelled.
Driving Standards Agency: Training
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many managers in the Driving Standards Agency have attended horse whispering courses; and at what cost; [234065]
(2) what the content is of the horse whispering courses that managers in the Driving Standards Agency have attended; and what the training objectives are for those managers to attend such courses. [234066]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 10 November 2008]: Five managers from the Driving Standards Agency attended a two-day course on leadership, communication and management skills, organised by The Beyond Partnership. The total cost of the course was £7,000 plus VAT, including overnight accommodation.
Driving Tests
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of the number of learner drivers from Southend who travelled to (a) Chelmsford and (b) Gillingham to take their driving tests in 2008; [237734]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of driving tests per month which the Southend test centre was able to accommodate in 2008; [237735]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of driving tests per month which the new Basildon test centre is able to accommodate; [237736]
(4) what estimate he has made of the number of driving tests per month which the Basildon test centre was able to accommodate before the establishment of the new test centre. [237737]
Jim Fitzpatrick: During 2008, two people with a postcode that includes Southend (SS) took tests at Gillingham. There were no tests taken at Chelmsford by people with a postcode that includes Southend residents.
Southend Test Centre was able to accommodate, on average, almost 800 tests per month with eight examiners. The average number of test conducted each month so far in 2008 was 780.
Basildon Multi-purpose Test Centre (MPTC) has an average monthly capacity of 980 car practical tests. Forecast demand for car practical tests at Basildon MPTC is 9,494 per annum—an average of around 800 tests per month. Basildon did not previously have a test centre. The MPTC is a new centre which has absorbed the facility at Southend.
Driving Tests: Carbon Emissions
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the effect of the introduction of multi-purpose practical driving test centres on levels of (a) car and motorcycle mileage and (b) carbon dioxide emissions. [239472]
Jim Fitzpatrick: There has been no appraisal undertaken on either the increased mileage or carbon emissions resulting from the introduction of multi-purpose test centres.
Driving Tests: Southend-on-Sea
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of driving tests booked at Basildon test centre which will be taken by learner drivers who had booked a driving test at the Southend centre. [237733]
Jim Fitzpatrick: No estimate has been made. All tests booked at Southend Driving Test Centre up until 5 December will be conducted there.
The Driving Standards Agency stopped taking bookings for Southend Driving Test Centre on 22 August and the centre will close on 5 December. Bookings made for tests to be conducted from 15 December will have been made for Basildon Multi-purpose Test Centre.
Heathrow Airport
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many days in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available runway alternation at Heathrow Airport has been (a) fully and (b) partially suspended (i) overall and (ii) during the morning peak. [239460]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 25 November 2008]: Figures are collected by BAA, and are expressed in terms of the percentage of flights that arrive outside of alternation, on a monthly basis.
Runway alternation during the hours of 6 am to 7 am takes place on a trial basis, and formed part of the adding capacity at Heathrow airport consultation. However the statistics do not take account of this, i.e. flights that arrive outside of alternation during 6 am to 7 am are included in the figures.
The statistics also include periods such as September and October 2006 where alternation was not possible because of runway and maintenance works.
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