Written Answers to Questions
Friday 27 February 2009
Transport
Bus Lanes: Bedfordshire
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has committed funds to the Luton to Dunstable busway for 2010-11. [259403]
Paul Clark: In September 2008 we granted conditional approval to a maximum Government contribution of £78.39 million towards the cost of this scheme.
Full approval will not be given until final prices have been fixed following a tendering exercise by Luton borough council. We understand that the council will be seeking full approval towards the end of 2009.
Departmental Planning Permission
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many sites have been developed following use of his powers under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2006 in each of the last three years. [258733]
Paul Clark [holding answer 25 February 2009]: In the last three years the Highways Agency have established a total of six site compounds using powers under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2006.
Of the six compounds, three were established in 2006, and three in 2007. No site compounds were established using these powers in 2008 by the Highways Agency.
Railways
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of setting maximum passenger levels for rail services. [258267]
Paul Clark: Trains are designed to operate effectively and safely even when they are loaded to maximum capacity. Therefore, Her Majesty's Government have not considered any guidance or instructions about setting maximum passenger levels on railway services.
Roads: Snow and Ice
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the amount of salt provided by the Highways Agency to Gloucestershire county council during the recent snowfall; and if he will make a statement. [255778]
Paul Clark
[holding answer 10 February 2009]: It is for local authorities to determine levels of salt necessary for their winter maintenance programme as set out in
the UK Roads Board's (voluntary) code of practice on highways maintenance management, “Well-maintained Highways”. The Highways Agency provided 550 tonnes of road salt to Gloucestershire county council under the mutual aid scheme on 8 February 2009.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what process his Department uses to (a) monitor the level of salt available for road treatment and (b) estimate future road salt requirements. [256619]
Paul Clark [holding answer 12 February 2009]: It is for Local Authorities to determine levels of salt necessary for their winter maintenance programme as set out in the UK Roads Board's (voluntary) code of practice on highways maintenance management, “Well-maintained Highways”. For the trunk road network, the Highways Agency has in place long established procedures which require salt stock capability reporting on a daily basis between 1 October and 30 April. Salt stock requirements are ascertained from a combination of longer term weather forecast information and records of salt usage. Salt capability is expressed as the number of treatment days available based on six treatments per day at 20gm/m2—the level of treatment typical for snow conditions. A weekly summary is produced which gives an overview of salt stocks and provides advance warning when salt stocks are approaching a critical level.
As a result of the recent severe weather, central government, the Local Government Association and the Highways Agency have been working together to provide daily advice to suppliers on the most effective distribution of available salt supplies in order to minimise the risk to public safety. This advice is based on daily demand estimates informed by the Met Office's 24 hour forecast and comparisons between existing salt stocks and available supply.
Leader of the House
Members: Allowances
Mr. Maude: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw of 22 January 2009, Official Report, columns 1570-71W, on Members’ expenses, what consideration she gave to consulting the Information Commissioner on the provisions of the draft Freedom of Information (Parliament) Order 2009. [258665]
Chris Bryant: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) of 22 January 2009, Official Report, columns 1570-71W.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Chichester of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 1W, on Members: allowances, what criteria govern the assessment of the merits of a request for an advance on a hon. Member’s communications allowance. [258667]
Chris Bryant:
Subject to the administrative rules set out in my answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 1W, the requester would need to demonstrate that the advance was for a specific purpose which
enabled him or her to carry out a parliamentary duty and that it was a proper use of public money in support of his or her role. There must be no suggestion that the use of the allowance would be for party political advantage or electioneering.
To date no advance from the communications allowance for 2009-10 has been requested this year nor were any advances made last year.
Work and Pensions
Children: Maintenance
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) consolatory payments and (b) other compensatory payments the Child Support Agency made to residents of (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years; and what the monetary value of such payments was in each such year. [256507]
Kitty Ussher: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) on 23 February 2009, Official Report, column 46-48W.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy for his Department to sign the Information Commissioner's Personal Information Promise. [258968]
Jonathan Shaw: The Government welcome the Promise as a commendable initiative to raise awareness of the importance of effective data protection safeguards, particularly for those organisations with no similar commitments already in place.
