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20 July 2009 : Column 754W—continued
Departmental Procurement
Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what progress his Department has made in implementing the recommendations of the Glover report in its procurement processes. [287144]
Chris Mole:
The Department for Transport is working with the Office of Government Commerce on the "Access
for All" programme which is the specific response to the Glover report. This programme is currently developing a detailed programme of work in response to each of the 12 key Glover recommendations.
First Great Western
Mr. Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 14 July 2009, Official Report, column 14WS, on the First Great Western franchise, how much of the £29 million funding for passenger benefits has been (a) spent and (b) allocated for expenditure; and what system will be used to monitor the performance of First Great Western in meeting its franchise agreement in the future. [288083]
Chris Mole: Benefits have been delivered to passengers since last year, but the relevant dates by which the £29 million must be spent have not yet been reached. The Department for Transport will seek written evidence of compliance with the spending obligations.
Galileo
Graham Stringer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he expects the Galileo satellite navigation system to become fully functional. [287733]
Paul Clark: The European Commission envisages the deployment of the Galileo satellite constellation and the establishment of the ground-based infrastructure to run until 2013 and for initial operations to commence in that time frame. Operational capability will be confirmed when the certification of the system, and standard operational measures have been assured and the technical performance and stability of the system have met the mission and performance requirements. This is expected to take place during the exploitation phase of the programme starting from 2014.
Great North Eastern Railway: Connex
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) GNER and (b) Connex surrendering their franchise. [283039]
Chris Mole: The only franchise that has failed is Connex South Eastern. The Strategic Rail Authority incurred costs of £3.8 million, over and above those recovered from Connex. The details can be found in the National Audit Office's report of December 2005, available on their website at:
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0506/the_south_eastern passenger_ra.aspx
The former GNER franchise was not surrendered, but was converted to a management contract before being re-let. The costs incurred by the Department for Transport were covered from the franchisee.
Heathrow Airport
Susan Kramer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what mechanisms his Department has planned for the determination of planning applications in respect of the expansion of Heathrow airport in circumstances in which his Department's proposed special administration regime for major airports is in use. [287905]
Paul Clark: The preparation and timing of any planning application for a third runway and associated terminal facilities at Heathrow airport are a matter for the airport operator. Such a development would be likely to meet the 2008 Planning Act's threshold for a nationally significant airport infrastructure project. The planning application would therefore be subject to consideration by the new Infrastructure Planning Commission if received after March 2010 when the relevant threshold in the Planning Act is due to be commenced.
As part of a recent 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 in order to protect consumers. We are currently considering responses to the consultation and will announce our decision in due course.
Helicopters
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what legislative provisions govern the landing of helicopters on private land. [287790]
Paul Clark: A helicopter landing on private land must comply at all times with relevant aviation safety legislation, including the rules governing low flying set out in the rules of the air 2007.
There are no planning rules in England specifically governing the landing of helicopters on private land. It is for local planning authorities to determine, in the first instance, whether planning permission would be required, taking into account the individual circumstances of each case.
Invalid Vehicles
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how responsibility for enforcement of Class 2/3 weight and speed restrictions for powered mobility products is exercised; and by whom. [287991]
Mr. Khan: Class 2 and class 3 powered mobility scooters have to comply with specific speed and weight requirements which are set down in the Use of Invalid Carriages on Highways Regulations 1988. There is currently no official body that routinely checks that class 2 and class 3 scooters conform to these requirements. Local enforcement bodies, including the police, do take an interest in their use and will take action when they are misused.
In addition the Department for Health and Medical and Health Regulatory Authority work with British manufacturers to ensure that the safety and construction standards for mobility scooters are met.
National Express
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the joint letter of 1 May signed by Dr. Mike Mitchell of his Department and Ray O'Toole of National Express. [288050]
Chris Mole: This document is commercially confidential at the present time.
National Express East Coast
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps he is taking to prevent service disruption on the East Coast Main Line prior to the anticipated default by National Express. [288053]
Chris Mole: The Government have established a publicly owned company, which will take over the management of the franchise when National Express East Coast ceases to operate. The Department for Transport is working with National Express to ensure and orderly handover of operations.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the statement of 1 July 2009, Official Report, columns 424-26, on National Express east coast franchise, what assessment he has made of the effect on his Department's budget for rail Control Period Four, 2009-14, of changes to the National Express east coast franchise. [288189]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport has sufficient budget cover to fund any shortfall for the operation of services on the East Coast Main Line at the point that National Express East Coast ceases to operate under their current franchise agreement. The Government intend to re-let the franchise in due course; the requirement for public support thereafter will depend upon the terms of the winning bid awarded by a competitive process.
