Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 9 July 2009
Transport
Airports
Susan Kramer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of enacting the proposed special administration regime in the event of a major airport owner going into administration. [283960]
Paul Clark: As part of a consultation on proposals to reform the economic regulation of airports, the Department for Transport sought views on a package of proposed measures to strengthen the financial resilience of airports. The Department is currently considering responses to the consultation and will make an appropriate assessment of special administration following analysis of those consultation responses.
Crossings: Tolls
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport who is responsible for setting the charges for (a) the Severn Crossing, (b) the Dartford Crossing and (c) the Humber Crossing. [285577]
Mr. Khan: For the Severn Crossing, Severn River Crossing plc is responsible for setting the toll charges. The Severn Bridge Act 1992 sets out the formula to increase toll charges in line with RPI. Under this Act the Secretary of State for Transport is required to make an Order in December each year fixing the toll amounts for the following calendar year.
For the Dartford Crossing, Le Crossing Company Ltd (who operate the tunnel) are responsible for setting the road user charge. The Secretary of State for Transport is responsible for approving this using powers under the Transport Act 2000.
For the Humber Bridge, the Humber Bridge Board is responsible for setting the toll charges. Under the Humber Bridge Act 1971, the Secretary of State for Transport is responsible for approving any proposals for toll increases submitted by the Board.
Cycling: Finance
Mr. Vara: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much capital funding has been allocated to the links to schools cycling programme in (a) North West Cambridgeshire constituency, (b) Cambridgeshire, (c) Huntingdonshire and (d) Peterborough in each year since the inception of the programme. [283415]
Mr. Khan:
Between 2005 and March 2008, Sustrans (Sustainable Transport Charity) has on the Department for Transport’s behalf made available £511,531 in grants
for the Eastern region to deliver a Links to Schools programme working with local authorities. Of this amount, £170,281 has been made available to Cambridgeshire county council. More detailed information is not available without incurring disproportionate cost.
Cycling: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much funding his Department has allocated to encourage bicycle usage in (a) Hemel Hempstead, (b) Dacorum and (c) Hertfordshire in each of the last five years. [284425]
Mr. Khan: Between 2005 and March 2008, Sustrans (the Sustainable Transport Charity) has on the Department for Transport’s behalf made available £782,667 in grants for local authorities in the East of England region to deliver a Links to Schools programme to encourage more children to cycle to school. Of this amount, £32,436 has been made available to Hertfordshire county council.
We have also been awarding cycle training grants to local authorities since 2006-07 to encourage cycling to school and the Links to Schools programme referred to above. The grants awarded each year to Hertfordshire county council are set out in the following table.
| Local authority cycle training grants to Hertfordshire county council | |
| Grant (£) | |
Departmental Consultants
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether consultants acting as interim managers in his Department may (a) dismiss civil servants and (b) initiate formal procedures against civil servants on the grounds of (i) poor performance, (ii) attendance and (iii) discipline. [283199]
Chris Mole: Consultants acting as managers may take any management action short of dismissal, but a decision to dismiss decision can only be taken by a civil servant.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when his Department plans to update its web browsers from Internet Explorer 6. [285027]
Chris Mole: The position regarding updating web browsers from Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) varies between the Department for Transport (DfT) (Central) and its Agencies, and can be summarised as follows:
Departmental Secondment
Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many employees of his Department have been posted to work in offices of hon. Members of each political party in each of the last five years. [284886]
Chris Mole: Civil servants are required to act in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code.
Civil servants may shadow MPs as part of a programme run by the Industry and Parliament Trust. Information on the number of staff who have participated is not held centrally.
Heathrow Airport: Air Pollution
Tim Farron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of a third runway at Heathrow on the Government’s ability to meet the requirements of EU legislation for levels of (a) nitrogen dioxide and (b) particulate matter. [285515]
Paul Clark: Our assessment of the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10) impacts of adding a third runway at Heathrow was set out in the “Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport” consultation document and the relevant technical reports, published in November 2007.
National Express East Coast
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what his estimate is of the capital value of National Express East Coast Ltd. [284695]
Chris Mole: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 7 July 2009, Official Report, column 644W.
Network Rail: Directors
Stephen Hammond:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2009, Official Report, columns 611-12W, on
Network Rail: directors, in what circumstances his Department may appoint directors to private companies. [284555]
Chris Mole: The only circumstances where the Department for Transport may appoint directors to private companies is where something is written in law or the constitution of a company which would permit the Department to appoint a director. The Secretary of State for Transport may appoint a special director to the Board of Network Rail at his discretion.
Railways
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage rail travel in off-peak hours. [284730]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport regulates certain rail fares, particularly where people have little alternative to rail to make necessary journeys (such as season tickets used by commuters). Regulated fares account for in excess of 60 per cent. of all rail journeys made.
Train operators are free to apply commercial pricing to unregulated fares, which means charging higher fares at peak times when trains are full but lower fares to price-sensitive passengers in the off-peak to attract additional passengers. This helps achieve value for money in terms of both passengers carried and subsidy required.
Severn Bridge: Tolls
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) how much revenue was taken from each charging category on each of the two Severn crossings in each of the last five years; [285578]
(2) how many vehicles in Category 3 used the Severn crossings in each month of each of the last five years. [285579]
Mr. Khan: Tolls are levied on the westbound carriageways only from England to Wales. The following table sets out the annual revenue on the Severn Crossing for each class of vehicle (charging category) from 2004-08:
| £ | ||||
| Total | Cars | LGV's | HGV's | |
The following table sets out how many category 3 vehicles used the Severn Crossing—by each month and annually from 2004-08)
| Number | |||||
| 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | |
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