The Government take data protection very seriously. Following the Cabinet Office Review of Data Handling Procedures in Government, departments have implemented a raft of measures to improve data security.
The Ministry of Justice is considering actively with the ICO how the Promise might add additional value to those measures we have already signed up to. These include the Information Charters, the recommendations of the Data Handling Review and the Thomas/Walport Review and, of course, our legal obligations under the Data Protection Act and other legislation and regulations.
Departmental Impact Assessments
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many equalities impact assessments his Department has undertaken in the last 12 month period for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of such assessments. [255061]
Jonathan Shaw: During the last 12 months (January 2008 to January 2009) 146 equality impact assessments were undertaken in the Department for Work and Pensions.
The cost of carrying out the equality impact assessment is not possible to estimate as the Department's equality impact assessment process is embedded in the development and implementation of new (or changes to) functions, policies and services that are the responsibility of the Department.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff currently working in his Department are on secondment from EDS; and what roles and responsibilities they have. [259123]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 26 February 2009]: Information on how many staff currently working in the Department for Work and Pensions are on secondment from EDS, and their roles and responsibilities, is not available in the format requested.
DWP does not keep central records of individuals seconded into DWP. To extract this information from individual records would be at a disproportionate cost.
Empty Property
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated cost in empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by his Department is in 2008-09. [258521]
Jonathan Shaw: DWP has a total of 3,467 m(2) of vacant workspace recorded on e-PIMS. This workspace constitutes partial holdings in buildings retained for operational requirements. This workspace represents only a fraction of 1 per cent. of the total DWP estate as at 1 February 2009.
The estimated cost in empty business rates for this workspace is £138,000 p.a.
Fireworks: Safety
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information the Health and Safety Executive requires companies seeking a classification and authorisation document for a firework to provide. [258131]
Jonathan Shaw: Companies seeking a firework classification are required to submit a proposed classification for approval by the Health and Safety Executive. They are also required to provide sufficient information to enable the HSE to determine that the proposed classification is appropriate. This information includes details of the manufacturer, the firework names and types, part numbers, their chemical composition, information on the packaging and design and details of any relevant tests conducted on them.
There is no requirement for firework authorisation.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what checks on provision of licensed storage the Health and Safety Executive performs before granting a classification and authorisation document to importers of fireworks. [258132]
Jonathan Shaw: The Health and Safety Executive does not conduct checks on the provision of licensed storage before granting a classification document for fireworks. A classification assigns information on the hazard posed by fireworks during transport; the eventual provision of licensed storage does not affect safety during transport. There is no requirement in any circumstances to grant an authorisation for fireworks.
The requirements for safe storage of fireworks are set out in the Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005 (MSER) and are enforced by either the Health and Safety Executive or local authority, depending on the amount of fireworks to be stored.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which companies issued with a classification and authorisation document for a firework by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in each of the last five years had (a) HSE-licensed and (b) local storage when the document was issued. [258133]
Jonathan Shaw: The Health and Safety Executive does not collect this information.
Industrial Health and Safety: Death
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many fatal accidents at work there were in each of the last 20 years. [257972]
Jonathan Shaw: The information requested is as follows:
| Fatal injuries to workers( 1) as reported to all enforcing authorities, 1988-89 to 2007-08( 2,3) | |||
| Employees | Self-employed | Workers | |
| (1) The term 'workers' includes employees and the self-employed combined (2) Provisional (3) The annual basis is the planning year 1 April to 31 March (4) The Piper Alpha disaster occurred in July 1988. The fatality count for 1988-89 therefore reflects the 167 deaths that occurred in this single incident (5) Changes in the legislation covering accident reporting came into effect in April 1996. Prior to this date reports were made under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1985. From 1996-97 onwards reports were made under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995. | |||
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