| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Jan 2009 : Column 1305W—continued
Railways: Sustainable Development
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to make fast rail services environmentally sustainable. [247965]
Paul Clark: Rail generally performs well from an environmental perspective compared to other transport modes. It accounts for less than 1 per cent. of total UK carbon emissions.
The Department for Transport is working closely with the rail industry to improve the environmental performance of train services, for example, through facilitating the introduction of on-train energy meters
and regenerative braking. We are including stringent environmental targets in new franchises and in the specification of new train designs such as the Intercity Express. All proposals for new rail schemes are appraised against a range of environmental criteria.
Roads: Trans-European Networks
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the quality of those sections of the Trans-European Road network which lie within the UK. [248625]
Paul Clark: The Highways Agency (HA), on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport, is the highway authority for the strategic road network in England, which includes the vast majority of the Trans European Road Network (TERN) in England.
The Highways Agency is responsible for ensuring that the strategic road network is maintained in a safe and reliable condition. As part of this, it undertakes an annual survey of the network.
The condition of the Trans European Rail Network in Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Assembly Government respectively.
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his duties are in respect of the section of the Trans-European Road Network which lies within the UK. [248909]
Paul Clark: The Trans-European Network—Transport (TEN-T) programme finances infrastructure projects and studies for roads and other transport modes on the TEN-T network.
The Department for Transport has policy responsibility for the TEN-T programme, representing and pursuing the UK interests in Brussels.
The Department for Transport is also responsible for co-ordinating and presenting bids for funding from the programme for UK infrastructure projects. These can come from a variety of project sponsors including the devolved Administrations, regional assemblies and the Highways Agency. In 2007, we secured €80.71 million funding for a road package comprising works in England and Northern Ireland.
Roads: Wales
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with (a) Welsh Assembly Government Ministers and (b) his Irish counterparts on the quality of trunk road connections in Wales serving UK-Irish ferry ports. [248621]
Paul Clark: No recent discussions have been held with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers or Irish ministers about the quality of trunk road connections in Wales serving UK-Irish ferry ports. Trunk roads in Wales are a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government.
Speed Limits
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has commissioned or evaluated on the introduction of speed suppressors into cars and lorries to enable those vehicles to keep within speed limits; and what his policy is on the use of such equipment. [248144]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport recently completed research into intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) systems, the main aim of which was to look at the effect on driver behaviour over time. This found that ISA has the potential to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our roads, suggesting that ISA could be a useful road safety feature for drivers who wish to use it.
The results were published on 15 September 2008 and the final report and an executive summary were placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The report is also available on the internet at:
Data from this work have subsequently been used by the Commission for Integrated Transport and the Motorists' Forum for independent research looking at speed limit adherence and its effect on road safety and climate change. The Department was represented in an advisory capacity on the working group for this research. We have received a copy of their report which was published on 30 December 2008. We are clear that any future use of ISA should be taken forward by the motoring industry in response to consumer demand, just as with other technologies available for consumers to purchase if they so choose. We are working with industry and other stakeholders to facilitate the future availability of the technology.
Traffic Lights
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much revenue red light cameras have generated in (a) the Metropolitan Police area of London and (b) Essex in each year since 2001; and how much of that revenue has been spent in Essex. [247996]
Paul Clark: Information in the form requested is not held by the Department for Transport. The Department only holds information about cameras operating under the National Safety Camera Programme. This ended on 31 March 2007 and did not record fine revenue from red light and speed cameras separately.
Transport: Middlesbrough
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what green travel incentives are offered to people working in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency. [247979]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport provides funding for Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland borough councils through their local transport plan and revenue support grant allocations. Such funding can be used to support sustainable travel initiatives. In addition, we publish guidance on the development of travel plans and encourage partnership working between the public and private sectors to deliver opportunities for individuals to choose more sustainable travel options.
Specific initiatives that exist within the constituency area of Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland would be best provided by the local authorities mentioned previously and/or by canvassing local businesses.
International Development
Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds the Government has provided to the disarmament and demobilisation programmes of Mai Mai groups in (a) south Kivu and (b) the rest of Democratic Republic of Congo where the Mai Mai are active. [249528]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The UK has contributed US$35 million to a World Bank led Multi-Country Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (MDRP), which supports the demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants in the greater Great Lakes region of Central Africa . The largest programme of its kind in the world, the MDRP, with a budget of US$500 million, targets an estimated 450,000 ex-combatants in seven countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The programme has already funded the demobilisation and reintegration of more than 100,000 former combatants in DRC.
