| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
30 Jun 2009 : Column 158W—continued
The Department for Transport does not hold information on how many rail services of each train operating company were not in planned preventative maintenance in the last quarter of 2008-09.
Railways: West Midlands
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much has been spent to increase rail capacity in the West Midlands since 2005. [282756]
Chris Mole: The information is not available in the form requested. Responsibility for delivering capacity enhancements on the railway rests with Network Rail who also fund any works.
Government support for the railway, including a breakdown of support by region is available in the Department for Transport’s annual report. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
Road Traffic
Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many representations his Department has received on traffic congestion in town centres in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [282860]
Mr. Khan: The Department for Transport's records reveal that the following numbers of ministerial and official correspondence have been received over the last five years which have 'traffic congestion in town centres' within the subject heading:
| Number | |
There will have been many more representations to the Department on this issue, but it would not be possible to provide figures for these without disproportionate cost.
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the distance travelled on (a) Highways Agency roads and (b) other roads by foreign-registered light vehicles in the last 12 months. [282889]
Mr. Khan [holding answer 29 June 2009]: It is estimated that foreign registered cars and light goods vehicles travelled 319 million kilometres on Britain's motorways in 2008, accounting for around 0.4 per cent. of the total distance travelled by these types of vehicles.
On other roads in Great Britain, it is estimated that foreign registered cars and light goods vehicles travelled 1.438 billion kilometres in 2008, around 0.2 per cent. of the total distance travelled by these types of vehicles.
The estimates are based on information collected through the Department for Transport's Vehicle Excise Duty Evasion survey in June 2008. They have been calculated on the assumption that the rate of foreign registered vehicles in traffic observed during this month is representative of the rate throughout the year.
Estimates of foreign registered traffic are split between motorways and all other roads, while the Highways Agency is responsible for managing both motorways and other major trunk roads in England. Estimates covering all Highways Agency routes are therefore not available, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Roads: Construction
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent research his Department has (a) evaluated and (b) commissioned on the environmental impact of new road building; and what guidance his Department has issued to local and regional authorities on the management of such effects. [280732]
Mr. Khan: All major road schemes submitted to the Department for Transport by local authorities or promoted by the Highways Agency are subject to a full assessment against the Government's five overarching objectives of safety, environment, economy, integration and accessibility.
The Highways Agency also has in place a set of advice notes in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges that deal with the environmental design and management of roads. These advice notes state clearly that good environmental design is a matter of respecting the special character of each individual location where a road improvement may be sited. While this is written with the trunk road system in mind, local highway authorities are likely to find it useful for their purposes, too.
In addition, the Department has commissioned research into valuing transport's impact on the natural landscape. The results of phases 1 and 2 of the study are reported on the Department's website at:
The Highways Agency has recently released a report, ‘Post Opening Project Evaluation: Meta Analysis’, on the evaluation of a number of Highways Agency schemes. A copy of the report can be found at the following weblink:
The Highways Agency is also developing an improved methodology to account for the changes to the quantity of vehicle emissions that affect air quality that can result from new road schemes.
Finally, the Department is collaborating with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to manage research that they have commissioned to investigate the health impacts of environmental noise.
Transport: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what representations he has received on the allocation of funding for the construction of (a) bicycle paths and lanes and (b) footpaths in (i) Essex and (ii) Castle Point in each of the last five years. [282436]
Mr. Khan: The Department for Transport receives representations from time to time about the allocation of funding for various issues, including the construction of bicycle paths, bicycle lanes and footpaths. However, the Department is not aware of any specific representations on these subjects in relation to Essex or Castle Point. Such representations would generally be made to the local authority in question.
Cabinet Office
Breast Cancer: Males
James Duddridge: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many adult males have been diagnosed with breast cancer in England in each year from 2005. [282925]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply to the hon. Member. A copy of its response will be placed in the Library.
Central Office of Information: Expenditure
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) on 12 November 2008, Official Report, column 759, on public relations, what the reasons are for the difference between the figure of £265 million given in the answer and the figure of £391 million for Central Office of Information (COI) spending on public relations, marketing and advertising in 2007-08 given in the most recent COI annual report and accounts. [250300]
Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to answer given to him on 20 April 2009, Official Report, column 352W.
Central Office of Information: Security
Danny Alexander: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many breaches of security at the Central Office of Information have occurred in the last five years; and what procedures that agency follows when a breach of security involves the disclosure of personal data. [276941]
Tessa Jowell: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Central Office of Information. I have asked the chief executive to reply.
Letter from Mark Lund, dated June 2009:
As Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on the Security Breaches (276941).
In the last five years the Central Office of Information (COI) has had no reported breaches of security.
It is COI policy to report all significant personal data security breaches to the Cabinet Office and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Information on personal data security breaches is published on an annual basis in the department's Annual Report and Accounts as announced in the Data Handling. Procedures in Government Review published on 25th June 2008.
Additionally, all significant control weaknesses including other significant security breaches are included in the Statement of Internal Control which is also published within the Annual Report and Accounts.
Jobseeker’s Allowance: South Yorkshire
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average length of time was for which jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants resident in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster received JSA in each of the last five years. [282785]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated June 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for what average length of time jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants resident in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster received JSA in each of the last five years. (282785)
The number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) is taken from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. The length of a claim has been defined as the time between the start of an individual's claim and that claim ending. Table 1 shows the median length of completed claims during the May count period of the last 5 years.
| Table 1. Median length of completed claims (off-flows) of jobseeker’s allowance for claimants resident in Barnsley and Doncaster | ||
| Months | ||
| May | Barnsley | Doncaster |
| Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative system. | ||
Regional Planning and Development: South East
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what representations her Department has received on the consultation process on the South East England Regional Spatial Strategy. [R] [279564]
Tessa Jowell: The Cabinet Office received no representations on the South East England Regional Spatial Strategy.
Unemployment: Merseyside
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average unemployment rate among the working age population in (a) Merseyside and (b) Crosby was in each of the last five years. [R] [282522]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated June 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the average unemployment rate among working age population in (a) Merseyside and (b) Crosby was in each of the last five years. (282522)
The Office for National Statistics compiles unemployment statistics in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS).
Table 1 shows the unemployment rate for people resident in Merseyside and Crosby parliamentary constituency in each of the last five years. The latest period for which data are available is October 2007 to September 2008. Unemployment rates are normally provided for people aged 16 and over, rather than people of working age, thus estimates provided are consistent with this definition.
As these estimates are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas, they, are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment and unemployment are available from the NOMIS website at:
| Table 1: Unemployment rates( 1) for people resident in Merseyside and Crosby | ||
| Unemployment rate (percentage) | ||
| 12 month period | Merseyside | Crosby |
| (1) Number of unemployed people aged 16 and over as a percentage of the economically active population. Source: Annual Population Survey. | ||
Home Department
Community Policing: Enfield
Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of neighbourhood policing schemes in (a) the London Borough of Enfield and (b) Enfield North constituency. [282565]
Mr. Hanson: It is for individual police forces and authorities to ensure the effectiveness of neighbourhood policing in their area. The Government will hold forces to account for progress through the single top-down target we have set them to improve public confidence that crime and antisocial behaviour issues are being tackled locally, and in the light of inspection work by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
HMIC has inspected every force in England and Wales to assess their capabilities in delivering Neighbourhood Policing and Developing Citizen Focus. HMIC’s assessment in September 2008 was that all forces, including the Metropolitan Police Service, had met this standard.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |