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15 Jan 2009 : Column 876W—continued
Traffic Lights
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department has (a) produced and (b) plans to produce for local authorities on the speed at which traffic lights change from amber to red; and if he will make a statement. [247997]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport issues guidance to highway authorities on the general principles of traffic control by light signals. Guidance is contained in Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/06 (TAL 1/06). A copy of the TAL 1/06 is available in the Library.
Olympics
Dalai Lama
Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will invite the Dalai Lama to attend the London 2012 Olympics. [245235]
Tessa Jowell: Guests and dignitaries are invited to attend the Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee and participating National Olympic Committees, and the Paralympic Games by the International Paralympic Committee and participating National Paralympic Committees.
Departmental Correspondence
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many (a) letters and (b) e-mails received by her Office had not been responded to as at 15 December 2008. [244714]
Tessa Jowell: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. Information relating to 2008 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2007 was published on 20 March 2008, Official Report, columns 71-74WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House. When responding to all correspondence Departments should abide by the guidance as set out in ‘Handling correspondence from MPs, Lords, MEPs and Members of Devolved Assemblies' which was published by the Cabinet office in July 2005.
In respect of all other correspondence, we are unable to provide the information within the disproportionate cost limit (£750).
Departmental Internet
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Olympics with reference to the answer of 4 November 2008, Official Report, columns 336-37W, on Government departments: information and communications technology, which IP addresses are used by (a) her Office and (b) computers in (i) her private office, (ii) the offices of its communications officials and (iii) the offices of her special advisers. [241958]
Tessa Jowell: To help defend against electronic attack, it is standard good information security practise for corporate IT systems, not to publish internal IP addresses. When accessing internet websites, the IP addresses of all of the computers on the Cabinet Office’s internal office IT system are hidden behind the following IP addresses which are publicly available—195.92.40.49 and 62.25.106.209. These IP addresses are shared with other Government Departments that use the Government secure intranet.
Olympic Games 2012
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what plans she has to allow commercial organisations to seek the endorsement of the London 2012 Organising Committee for mass participation schemes. [243213]
Tessa Jowell [holdin g answer 15 December 200 8 ]: London 2012 official sponsors have the right to activate their sponsorship, including for mass participation initiatives. There are no plans to allow other commercial organisations to associate directly with the games, which would undermine the exclusive association for which the official sponsors have paid. In exceptional circumstances, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic games and Paralympic games and the International Olympic Committee may approve a project which has non-Olympic commercial support, provided they have absolute confidence the company will not gain any association with the 2012 games.
Non-commercial participation schemes inspired by the London Olympic games and Paralympic games, and offering opportunities in sport, culture, volunteering, education, the environment and the promotion of business opportunities, can apply to be part of the Inspire programme, London 2012's broad participation and legacy programme.
Olympic Games 2012: Construction
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether (a) her Office and (b) the Olympic Delivery Authority have had discussions with modular building contractors on the construction of the athletes’ village for the London 2012 Olympics. [243589]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 15 December 2008]: The Olympic Delivery Authority through their development manager and preferred developer, Lend Lease, have reviewed with modular building contractors and volumetric building contractors the use of their products in the development of the Olympic village. The selected procurement and delivery route involves the use of factory prepared modular building components to be assembled on site within a site prepared structural frame.
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what assessment has been made of the viability of using modular construction methods for the athletes’ village for the London 2012 Olympics; and if she will make a statement. [243590]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 15 December 200 8 ] : The viability of using modular construction methods has been assessed in some detail. Many elements of the project have been considered for modular construction techniques, and many are being implemented. Elements considered include:
Facade Cladding Panels
Stairs and landings
Bathroom Pods
Services/Utility cupboard
Internal Walls
Fit out pre-packaged ceilings, floors, doors and joinery.
Electrics
Prefabricated Multi service Vertical Risers
Prefabricated Multi service Horizontal distribution runs
Service Distribution Modules
Roof Plant Modules
All of these elements are being developed in modular form to varying degrees for incorporation into the final product.
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what recent estimate she has made of the cost of construction of the athletes’ village for the London 2012 Olympics; if she will estimate the cost of construction of the village using modular construction methods; and if she will make a statement. [243591]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 15 December 2008]: The costs of developing the Olympic village are currently being reviewed taking into account elements of modular construction as appropriate. As the costs are the subject of sensitive commercial negotiations it would not be appropriate to disclose costings at this time.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what assessment she has made of progress in construction of the Olympic Park and other Olympic venues; and what RAG system key has been assigned to the targets for performance on (a) budget and (b) timescale. [247380]
Tessa Jowell: The substantial progress that has been made both in the delivery of the venues and infrastructure and in the raising of funds to support the staging of the games means that, while recognising the risks, we remain in a strong position to manage delivery on time and on budget.
Progress across the whole Olympics programme is reported on a monthly basis to the Olympic board, including red, red/amber, amber green and green ratings against each element of the programme, including venues in terms of budget and time.
Olympic Games 2012: Finance
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics on what dates since January 2008 the Olympic Delivery Authority contacted the Treasury Funders Group on access to the Olympic contingency fund. [247356]
Tessa Jowell: The funders group met in July 2008 to consider the impact that the economic downturn was likely to have on the Olympic village project and met again in October 2008 to review the situation further.
In December the funders group were requested via correspondence to approve the release of contingency to fund additional seating requirements in the handball arena and additional building works in the Olympic Stadium.
The next London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games annual report will be produced in the near future and will include fully updated financial information, including the outcomes of agreed contingency requests. Thereafter, we will publish a quarterly financial update which will include any changes to published budgets.
Olympic Games 2012: North East
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what support is being provided to designated training facilities in the North East for athletes for London 2012 Olympics. [245861]
Tessa Jowell: The north-east region has 20 designated training facilities in the pre-games training camp guide from across the region offering 23 Olympic and Paralympic sports/disciplines.
The north-east regional coordinator for the 2012 games has brought all facilities’ representatives together to develop shared plans and a marketing brochure to promote the north-east’s sporting offer to National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees competing in London 2012. The Coordinator is also working with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic games and Paralympic games on the wider nations and regions effort to market all UK facilities.
Defence
Armed Forces: Occupational Health
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on counselling services for new recruits to the army over the last 10 years. [247558]
Mr. Kevan Jones: We estimate that the Army spent the following on counselling services for new recruits (Phase 1 trainees) for the last five years. Information is not available for previous years.
| Period/FY | £ million |
Army: Manpower
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals over the age of 50 years are serving in the Army, broken down by (a) regiment and (b) rank. [248159]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The following tables show the numbers of Army personnel, aged 50 and over by (a) arm/service and (b) paid rank. Figures are shown by arm/service since this information is not collated at regiment level.
| Table 1: Number of trained army personnel aged 50 and over by paid rank as at 1 April 2008 | |
| Paid rank | Number |
| Table 2: Number of trained army personnel aged 50 and over by arm/service as at 1 April 2008 | |
| Arm/service | Number |
| (1) Provisional (2) Zero or rounded to zero Notes: 1. The figures are for trained Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, TA and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP. 2. Due to the implementation of the new Joint Personnel Administration System all Army data from 1 April 2007 are provisional and subject to review. 3. All Officers of Paid Rank Colonel and above are included in staff regardless of late arm/service. 4. Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in ‘5’ have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. | |
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