Of the 100,000 who have benefited from the programme 33,708 were from Mai Mai groups, of which 28,235 were demobilised and the remaining 5,503 were integrated into the army. We do not have a breakdown for South Kivu. One challenge for the MDRP has been the large number of supposed ‘combatants’ who have tried to enter the programme without a weapon to hand in (a necessary determinant of eligibility). The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is currently developing complementary community reintegration programming to target those who do not meet the eligibility criteria for the national MDRP programme.
Departmental Accounts
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Ilford North of 20 November 2008, Official Report, columns 755-6W, how much was spent under each resource account code in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [244774]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: A summary of the main categories of expenditure is included in the Department for International Development's (DFID) Resource Accounts for 2006-07 (published in July 2007) and 2007-08 (published in July 2008). These are available on the DFID website:
Departmental Consultants
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was paid to the external team who undertook the 2007 Capability Review. [246924]
Mr. Michael Foster: The external review team was paid £80,222.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of his Department's employees have been (a) investigated, (b) disciplined following investigation and (c) dismissed following investigation since the inception of the Fraud Response Unit. [246889]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers given to the hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Mitchell) on 15 October 2009, Official Report, column 1340W and 29 October 2008, Official Report column 1163W.
Departmental Equality
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the role of his Department’s Diversity Champion is; and what the process for selecting the champion is. [246910]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Working in a global environment means that diversity is at the heart of the Department for International Development’s (DFID) business. DFID’s Director General Diversity Champion is fully committed to the legal, economic and moral imperatives which help develop DFID into a flexible, imaginative and diverse Department. DFID’s Diversity Champion is fully involved in taking steps to raise awareness and integrate all strands of diversity to maximise the potential and contribution of all staff to realise our goals.
DFID’s Director General Diversity Champion role is rotated every few years among DFID’s four Director Generals. DFID does not have a formal process for selecting a Director General for the Diversity Champion role.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's performance against each of its diversity targets was at the 2008 deadline. [246911]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) set four 2008 diversity targets for women, ethnic minority staff and disabled staff within the senior civil service and women in top management posts. The following table depicts the civil service targets together with DFID’s 2008 targets and DFID’s performance.
| Percentage | ||
| Civil service 2008 targets | DFID 2008 target | DFID 2008 performance |
DFID's diversity monitoring data and analysis for the last three years can be found at:
Departmental Telephone Services
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many telephone numbers for which callers are charged at the rate applicable to 0845 numbers are used by his Department for public access to services. [246976]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) uses one 0845 number for our Public Enquiry Point which allows members of the public to call DFID about the work of the Department.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what use (a) his Department and (b) service providers under contract to his Department make of (i) 0844 and 0845 telephone numbers and (ii) revenue-sharing telephone numbers for calls from members of the public; for which services such numbers are used; what prefixes are used for revenue-sharing numbers; how much revenue has accrued from revenue-sharing numbers in each of the last five years; what consideration his Department has given to introducing 03-prefixed telephone numbers for calls to all such services; and if he will make a statement. [247346]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) uses one 0845 number for our Public Enquiry Point. We are currently reviewing the relative costs and benefits of alternatives to the 0845 number. DFID does not make use of revenue-sharing numbers.
DFID does not have any contracted public service providers who make use of 0844, 0845 or revenue-sharing numbers.
Departmental Video Conferencing
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost has been to his Department of installation of video-conferencing facilities; and whether there are ongoing maintenance contract costs associated with these facilities. [246888]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) completed a project in 2008 to refresh the videoconferencing facilities across the organisation. The full cost of this was £785,000. There is an annual cost of £75,000 for maintaining the key components of the videoconferencing infrastructure.
Gaza: Humanitarian Aid
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) plans and (b) funding allocations have been made for the long-term provision of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. [247038]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement made on 19 January 2009, Official Report, column 20WS.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his
Department has provided to Gaza since the recent outbreak of conflict there. [247429]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement made on 19 January 2008, Official Report, column 20WS.
Middle East: Overseas Aid
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much financial assistance was provided by his Department to (a) Palestine and (b) Israel in 2007-08. [249673]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: In 2007-08 the Department for International Development provided a total of £63.6 million in development aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
During the same period we gave no assistance to Israel.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |