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18 May 2009 : Column 1122W—continued
This excludes general maintenance costs, some of which are incurred across the whole Estate, and expenditure on security related projects. The Palace is shared with the House of Lords who account for their share of the costs incurred separately.
Pay
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the (a) gross annual income from the House of Commons and (b) job title was of each of the (i) officers and (ii) staff of the House of Commons who earned more than a backbench hon. Member in 2008-09. [275706]
Nick Harvey: The basic salary payable to Members is £63,291 per annum as at 31 March 2009. As at that date, 89 employees were paid a gross annual salary above this figure; of these 82 were Officers of the House and seven were staff of the House.
The provision of a list of these posts would allow individual staff to be identified which is contrary to House policy on data protection. A list of the posts in the House of Commons senior structure and at pay band Al, which have pay band maxima higher than Members’ current salary was placed in the Library in April 2009 in response to the question from the right hon. and learned Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Mr. Hogg), on 22 April 2009, Official Report, column 739W.
Details of the staff pay bands and staff pay arrangements are available on the parliamentary intranet. The salaries of Members of the Management Board are disclosed in the House of Commons: Administration annual accounts.
Procurement
Mr. Burstow: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many paper receipts were issued to suppliers by the House authorities in each of the last three years. [275506]
Nick Harvey: Receipts are issued at catering and retail outlets in the House of Commons but there is no business need to keep records of numbers. During the summer opening of the Palace of Westminster to the public, receipts are issued to visitors purchasing tickets by credit card but the numbers are not readily available. The Parliamentary Bookshop issued the following number of paper receipts based on till transactions:
2008-09: 20,734
2007-08: 19,991.
Information about the bookshop in 2006-07 is not available in the form requested, but is believed to be similar to the later years.
Vending Machines
Mr. Burstow: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many vending machines there are on the House of Commons estate; and what the energy rating of each such machine is. [275513]
Nick Harvey: There are a total of 13 vending machines in operation on the House of Commons estate.
No information is available about the energy rating of each machine.
However, the machines are scheduled for replacement later this year and energy efficiency, including the use of timers and sensors, will be taken into account when selecting replacement models.
Transport
A64
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the cost of the recent installation of warning signs for overhead cables on the A64 York to Scarborough road was; [276027]
(2) how many (a) road traffic and (b) other accidents or incidents there have been on the A64 York to Scarborough road caused by or involving vehicles hitting overhead lines in the last three months; [276028]
(3) what risk assessment was carried out prior to the installation of overhead cable warning signs on the A64 York to Scarborough road; [276029]
(4) how many individual overhead cable warning signs have been erected on the A64 since 1 January 2009. [276111]
Paul Clark: 424 overhead cable warning signs have been erected on the A64 since 1 January 2009 at a cost of approximately £50,000.
There have been no road traffic accidents or other incidents on the A64 York to Scarborough road caused by or involving vehicles hitting overhead lines in the last three months.
A project specific risk assessment was undertaken to identify a safe method of erection and maintenance of these signs. Prior to any maintenance activity on the A64 a scheme specific risk assessment is undertaken to identify hazards, including overhead power cables, and to ensure risks to road workers are mitigated. The marker posts also enable the emergency services to more easily identify overhead power lines as part of their risk assessment when attending an incident.
British Transport Police: ICT
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many and what proportion of British Transport Police computers malware was detected in 2008. [275392]
Paul Clark: It is not in the interests of the UK’s national security for Departments to confirm information on the number of malicious attacks against their IT systems and those of the bodies for which they are responsible.
The British Transport police have a policy on managing risks posed by all forms of malicious software (‘malware’).
Bus Services: Concessions
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the (a) administrative and (b) financial consequences of reimbursement being made by central Government to bus operators for the concessionary bus fare scheme. [275543]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has recently published a consultation paper on possible changes to the administration of concessionary travel. Option 3 within this consultation paper is for the administration of the statutory minimum bus concession to be moved to central Government and for bus operators to be reimbursed through national negotiation with the Department.
If this option was chosen following the consultation, the Department would need to undertake further detailed assessment of the administrative and financial consequences of such a model.
The draft impact assessment that was published alongside the consultation sets out the Department's initial assessment of such a move. A move to central administration and reimbursement would bring with it a number of complexities, including the potential for duplication of reimbursement negotiations if enhanced concessions continue to be offered at a local level. In addition to any transitional start-up costs, the Department currently estimates a move to central administration would have an average annual cost of £8 million, offset by average annual savings to local authorities of £10.6 million.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (i) all staff and (ii) senior Civil Service staff in 2008-09; and how many such payments were made. [275247]
Mr. Hoon: The amount of end-of-year non-consolidated performance payments paid to all staff and senior civil service staff in the Department for Transport is shown in the table.
| All staff | SCS | |
|
Number receiving end year non-consolidated performance payments | ||
Total pay bill was £643,685,777, of which 1.73 per cent., was used for non-consolidated performance payments to staff. The mean payment made was £736 for all staff and £9,675 for senior civil service.
Driving: Licensing
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of applications for driving licence renewals were rejected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each of the last five years; and what proportion of such rejected applications resulted in a retest in each of those years. [275496]
Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held in the form requested.
Driving: Standards
John McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many assessments under the Driving Quality Monitoring scheme were conducted in (a)
Greater London, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Strathclyde in the 2008-09 financial year; and how many of the assessments in each area found the quality of driving to be unacceptable. [275215]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 13 May 2009]: The following assessments were conducted under the Driver Quality Monitoring Scheme in 2008-09.
| Greater London | Greater Manchester | |
The Driving Standards Agency’s last Driver Quality Monitoring contract in Strathclyde terminated in January 2007.
The data from the assessment is collated and reported back to the client on the next day, for potential remedial action. For those assessments recording dangerous faults the bus company is notified on the day of the assessment. In all cases the client is responsible for any further action.
Ferries
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requirements there are on UK ferry operators on routes of less than 20 miles in terms of (a) passenger loading limits and (b) records to be kept of the numbers of people boarding their vessels. [276112]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 2 April 2009, Official Report, columns 1420-421W.
The Department for Transport places no absolute limit on the number of passengers that may be carried on any class of passenger ships (with the exception of classes VI and VIA, which have very restricted operations and are limited to a maximum of 250 and 50 passengers respectively). In general the vessel operator may design and equip the vessel to carry the number of passengers they believe there is market demand for.
Regulations then require that appropriate standards of safety are provided to meet the risks posed by the vessel's service and the number of passengers carried. These address areas such as intact stability, freeboard, damage survivability, fire protection, provision of lifesaving appliances, manning levels, safety management, pollution prevention—in each case, the greater the number of passengers and the longer the voyage, the more comprehensive the technical requirements so as to ensure a level of safety appropriate to the risk. Other regulations also apply, but are independent of the number of passengers on board, e.g. for safety of navigation or provision of radios.
Instructions to surveyors and other departmental guidance lay down requirements for passenger accommodation and seating, provision of sanitary facilities, and provisions for persons of reduced mobility. While this guidance does not have the force of law, surveyors will not recommend issue of a passenger certificate unless the vessel meets the required standards.
On completion of surveys which take account of the above factors, the end result is the issue of a Passenger Certificate, which stipulates the maximum number of passengers and the total number of persons on board (including crew) that can be safely carried, and the minimum freeboard corresponding to the maximum draught (loading limit) which is marked on the side of the ship.
The Master is prohibited by The Merchant Shipping (Survey and Certification) Regulations 1995 from having on board a greater number of passengers than that stated on the ship's Passenger Certificate. He is assisted in meeting this obligation by the Merchant Shipping (Counting and Registration of Persons on Board Passenger Ships) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999 No. 1869), supported by Merchant Shipping Notice 1794, which describes practical methods for counting and registering passengers.
For voyages of less than 20 miles, the regulations require a count of passengers and crew and for this information to be held ashore for the duration of the voyage.
This information is used to check compliance with safety regulations, and for search and rescue authorities, in the event of an incident.
First Great Western: Finance
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to monitor First Great Western’s performance in delivering its financial commitments since the last review. [272996]
Paul Clark: Officials meet First Great Western at least every four weeks to review progress of the franchise. The franchise agreement sets out a standard agenda for these meetings, which includes financial performance and performance of the franchisee in meeting its contractual commitments. The Department for Transport is satisfied that First Great Western is meeting its financial commitments.
First Great Western: Standards
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many train services have been cancelled by First Great Western in the last 12 months. [272997]
Paul Clark: In the 12 months to 30 March 2009, 7,024 First Great Western trains were cancelled. Of this total, 3,055 cancellations were attributable to First Great Western itself, the others being caused by Network Rail or by other train operators. These figures include partial cancellations (where a train departs but does not complete its planned journey).
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the performance of First Great Western in delivering its commitment to improve service reliability. [272998]
Paul Clark:
Officials meet First Great Western at least every four weeks to review overall progress of the franchise. Officials also meet First Great Western at the milestone reporting sessions contractualised in the remedial agreement to review progress in reducing train cancellations
against the provisions of that agreement. First Great Western is currently compliant with the cancellations reduction trajectory contained in the remedial agreement.
Government Car and Despatch Agency: Fines
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) speeding fines, (b) London congestion charge fines and (c) parking fines were incurred by the Government Car and Despatch Agency in each of the last four years for which information is available; how much was incurred in total in each category; and if he will make a statement. [275833]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 24 March 2009, Official Report, column 204W, given to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps).
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