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24 Mar 2009 : Column 196W—continued
Cycling: North East
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of cycle lanes have been introduced in each county in the North East since 2001. [265025]
Paul Clark: This information is no longer collected centrally by the Department for Transport as part of our drive to reduce the burden upon local authorities in respect of the information we request annually from them.
However we do hold some historical information which is produced in the following table. The data are not verified by the department.
| Cycle lanes 2001 -0 7 | |||||||
| 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | ||
| Highway a uthority | GO | km | km | km | km | km | km |
Departmental Conditions of Employment
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2009, Official Report, column 362W, on departmental conditions of employment, whether any civil servants have worked on the flexible benefits project. [264703]
Mr. Hoon: The project has been lead by a senior civil servant with support from others in addition to their other duties.
Departmental Data Protection
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether his Department uses WPA2 encryption protocol on all its wireless networks; [259828]
(2) what auditing his Department undertakes to ensure that IT security policies are being followed; and on how many occasions (a) IT security policies have been breached by employees and (b) a member of staff has been sanctioned for a breach of such policies in the last 12 months; [259829]
(3) if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's IT security hierarchy; [259830]
(4) what scanning for vulnerabilities his Department conducts of each of its IT devices; what method is used for IT device scans; and how many vulnerabilities have been detected as a result of such scans in the last 12 months; [259831]
(5) what IT security policy his Department has; what procedures are in place to ensure the policy is being followed; what his Department's policy is on encryption of data when they leave departmental premises; and what sanctions are in place for failure to comply with this policy. [259847]
Mr. Hoon: Information is a key asset to Government and its correct handling is vital to the delivery of public services and to the integrity of HMG. The Security Policy Framework, the Data Handling Report and the National Information Assurance Strategy produced by the Cabinet Office provide a strategic framework for protecting information that Government handle and put in place a set of mandatory measures which Departments must adhere to.
The Department for Transport has IT security policies to protect its IT systems to an appropriate level so as to maintain the availability, integrity and confidentiality of the information they contain. These policies are subject to internal audit processes to ensure they are being followed. The Department has specific policy to ensure that all sensitive information leaving the Department is protected, through the use of secure channels, specific handling instructions or by the use of appropriate encryption. The Department is currently reviewing its IT security policies, procedures and compliance mechanisms to ensure compliance with the security policies contained in the Government Security Policy Framework including those for information security and assurance. Depending upon the circumstances, a range of sanctions are available including disciplinary or administrative action, and in extreme or persistent cases, termination of employment/services and, if appropriate, criminal proceedings.
It is not in the interest of the security of the Department, or that of the public, to disclose detailed information pertaining to its security hierarchy or electronic breaches of security of Department’s IT systems. Disclosing such information would enable criminals and those who would attempt to cause disruptive threats to the Department to deduce how to conduct attacks and therefore potentially enhance their capability to carry out such attacks.
Except in exceptional circumstances the Department does not comment on specific technical measures it employs to protect its networks. However, the Department follows CESG guidance on the use of the Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) communications security protocols in order to protect wireless networks carrying protectively marked (up to restricted/IL3) traffic. The configuration and operation standards for WPA2 are set out in CESG’s Infosec Manual Y, Use of WPA2 Wireless Security in Government Systems. The Department is compliant with HMG 1A Standard No. 4—Communication, Security and Cryptography for the encryption of data.
Compliance arrangements comprise a system of self assessment, accreditation, assurance reporting, audit and review. Records held centrally show that in the last 12 months IT security policies have been broken by staff on 34 occasions and seven staff members have been sanctioned for such breaches.
Departmental Expenditure Limits
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assumptions he has made in respect of his Department's capital departmental expenditure limits for transport in (a) each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15 and (b) subsequent years. [265943]
Mr. Hoon: The Department’s capital departmental expenditure limit (DEL) for 2010-11 was published in pre-Budget report 2008 (Facing global challenges: Supporting people through difficult times CM 7484). The Department's long-term funding guideline was set out in Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 (Meeting the aspirations of the British people CM 7227).
Departmental Lost Property
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what property has been lost or stolen from his Department in the last 12 months; and what the estimated cost was of replacement of such property. [263116]
Mr. Hoon: The Department for Transport was formed in 2002 and includes seven agencies, a shared service centre and the central Department, with a total staff of over 19,000. The figures provided here for lost and stolen property are for the entire Department including its agencies and shared service centre.
The number of items of lost and stolen property from the Department in the last 12 months and their total estimated replacement cost are as follows.
| Number of items | Total estimated replacement cost (£) | |
Departmental Manpower
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) permanent, (b) agency and (c) temporary staff on contracts of (i) up to three months, (ii) between three and six months, (iii) between six and 12 months and (iv) 12 months or more there are in each directorate of his Department. [264292]
Mr. Hoon: This information is not held centrally by the Department of Transport and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the forecast change is to the number of posts in each of his Department’s bargaining units by the end of 2009-10. [265576]
Mr. Hoon [holding answer 23 March 2009]: The following table shows the forecast change in headcount (permanent staff and those on fixed term contracts), expressed as full-time equivalents, between 31 March 2009 and 31 March 2010 in the centre of the Department for Transport and each of the Department’s bargaining units.
| Estimate for 31 March 2009 | Forecast for 31 March 2010 | Change | |
| (1) DfT Centre is still finalising business plans for 2009-10, but the forecast for 31 March 2010 is expected to be similar to the 2008-09 out-turn. | |||
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