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12 Oct 2009 : Column 389W—continued
Swindon-Kemble Railway Line
Mr. Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what progress has been made on the re-doubling of the railway line between Kemble and Swindon. [292429]
Chris Mole: Network Rail has been funded by the Department for Transport, the South West Region and the National Assembly for Wales to undertake a comprehensive engineering study of the re-doubling proposal. The South West Region has been asked by Ministers to consider proposals that would fully fund the scheme and allow re-doubling work to start in 2010.
Swine Flu
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with which transport (a) authorities and advisory organisations, (b) companies and (c) trade unions his Department has had recent discussions on swine influenza; and when those discussions took place. [290017]
Paul Clark: We have maintained regular contact with a wide range of transport operators and associations since the outbreak was first notified. The Department for Transport has not discussed the issue with the trade unions. It is for individual companies to discuss any issues on this subject with their relevant trade unions.
Tolls
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the Government's plans are to introduce a vehicle tracking and national road pricing scheme; what the most recent estimate is of the cost of such a scheme; what assessment he has made of the effects of such a scheme on (a) the environment and (b) civil liberties; and what the Government's policy is on the use of income from road pricing to fund public transport provision. [291558]
Mr. Khan: The Government will not proceed with a national road user charging scheme in the next Parliament.
However, road congestion remains a serious long-term problem and it would be irresponsible not to explore the potential of managing demand to help tackle congestion in the future.
Therefore, the Government remain committed to investigating thoroughly a wide range of policies both to reduce congestion and to improve journey-time reliability for all road users.
Given the complexity of the issues involved, the rapid pace of technological change and the number of potential variables, it is not feasible to give any cost and benefit estimates at this stage.
The Government do not generally hypothecate revenues, as to do so can be inefficient.
Transport Innovation Fund
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to his Department's publication, Supporting the Development of TIF packages, published on 4 March 2009, how much funding his Department plans to allocate to the Transport Innovation Fund in each year to 2018-19. [290158]
Mr. Khan: The Department for Transport announced on 4 March 2008 revised arrangements to support the development of congestion Transport Innovation Fund packages by local authorities who were considering bidding for funding to implement a package of measures to tackle congestion through demand management and investment in public transport in their area. The announcement noted our willingness to provide up to £200 million a year for such schemes up to 2018-19. Allocations would, however, depend on the scale and quality of proposals received. The Department's plans for spending beyond 2010-11 will be set as part of the usual cross departmental spending review process.
Transport: Infrastructure
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which major transport infrastructure projects in each (a) Government region and (b) local authority area have been approved by his Department in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [290053]
Mr. Khan: I have placed tables in the Library of the House which provide information on major transport infrastructure projects, costing over £5 million, in each (a) Government region and (b) local authority area where applicable that have been approved by the Department for Transport in each of the last five years.
Tyne and Wear Metro
Mr. Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what support his Department is planning to provide for the extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro from South Northumberland Park Metro station to Newsham in Blyth Valley; and if he will make a statement. [289373]
Mr. Khan: It would be for Nexus and Northumberland county council to consider whether the reopening of the railway line from Northumberland Park to Newsham either as an extension of the Metro or as a heavy rail line would be the best way to meet local and regional transport needs and to seek the necessary funding, for example through the Regional Funding Allocation (RFA).
Cabinet Office
National Survey of Third Sector Organisations
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which body won the contract for the National Survey of Third Sector Organisations with the OGCbuying.solutions reference project 17576; what the monetary value of the contract is; and when the results of the survey will be published. [290141]
Angela E. Smith: The National Survey of Third Sector Organisations was let by competitive tender in two lots. Lot A was to provide a sample frame for the survey. Lot B was to conduct a survey of third sector organisations on that sample frame, conduct analysis and publish results.
Lot A was won by a consortium led by BMG Research, and Lot B was won by Ipsos MORI. The value of these contracts is commercially confidential and is not published to protect the commercial interests of the Cabinet Office in tendering similar work on a competitive basis.
A copy of the headline results of the survey have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The detailed results, together with analysis, are available at:
10 Downing Street
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will place in the Library a copy of the seating plan for the open plan office in the Downing Street office complex. [290133]
Angela E. Smith: I have nothing further to add to the answer my predecessor gave the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 3 February 2009, Official Report, column 1180W.
10 Downing Street: Manpower
Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff work in the 10 Downing Street Correspondence Unit. [289855]
Angela E. Smith: As at 1 April 2009, 20 staff were employed in the Direct Communications Unit.
10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the works in 10 Downing Street under Westminster city council planning application reference 09/00619/LBC have been completed. [287260]
Angela E. Smith: No. Works are currently under way.
Average Earnings
Mr. Vara: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the rate of average earnings growth was in (a) North West Cambridgeshire constituency, (b) each local authority area in the East of England and (c) England in each of the last 10 years. [289299]
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 July 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the rate of average earnings growth was in (a) North West Cambridgeshire constituency, (b) each local authority area in the East of England and (c) England in each of the last 10 years. (289299)
ONS's primary indicator of average earnings growth is the Average Earnings Index. As this does not produce regional estimates, the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings has been used (ASHE). The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of information on the levels of earnings in the United Kingdom. It is a sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PA YE) schemes.
The sample sizes for more detailed geographies can be small and this affects the quality of the resulting estimates, which are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
I attach a table showing the annual percentage change in median gross weekly earnings for the specified geographies for full-time and part-time employees in each year since 1998.
| Annual percentage change of median gross weekly pay-for full-time employee jobs( a) | |||||||||||
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
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