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11 Nov 2009 : Column 363W—continued
Departmental ICT
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what discussions his Department has had with UK companies about tendering to supply technology for the forthcoming hard shoulder running projects. [298512]
Chris Mole [holding answer 9 November 2009]: The Highways Agency has had discussions with a number of potential suppliers (both UK- and overseas-based) regarding a technical solution for monitoring the hard shoulder prior to opening.
A worldwide search of available systems for hard shoulder monitoring has been conducted which included discussions with potential suppliers. There is only one operational UK-based system available and that is currently being used on the M42 Active Traffic Management Pilot.
The Highways Agency intends to review the performance of available commercial off the shelf hard shoulder monitoring technologies in order to produce a functional specification. This specification can then be used to competitively tender for an end to end solution for monitoring the hard shoulder, for both future managed
motorway schemes involving use of the hard shoulder as a running lane and the technology refresh of existing schemes.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with which organisations his Department has had exclusivity agreements for information technology (a) hardware and (b) software in each of the last five years; how many such agreements have been breached in each year; and what the cost to his Department was of each breach. [299694]
Chris Mole: The only known case in the Department for Transport is that the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency has a PFI contract with Siemens since April 2005 which includes an exclusivity agreement for the provision of hardware (but not software) to MOT Testing Stations. There have been no breaches associated with it. All other agencies have no such agreements.
No central record is kept for the Department for Transport (Central) and this information can therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, it is felt that the number and scope of such agreements will be very small, if any.
Departmental Manpower
John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many staff there were in his Department (a) in 1997 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available. [292071]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport was formed in 2002 and the figures used below are Full Time Equivalent as shown in our 2008-09 Annual Report:
| Number | |
Departmental Official Cars
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the cost of provision of Government cars to special advisers in his Department was in the last 12 months. [299594]
Paul Clark: No special advisers are provided with an allocated Government car and driver. As with all civil servants, special advisers may use an official car or taxi in properly defined circumstances. Details of such use is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what his Department's policy is on payment of the London living wage. [295248]
Chris Mole [holding answer 26 October 2009]: The Department for Transport does not have an HR policy on the London living wage as it does not employ staff in roles where pay rates at or close to the London living wage would be appropriate.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers in his Department and its agencies in 2008-09. [299278]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport reimburses staff only for expenses necessarily incurred in the course of official business. Expenses reimbursed to press officers in 2008-09 are set out in the following table where readily available:
| 2008 - 09 | |
| £ | |
The Highways Agency (HA) has seven regional press officers to support its new Traffic Officer service and seven regional control centres. These press officers are employed to raise awareness of the Traffic Officers and the agency's role as network operator for England's motorways and major A roads. These press officers have to travel between the Regional Control Centres, outstations and Highways Agency offices, as well as travelling to media opportunities and to accompany journalists during visits to the HA network and premises.
Press officer activities in most executive agencies are not carried out by staff or units solely dedicated to this purpose. The Government Car and Despatch Agency and the Vehicle Certification Agency have no press officers, and the Marine and Coastguard Agency are unable to identify press officer reimbursements without disproportionate cost.
Departmental Political Activities
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2009, Official Report, column 1446W, on party conferences, how much Passenger Focus spent sending representatives to attend each of the party political conferences in 2009; and whether prior permission was sought from the Cabinet Office for Passenger Focus to attend. [298715]
Chris Mole: In accordance with Cabinet Office guidance, Passenger Focus sought the Department for Transport's approval before attending. The cost of attendance is a matter for Passenger Focus itself.
Departmental Postal Services
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with which providers (a) his Department and (b) its agencies had a contract to provide postal services in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008, (iii) between 1 January 2009 and 1 July 2009 and (iv) since 1 July 2009. [299423]
Chris Mole: The requested information is not available in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Travel
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many miles (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have travelled by (i) car, (ii) rail and (iii) air on official business in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009. [298712]
Chris Mole: Department for Transport records on travel are not kept by length of journey, and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers and the Civil Service Management Code.
Immobilisation of Vehicles: Leeds
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many cars have been impounded in Leeds North West constituency in each year since 2005; and at what cost in each such year. [299640]
Paul Clark: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not keep the information in the format requested. However the number of vehicles wheel-clamped and/or impounded by the enforcement team based in Leeds is as follows:
| Financial year | Vehicles wheel clamped in Leeds | Vehicles impounded in Leeds |
It is not possible to provide cost information for the Leeds North West constituency.
Motorcycles
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport for what reasons motorcycles were not included in his Department's research project on the future of urban transport; and if he will make a statement. [299545]
Mr. Khan: The report by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit on Urban Mobility, which the unit undertook jointly with the Department for Transport and other Government Departments, provided a strategic analysis of the impact of all forms of surface transport, including motorcycles, on people that live and work in cities and towns. It concluded that the impacts went well beyond the benefits of mobility and economic consequences of congestion, with poorly planned transport causing significant adverse impacts in terms of air quality, ill health, noise and road accidents.
