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17 Jun 2009 : Column 283W—continued
Paul Clark:
Civil aviation safety in the UK is regulated by independent aviation safety regulators: the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the UK Civil
Aviation Authority (CAA). As such the Department for Transport does not itself assess the reliability of aircraft products and parts.
As part of the type certification process for the Airbus A330, the aircraft design and its systems were required to meet the established safety standards, which addressed the issue of reliability.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) assumed responsibility for the regulation of aircraft design issues in 2003. Continued compliance with these standards is assured through continuing airworthiness monitoring by the manufacturer (Airbus), overseen by the regulator (EASA).
The UK CAA will continue to work with EASA and UK airlines on any matters related to this accident, as further information from the investigation emerges.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) what discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Authority on the safety of A330 aircraft; [279589]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to assess the safety of A330 aircraft. [279590]
Paul Clark: Civil aviation safety in the UK is regulated by independent aviation safety regulators: the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is responsible for the regulation of aircraft design, and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). As such the Department for Transport is not in itself making an assessment of the safety of the A330 aircraft.
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority. The last meeting was on 9 June 2009 and aviation safety was discussed.
At present, the Civil Aviation Authority remains confident that the appropriate effort and resources are being deployed to ensure the continued safe operation of the Airbus A330 type. If this situation changed, as a result of evidence from the accident investigation, the CAA has the power to take the appropriate safety action in respect of UK-registered aircraft or aircraft operated by UK operators.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what research his Department has undertaken into the risks posed by the effect known as coffin corner in relation to aircraft. [279591]
Paul Clark: Civil aviation safety in the UK is regulated by independent aviation safety regulators: the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). As such, the Department for Transport has not conducted any research into the ‘coffin corner’ effect.
Bus Services: Concessions
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on changes in levels of usage of bus services by those on low incomes arising from the (i) national and (ii) local concessionary bus fare schemes. [279708]
Mr. Khan [holding answer 16 June 2009]: The Department for Transport has commissioned research from the Institute of Transport Studies (ITS) to review the impact of the national and local concessionary travel schemes on overall usage of bus services. This work is expected to provide some specific information on use by those on low incomes, although this is not the primary focus.
The National Travel Survey (NTS) provides data on bus use by income group, although data are not yet available for the past two years.
The Department for Transport intends to use the ITS work, and NTS data later this year to evaluate whether the current arrangements for reimbursing bus operators are appropriate for the longer term.
Bus Services: Standards
Mr. Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many assessments under the driving quality monitoring scheme were conducted in (a) Liverpool, (b) Leeds, (c) Sheffield and (d) Glasgow in 2008-09; and how many of the assessments in each area found the quality of driving to be unacceptable. [279863]
Paul Clark: The following table shows the number of Driver Quality Monitoring (DQM) assessments conducted by the Driving Standards Agency in Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Glasgow:
| 2008-09 | |||
| Total DQM assessments | Unacceptable serious faults | Unacceptable dangerous faults | |
There are no DQM contracts for Leeds and Glasgow for the period. A contract covering Leeds was agreed in May 2009.
Crossrail Line: Finance
Robert Neill: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport, what estimate he has made of the sum which the London supplementary business rate for Crossrail will raise in gross revenue in each year of its operation; and what percentage of the cost of the project this contribution represents. [279903]
Mr. Khan: The funding package for Crossrail announced by the Prime Minister in October 2007 reflects a contribution of £4.1 billion in relation to the Business Rate Supplement, £3.5 billion of which will be borrowed by the Mayor of London against the revenues to be raised from a business rate supplement in the future and the remaining estimated £600 million being business rate supplement revenues to be contributed directly to the project during the period of construction.
The Crossrail Sponsors Agreement (signed by Transport for London and the Department for Transport in December 2008) includes a forecast profile of the year on year amounts to be raised by the Mayor through the Crossrail business rate supplement to support his contribution to
the project. However, the forecast profile was not published in the redacted form of the Sponsors Agreement laid in the Library of the House last December. This was due to the commercial sensitivities around the year on year funding detail of the project as a whole, with the majority of contracts still to be let and with agreements to be reached with lenders.
It is for the Mayor to determine his approach to raising a business rate supplement for Crossrail, within the framework to be set out by legislation, and to determine the gross revenue to be raised in each year of its operation. Under schedule 1 of the Business Rate Supplements Bill, which is currently being considered by Parliament, the Mayor will be required to set out a wide range of information in a prospectus to be used as the basis for consulting on the proposal to levy a business rate supplement. This information will include project costs and estimates of the amount of money the Mayor expects to raise from the business rate supplement year on year.
Departmental Conditions of Employment
Mr. Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2009, Official Report, column 295W, on departmental conditions of employment, what his most recent estimate is of the cost of modifying systems in his Department's shared service centre to accommodate the workings of the flexible benefits project. [279994]
Chris Mole: The cost of modifying systems in the Department for Transport's shared service centre to accommodate the workings of the flexible benefits project is £62,700. This includes architecture changes, programming and payroll reconfiguration.
Mr. Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2009, Official Report, column 485W, on departmental conditions of employment, on what calculations the estimate that the level of take-up required to break even with the scheme is about 2 per cent. over three years was based. [280007]
Chris Mole: The cost of implementing and administering flexible benefits over three years is £173,000, including reconfiguration of the shared services centre system. To break even with the scheme will require a 2 per cent. take-up of the benefits we are considering, which equates to an estimated annual spend of £535,000, with aggregated employer national insurance contribution savings of £183,000 over three years. The costing model has been verified by Deloitte who are acting as our benefit consultants.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department has spent on hiring non-departmental premises for (a) hospitality and entertainment and (b) training events in the last 12 months. [279645]
Chris Mole: In the most recent completed financial year, 2008-09, the Department for Transport's agencies spent £12,700 on hiring non-departmental premises in respect of hospitality and entertainment and £369,468 in respect of training events.
The accounting systems of the core Department do not record such costs separately from other related expenditure, so the information sought cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Departmental Press
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what (a) newspapers and (b) periodicals are delivered to the private office of each Minister in his Department; and at what cost in the latest period for which figures are available. [279424]
Chris Mole: The list of newspapers and periodicals that are delivered to the ministerial private offices of the Department for Transport are as follows:
Daily Express
Daily Mail
Daily Mirror
Daily Telegraph
Financial Times
The Guardian
Evening Standard 1( st) Edition
Evening Standard West End Final
Standard West End Final Extra
Local Government Chronicle
The Times
The Independent
The Sun
Yorkshire Post
Lloyds List
The Economist
New Statesman
Modern Railways
National Geographic
Prospect
Buses
Private Eye
The Spectator
Commercial Motor
Railway Magazine
The total cost for period from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 was £9,239.16.
Departmental Private Finance Initiative
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many private finance initiative projects have been agreed by his Department in each of the last five years. [280387]
Chris Mole: The following table summarises the local authority private finance initiative projects agreed by the Department for Transport in the last five years:
| Calendar year | Number of local authority projects receiving conditional approval |
Prior to receiving a full outline business case and granting conditional approval, the Department may grant provisional approval for a local authority project. There are currently four local authority PFI projects with provisional approvals:
Mersey Crossing;
Nottingham Express Tram extension;
Hounslow highway maintenance; and
Isle of Wight highway maintenance.
In addition, Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) notices were issued for the following non-local authority projects, initiating procurement:
| Calendar year | Number of non-local authority projects issuing OJEU notices |
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many private finance initiative projects are being negotiated by each directorate in his Department. [280388]
Chris Mole: The search and rescue helicopters private finance initiative (PFI) is being negotiated by a joint Ministry of Defence and Maritime and Coastguard Agency project team.
While the Department for Transport currently sponsors a number of local authority PFI projects, these are negotiated directly by the local authority project teams.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what plans he has for the future use of the private finance initiative in the (a) procurement, (b) construction and (c) operation of transport projects. [280389]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport updates details of the signed (i.e. in construction and operational phases) private finance initiatives (PFI) projects it sponsors on the HM Treasury website at six monthly intervals:
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