North London Railway Line
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport by what date his Department expects to be able to quantify the savings made under the North London Line Camden Road freight scheme announced last year. [288058]
Chris Mole: The cost and final specification of the scheme are being assessed by Network Rail which is taking the scheme through its project development process. The final cost will be determined by the scheme design of which Network Rail will have a preliminary indication in spring 2010.
Ports: Non-domestic Rates
Robert Neill: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent representations his Department has received on the effect on firms located in ports of the application of retrospective business rates in the last six months. [288521]
Paul Clark: Since 1 January 2009 the Department for Transport has received several such representations from a cargo services business in Grimsby and I have answered a parliamentary question from the hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Mr. Crabb), on 25 June 2009, Official Report, column 1078W.
Railways: Finance
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department plans to spend on subsidy to train operators in 2009-10. [286306]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport maintains financial forecasts of anticipated subsidy payable to train operating companies. However, this information is commercially confidential and market sensitive.
Historic subsidy payments are published in National Rail Trends which is available on the Office of Rail Regulation's website at:
Copies are also available in the Library of the House.
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the privatisation of the rail network. [286593]
Chris Mole: The historic costs associated with the privatisation of the railway have been published in the annual reports of the various bodies involved in the process. The following table sets out the reported costs of those organisations between 1991-92 and 1996-97:
| £ million | |
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many rail franchises other than the East Coast Main Line are at red on his Department's financial risk scale. [288052]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport reviews the operational and financial performance of train operating companies on a regular basis, as part of its routine monitoring of the contractual arrangements between the Department and its franchise holders. That internal analysis is commercially confidential.
Railways: Franchises
Mr. Tom Harris: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which existing rail franchises he expects to return a premium to his Department by the end of the franchise period. [286074]
Chris Mole: Based on existing contracted amounts it is anticipated that the following franchises will return a premium over the life of the contract:
Chiltern
First Great Western
South West Trains
East Midlands Trains
First Capital Connect
NX East Anglia
Southern Trains.
However, overall net premium payments are dependent on any revenue support payments.
NX East Coast has to date paid premiums, and is contracted to do so over the remainder of the franchise.
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department expects to receive in premiums from rail franchises in financial year 2009-10. [286900]
Chris Mole [holding answer 14 July 2009]: Contracted premiums currently receivable under franchise agreements in 2009-10 total £319 million.
Railways: North West
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent steps he has taken to improve rail services in the North West. [287976]
Chris Mole: The North West has benefited considerably from the £8.9 million upgrade of the west coast main line. Since December 2008, more and faster trains have run between London and Chester, Liverpool, Manchester, and major towns and cities between Crewe and Glasgow. Northern Rail services were also improved on the route between Bradford and Manchester and the Cumbrian coast line. Investment to improve reliability has resulted in the best levels of performance ever experienced by Northern Rail during the four-week period ending 30 May 2009.
Railways: Overcrowding
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 26 March 2009, Official Report, column 576W, on railways: overcrowding, when the passengers in excess of capacity measure will be replaced; what measure for monitoring passenger numbers was used in 2008; and what measure for monitoring passenger numbers will be used for 2009. [279313]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport will continue to monitor passenger numbers against capacity and does not plan to replace this measure.
The Office for Rail Regulation publishes statistics on passengers in excess of capacity in National Rail Trends:
In 2008 a measure was published for train operating companies covering London and the south-east. The same measure will be updated in the National Rail Trends Yearbook when it becomes available on 30 July 2009.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 26 March 2009, Official Report, column 576W, on railways: overcrowding, what capacity benchmarks are used for each franchise let after 2004; and how operators are measured against those benchmarks. [279314]
Chris Mole: Franchises let since 2004 include a performance regime which requires, where appropriate, a franchisee to report actual provision of seating capacity against that scheduled. This regime is based on targets, which usually require the franchisee to progressively improve actual provision compared with planned provision, over the life of the franchise.
The specific arrangements for each operator can viewed on the Department for Transport's website at the following address:
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