The report concluded that a new vision was required to provide greater choice for all travellers and to take better account of the needs not only of those travelling but of residents and businesses. The Department's paper "The Future of Urban Transport" responds by offering a vision of urban transport that envisages enhanced mobility through a wider choice of journey, reduced congestion, better health and enjoyable urban spaces.
Motorway Service Areas
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers), 16 September 2009, Official Report, column 2279W, on motorway service areas, when he plans to publish the detailed valuation study; and if he will make a statement. [299008]
Chris Mole: The Highways Agency commissioned an investigation into whether potential exists for the disposal of the remaining 20 Government owned motorway service area (MSA) sites. The resulting report will be published by the end of the year, and copies placed in the Libraries of the House at that time.
Road Signs and Markings
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether his Department has made any recent assessment of the degree to which the meanings of individual road signs are understood by (a) motorists, (b) cyclists and (c) pedestrians. [298401]
Mr. Khan: Familiarity and understanding of traffic signs are an integral part of the theory and practical driving test. The Department for Transport last published research on understanding of traffic signs in March 2004 in a report entitled 'Increasing Understanding of Traffic Signs'. The research considered a limited number of traffic signs and did not provide detailed analysis by road user category.
A further research project has been agreed to inform the ongoing traffic signs policy review. This will include detailed analysis by road user category. We plan to commission this work later this year.
Road Traffic Control and Immobilisation of Vehicles
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what discussions his Department has had with the (a) Association of Chief Police Officers, (b) Metropolitan Police and (c) Secretary of State for the Home Department on the (i) time taken to clear the scene of motorway incidents and (ii) activities of companies which use wheel-clamping to enforce parking restrictions on private property in the last three years. [294769]
Chris Mole: The Highways Agency (HA) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) have entered into a strategic agreement setting out how they will work together to improve the way road traffic incidents on the Strategic Road Network are managed.
The HA/ACPO Partnership Board meets three times a year when a number of issues, including incident clear-up times, are discussed. The last meeting was held on 4 August 2009.
The Secretary of State for Transport met with ACPO recently.
My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Transport and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Gillingham Paul Clark, have met with/spoken to Home Office Ministers. Departmental officials are in regular contact with their
opposite numbers in the Home Office about the activities of companies that use vehicle immobilisation and/or removal to enforce parking restrictions on private land.
Roads: Finance
Mr. Timpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on the (i) A11 Fiveways to Thetford improvement, (ii) A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton improvement, (iii) A21 South Pembury to Hastings route improvements, (iv) A21 Tonbridge to Pembury dualling scheme and (v) A23 Handcross to Warninglid improvement; and what the total projected cost of each is; [298819]
(2) how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on the (i) A30 Temple to Higher Carblake improvement, (ii) A38 Derby Junctions scheme, (iii) A45/46 Tollbar End improvement scheme, (iv) A57/A628 Mottram in Longdendale, Hollingworth and Tintwistle bypass and (v) M1 junctions 10 to 13 improvements; and what the total projected cost of each is; [298820]
(3) how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on the (i) A5-M1 Link (Dunstable Northern Bypass), (ii) M23 Hooley junction improvement, (iii) A1 Peterborough to Wittering junction improvement, (iv) A453 widening (M1 junction 24 to A52 Nottingham) scheme and (v) Chichester area and A27 transport proposals; and what the total projected cost of each is; [298821]
(4) how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on the (i) M6 Bescot Viaduct and (ii) A419 Covingham and Kingsdown noise fences; and what the total projected cost of each is; [298822]
(5) how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on the (i) A49 Stapleton Crossroads junction improvement scheme, (ii) A5/A444 Red Gate junction improvement, (iii) M5 junction 3 to Newton farm resurfacing scheme, (iv) A11 Ketteringham Station Lane improvements and (v) A1 Tuxford filter drain refurbishment; and what the total projected cost of each is; [298823]
(6) how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on the (i) A20 New Dover Road lay-by improvements, (ii) A56 Haslingden gas pipeline, (iii) A40 Churcham flood relief scheme, (iv) A40 Highnam Woods slope stabilisation scheme and (v) M11 junctions 8 to 9 major maintenance scheme; and what the total projected cost of each is; [298824]
(7) how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on the (i) A1 Cawledge Burn wildlife crossing, (ii) A27 Southerham railway bridge refurbishment, (iii) A45/A452 Stonebridge Island Disability Discrimination Acts compliance work, (v) M4 junctions 18 to 19 central reserve barrier replacement and (v) M5 junctions 15 to 17 central reserve barrier replacement; and what the total projected cost of each is; [298825]
(8) how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on the (i) M5 junctions 18 to 18a Lawrence Weston overbridge replacement, (ii) A1 Colsterworth to Little Ponton gap closures, (iii) M6 hard shoulder strengthening works, (v) A38 Carkeel Roundabout footbridge and (v) M6 junction 7 to Perry Barr southbound resurfacing; and what the total projected cost of each is; [298826]
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