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22 Jun 2009 : Column 586W—continued
Reading Station: Repairs and Maintenance
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what his most recent estimate is of the likely cost of works to Reading station; and how much of this cost will result from the payment of compensation to train operating companies. [278401]
Chris Mole [holding answer 8 June 2009]: The Reading scheme is a five-year project, with a total value of some £800 million, increasing capacity and improving performance at a key railway junction on the Great Western Main Line.
The whole project is still being finalised by Network Rail and the detailed specification is likely to be agreed with that company in the near future.
Network Rail is aware of the outputs required by Government, in terms of additional capacity and sustained performance, but importantly the need to deliver these within the financial resources determined by the Office of Rail Regulation. The Department for Transport is also working with the railway industry to minimise any adverse impact on the operational railway during the construction phases and the need to make compensation payments to operating companies.
Roads
Gordon Banks: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what his most recent assessment is of the capacity of the existing road network for (a) car and (b) freight usage. [281098]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport published forecasts of traffic and associated congestion, journey times and emissions for the English road network in December 2008. The report is available at:
and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Roads in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved Administrations.
Roads: Construction
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent assessment he has made of (a) the effect of whisper concrete on roads and (b) its future use. [280871]
Chris Mole: The Highways Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Transport is currently carrying out research on the acoustic performance of quieter surfaces over time. A section of the trunk road network with whisper concrete is included as part of this research. The results of the research and the conclusions are expected to be finalised by early 2010. There is no plan at present for the reintroduction of whisper concrete on the trunk road network.
Shipping
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) what incidents where (a) chemicals and (b) radioactive material were lost overboard (i) in UK waters and (ii) elsewhere from UK-registered ships took place in each year since 1985; and what the (A) location, (B) chemicals or materials involved and (C) amount subsequently recovered was in each case; [281612]
(2) on how many occasions (a) court actions and (b) fines have resulted from incidents where (i) chemicals and (ii) radioactive material have been lost overboard in (A) UK waters and (B) elsewhere from UK-registered ships since 1985; and what (1) type of conviction and (2) level of fine there was in each case in respect of which legal proceedings have been completed. [281613]
Paul Clark: Details of incidences of hazardous material (including chemicals) being released from ships in the UK pollution control zone are given in annual reports produced by the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea. Recent reports are available on the website of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
There have been no reported incidences of radioactive material being lost overboard since 1985.
Since 1989 the Department for Transport has sponsored reports on events involving the transport of radioactive material in the UK. These reports will include details of any known incidents where radioactive material was lost during transport by sea. Copies have been placed in the House Libraries and more recent ones are available via the DFT website at the following address:
Southern: Railway Stations
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what definition of station deep cleans is stipulated in the South Central franchise. [280379]
Chris Mole: Within the London area, the station deep clean specification was agreed by the Department for Transport and Transport for London before the franchise specification was published in November 2008. Bidders were obliged to meet these minimum standards as part of their bid which will be assessed via a Mystery Shopping Exercise to be conducted by Transport for London. The specification covers all areas of the station that are under the control of the train operator. This specification will be published alongside the other various franchise documents once commercial elements of the agreement have been discussed with the train operator.
Outside London, the bidder offered a station deep clean package, which was not a requirement of our specification. The exact specification of this programme will be agreed between the Department and GoVia, the winning bidder in the next few months.
Southern: Standards
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what (a) enhancements and (b) investments stipulated in the South Central franchise were stipulated as part of the 2007 High Level Output Statement. [280384]
Chris Mole: The High Level Output Specification specifies increased levels of demand that must be accommodated on the network. In the case of South Central this relates to London Victoria and London Bridge. The South Central invitation to tender set out a minimum increase in vehicle arrivals at the London terminals (morning peak) and departures (evening peak) that make use of the lengthened platforms that Network Rail will provide.
Overall the invitation to tender required a 10 per cent. increase in morning peak capacity. The winning bidder exceeds this requirement, with a 14 per cent. increase in morning peak capacity by December 2013.
Transport
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed on (i) the efficacy of local transport plans and (ii) other methods for improving transport services and infrastructure at (A) local and (B) regional level. [280734]
Mr. Khan: The Department for Transport (DfT) commissioned a long-term process and impact evaluation of the Local Transport Plan policy following its introduction in the 1998 Transport White Paper. The research project ran from December 2001 to April 2007—the final report is available at:
The research identified that the Government's approach to local transport planning and delivery since the White Paper had been successful and represented value for money in terms of the investment made.
The Department commissions a wide range of other research to help improve transport services and infrastructure at a local and regional level. Examples include research recently commissioned on programme and risk management for local authorities; research on the importance of “soft factors” in delivering bus passenger growth and modal shift from cars, and a study on how local authorities access information on best practice. It is intended that DfT's most recent regional and local research strategy is published this summer, which will provide details on local and regional transport research.
