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13 July 2009 : Column 90Wcontinued
Mr. Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 20 May 2009, Official Report, column 1388W, on departmental pay, if he will list the employers concerned, including contracts (a) which have been sub-let and (b) which are not exclusive to London; what the nature is of the work undertaken with regard to each contract; how many staff are employed under the terms of each contract, broken down by (i) grade and (ii) location; and what (A) the length of the contract is and (B) union recognition agreements are in place in each case. [285471]
Chris Mole: The number of contracted staff employed in London earning less than the London living wage of £7.45 is now 63. The employer of the staff concerned is Amey who have been contracted to provide a total facilities management service for the three London Department for Transport HQ buildings. The staff involved work in the kitchen (nine), mailroom (three) and cleaning services (51). The contract is for five and a half years and is currently exclusive to London. Amey have union recognition agreements in place.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of his Department's capital underspend in 2009-10; and how much of that sum he proposes to return to the Exchequer. [284328]
Chris Mole: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 9 July 2009, Official Report, columns 921-22W.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many (a) paid and (b) unpaid graduate internships his Department has awarded in each of the last six months. [281522]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport has awarded one paid internship to a graduate in the last six months.
Mr. Goodwill:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what guidance has been issued to driving
test examiners on the carrying of driving instructors as rear seat passengers during the car driving test. [285746]
Paul Clark: Guidance currently issued by the Driving Standards Agency to driving examiners is as follows.
A candidate may, if they so wish, and provided the examiner is satisfied there is sufficient room in the vehicle, be accompanied by their instructor or a friend. Any person(s) accompanying the candidate must be at least 16 years of age. The examiner should, however, make it clear that the third party must not in any way interfere with, or comment on, the test.
Examiners must ensure that any rear seat passenger wears a seat belt; if a rear seat passenger refuses to do so the test will be not be conducted.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment he has made of the accessibility of the driving theory test for people with dyslexia. [285284]
Paul Clark: The Driving Standards Agency works with disabled people's organisations, including those representing people with dyslexia, to ensure all candidates can take the driving theory test without discrimination or disadvantage. Screen layout, background colour, type size and colour have been taken into account.
Candidates with dyslexia can request an English voiceover and touch screen facility or an assistant who will read out the questions and record the candidate's answers. Candidates can also request additional time to complete the test.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many applications for driving licences from residents of (a) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency, (b) Teesside, (c) the North East and (d) England using forged or stolen identity documents have been detected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each of the last five years. [285196]
Paul Clark: The following table provides the number of applications for driving licences, which were supported by what appeared suspect documents to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, since April 2005. These figures were not recorded before April 2005. This Department does not investigate identity fraud. Instead cases are referred to the police who would have the final confirmed figures.
April 2005 to March 2006 | April 2006 to March 2007 | April 2007 to March 2008 | April 2008 to March 2009 | April 2009 to June 2009 | |
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether the terms of the East Coast mainline franchise allow for any financial obligations of National Express East Coast Ltd. to be borne by their parent company National Express Ltd. [284709]
Chris Mole [holding answer 7 July 2009]: Under the National Express East Coast franchise agreement, National Express Group is obliged to meet its parent company loan obligation of a £40 million loan facility. It is also open to National Express Group, at their discretion, to make available support in excess of this.
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the estimated cost to the public purse is arising from the termination of the East Coast mainline franchise for the period between the date of transfer of the East Coast mainline franchise to the public sector and the expected date by which the franchise will be relet, net of operating profits received by the new public sector company. [284710]
Chris Mole [holding answer 7 July 2009]: The cost to the public purse while the East Coast Mainline franchise is run by the public sector company will depend upon a number of factors, including ticket revenue during that period. The costs of transferring the franchise to the public sector company and re-letting the franchise will be met from within the £31.4 million performance bond that National Express is contractually committed to.
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether the funding required for the return to public ownership of the East Coast mainline franchise will come from existing rail budgets. [286329]
Chris Mole: The costs of transferring the franchise to the public sector company and re-letting the franchise will be met from within the £31.4 million performance bond that National Express is contractually committed to.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what surplus of income over expenditure on operating costs he expects the East Coast Main Line franchise to achieve in the period that it is in public sector management; to whom the surplus will be paid; and what plans he has for the allocation of such funds. [286373]
Chris Mole: Any surplus of income over expenditure on operating costs during the period that the east coast main line franchise is in public sector management will be used to meet expected premium payments to the Department for Transport. Any surplus beyond this will also be received by the Department. Any surplus will depend on future ticket revenue which is not yet known.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) what surplus of income over expenditure on operating costs of the East Coast Main Line was in each of the last 10 years that the service was managed by British Rail; [286374]
(2) how many (a) passengers were carried and (b) kilometres were travelled by trains on the East Coast Main Line in each of the last 25 years. [286376]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport does not hold this information. More general information on rail usage is contained in National Rail Trends, published by the Office of Rail Regulation at:
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he expects to make a decision on First Great Western's bid for 44 new rail vehicles. [286533]
Chris Mole: We are in discussion with First Great Western regarding the provision of additional train capacity in the Bristol area, and will make an announcement in due course.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many residents of (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland had heavy goods vehicle licences in each of the last five years. [285560]
Paul Clark: The following table provides the number of drivers who held a heavy goods vehicle licence in the requested countries in each of the last five years:
2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many tests of (a) heavy goods vehicles and (b) public service vehicles were carried out at the Llandrindod Wells test centre in each of the last three years; and how much the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency received from such tests in each such year. [286024]
Paul Clark: The number of tests and income the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency received for (a) Heavy goods vehicles and (b) public service vehicles at Llandrindod Wells in the past three years is as set out in the following table:
HGV Tests | HGV Income (£) | PSV Tests | PSV Income (£) | |
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many tests of (a) heavy goods vehicles and (b) public service vehicles have been carried out in (i) England and (ii) Wales by staff of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency in the last three years. [286027]
Paul Clark: The following table sets out the number of tests of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and public service vehicles (PSVs) carried out by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency in England and Wales over the past three years:
Financial year | Country | Scheme | Annual tests | Re-tests | Total |
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