Transport: Devon
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the average number of journeys per day by each mode of transport between London and (a) the Torbay area, (b) the South Devon area and (c) Devon. [280731]
Mr. Khan: The requested information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Justice
Probation : Manpower
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to recruit new staff to monitor the new monthly targets for the London Probation Service. [280502]
Maria Eagle: This will be undertaken using existing resources both within London probation and the London director of offender management's team.
Crimes of Violence: Reoffenders
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2009, Official Report, columns 954-55W, on crimes of violence: reoffenders, what the conviction rate was for persons charged with murder who were notified to the National Offender Management Service in each year since 2006-07. [280837]
Mr. Straw: Further to my answer of 11 June 2009, the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2007, published on 30 October 2008 record that, for 2006-7, 74 offenders who were under the supervision of the Probation Service were convicted of murder, and for 2007-8, 47. These figures, together with those provided in my earlier answer, show that, at the time OMCS 2007 was published, murder convictions as a proportion of serious further offence notifications for murder were 57 per cent. for 2006-7 and 4 per cent. for 2007-8. However, at the time of publication, not all cases had gone to trial.
The Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2008, which are scheduled for publication on 31 July 2009, will contain serious further offence convictions and other outcomes for 2008-9 and updated figures for 2007-8.
Crimes of Violence: Sentencing
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how long on average a person in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point convicted of (i) grievous bodily harm and (ii) violent disorder was sentenced to serve in custody in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available. [280599]
Claire Ward: The data provided in the following table show the average custodial sentence length (ACSL) for offenders in the Essex police area force, for grievous bodily harm and violent disorder. Data are not available for Castle Point. The data are for the offences of grievous bodily harm or violent disorder where such an offence was the principal offence for which the offender was sentenced. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed, where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.
Debt Collection: Fees and Charges
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the appropriateness level of costs charged by bailiffs in the execution of duties ordered by (a) the courts and (b) local authorities. [281112]
Bridget Prentice: The current fee system for enforcement agents is complex, each enforcement power bringing with it a different fee structure. The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act (the Act) 2007 will introduce a unified fee regime, which will ensure that bailiffs are adequately and fairly remunerated for the work they actually do. We are assessing the current level of costs for all the different debt types to inform the new fee structure which includes the courts and local authorities.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months. [252369]
Mr. Wills: The amount spent by the Ministry of Justice in the last 12 months on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers is £279,235.00.
Of this amount £104,656.00 related to interior works (including partition work, ceilings, doors, ironmongery, redecorations, floor finishes and mechanical); £128,868.00 related to associated electrical work; £1,445.00 for other minor adjustments and £44,266.00 related to fees.
The incremental costs include works directly attributable to the formation of the Ministry of Justice. Specifically, the appointment of a fifth junior Minister and the creation of an appropriate secure environment for the Secretary of State and his security advisers.
The timing of these decisions required the works to be undertaken subsequent to the initial planned building refurbishment.
Departmental Electricity
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the percentage of electricity used by his Department which was derived from renewable sources in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [280925]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice was created in May 2007, this answer gives the figure for 2007-08. The Ministry of Justice is unable to provide the percentage of electricity derived from renewable sources for 2006-07 without incurring disproportionate costs.
The estimate made of the percentage of electricity derived from renewable sources used by the Ministry of Justice in 2007-08 was 8 per cent.
Departmental Energy
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the energy consumed per full-time equivalent member of staff in his Department in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [280924]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice was created in May 2007, this answer gives the figure for 2007-08. The Ministry of Justice is unable to provide the energy consumed for 2006-07 without incurring disproportionate costs.
The energy consumed per full-time equivalent member of staff in 2007-08 was 17,996 kWh based upon total energy consumption of 1,680,602,541 kWh and 93,385 FTEs (includes MoJ core estate plus executive agencies). Please note that the total energy consumption figure includes energy consumed by prisoners within HM Prison Service and visitors within HM Courts Service.
Departmental ICT
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent upgrading its IT in 2008-09. [276430]
Mr. Straw: Details of significant expenditure incurred on upgrading IT in the 2008-09 financial year are as follows:
The Criminal Justice System Exchange infrastructure—expenditure for 2008-09 was £6.7 million.
The NOMIS Programme to upgrade IT across the National Offender Management Service is providing Her Majesty's Prison Service and national probation service staff with improved access to information to support end-to-end offender management processes. Expenditure for 2008-09 was £91 million, which included the main costs of developing and implementing new applications, infrastructure costs and supporting the live services.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice's other main IT services are provided through contracts with external suppliers. These contracts include provision for regular maintenance and upgrade of the infrastructures and applications to keep systems up to date and to improve business efficiency. The costs of upgrades are included in the overall contract expenditure and could not be identified separately without incurring disproportionate cost.
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