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24 Nov 2009 : Column 56W—continued
Sri Lanka: Internally Displaced Persons
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received of sexual and gender-based violence against Tamil women in the camps of northern Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement. [301087]
Mr. Michael Foster: It is very difficult to verify reports or allegations of sexual and gender-based violence in the camps in Sri Lanka. This is because access for humanitarian agencies, particularly those who work on protection activities, has been extremely restricted. We continue to press the Government of Sri Lanka to allow humanitarian agencies access to the camps to assess allegations of abuses such as sexual and gender-based violence.
The UK Government have consistently advocated for the treatment of all internally displaced persons (IDPs) held in camps in Sri Lanka to be in accordance with international standards.
The most effective way to ensure the safety of women displaced by the conflict is to restore freedom of movement to the IDP population so vulnerable people can be reunited with their families and communities.
Women and Equality
Climate Change
Simon Hughes:
To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants from the Government Equalities Office will
be attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in an official capacity. [300915]
Departmental Hotels
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what expenditure the Government Equalities Office incurred on hotel accommodation in 2008-09. [301389]
Michael Jabez Foster: In 2008-09 the Government Equalities Office spent £8,234 on hotel accommodation.
Departmental Official Cars
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what the cost of provision of Government cars to special advisers in the Government Equalities Office was in the last 12 months. [301392]
Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office does not provide Government cars to special advisers and therefore there has been no expenditure for this service.
Departmental Pay
Dr. Cable: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff in the Government Equalities Office received bonus payments in 2008-09; what proportion of the total workforce they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if she will make a statement. [300568]
Michael Jabez Foster: In 2008-09 the Government Equalities Office awarded 19 bonuses to its staff at a total cost of £28,400. The 19 staff represented 19 per cent. of the total work force. The highest individual bonus awarded was £10,500.
Departmental Training
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what training sessions were attended by (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers in the Government Equality Office at public expense in each of the last three years. [301368]
Michael Jabez Foster: Since its creation on the 12 October 2007 the Government Equalities Office has not funded any training sessions for its Ministers or special advisers.
Departmental Working Hours
Andrew Selous: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many and what proportion of staff of the Government Equalities Office work flexibly or part-time; and what her Office's policy is on making jobs available on a job-share or flexible basis. [301342]
Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office (GEO) operates a flexible working policy which is available to all staff and this is offered on all job vacancies. We currently have six staff who work part-time and this equates to 5.5 per cent. of our work force.
Transport
A5: M1
Andrew Selous: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the costs (a) to date and (b) by the end of the 2009-10 financial year of preparing the A5-M1 link. [300620]
Chris Mole [holding answer 23 November 2009]: The total cost at the end of October 2009 of preparing the A5-M1 Link scheme is £11.8 million. The estimated total costs by the end of the 2009-10 financial year is £12.8 million.
Bus Services: South East
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of alcohol-related violent, anti-social behaviour on buses in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) the South East. [300274]
Mr. Khan: The Department for Transport has not directly undertaken any specific initiatives in relation to Milton Keynes or to the South East.
Departmental Pay
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the (a) average and (b) highest non-consolidated performance related payment was in cash terms for senior civil servants in his Department in each of the last five years. [300509]
Chris Mole [holding answer 23 November 2009]: The (a) average and (b) highest non-consolidated performance related payment in cash terms for senior civil servants in the Department for Transport in each of the last five years is set out in the following table:
| £ | ||
| Average non-consolidated performance related payment | Highest non-consolidated performance related payment | |
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer of 2 November 2009, Official Report, column 632W, on departmental pay, when the next equal pay review for each bargaining unit will be held. [301151]
Chris Mole: The table shows when each of the Department for Transport's bargaining units will be carrying out its next equal pay review.
| Bargaining unit | Next equal pay review |
Departmental Rail Travel
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport on what date he last travelled by train in the course of his official duties. [301200]
Mr. Khan: On Friday 20 November 2009.
Electric Vehicles: Milton Keynes
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department is taking to encourage the use of electric vehicles in Milton Keynes. [300544]
Mr. Khan: The Government have allocated over £400 million to deliver policies aiming to place the UK at the global forefront of ultra-low carbon vehicle development, demonstration, manufacture and use. These policies would all be applicable to encouraging the use of electric vehicles in Milton Keynes.
Some measures are available nationally, such as £230 million to provide consumer support worth in the region of £2,000 to £5,000 per car to be used between 2011 and 2014.
Other measures have a regional focus. For example on 19 November, the Government launched the Plugged-in Places infrastructure framework, providing up to £30 million to support the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in around three to six lead cities and regions across the UK. The aim of this scheme is for consortia to come forward with plans for roll outs of the electric vehicle infrastructure in their region.
Helicopters: Accidents
Miss Begg: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when the draft Air Accident Investigation Branch report on the Etap field helicopter incident will be with the statutory recipients; and when he expects to publish the final version. [301114]
Paul Clark: The accident occurred on 18 February 2009 and is the subject of an inspector's investigation. The Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 1996 state that a report on an investigation should be made public in the shortest time possible (and if possible, within 12 months of the date of the accident or serious incident).
The subject investigation is complex in nature and requires significant consultation with Eurocopter, the helicopter manufacturer. This has introduced some delays to the investigation process. While it is difficult to predict the future time scale for concluding the outstanding
technical issues it is hoped that the draft report will be ready for distribution to the statutory recipients by March 2010. Publication of the final report typically occurs three months after representations have been received and considered but it dependent on the issues raised by those consulted.
Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation: Finance
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer of 5 November 2009, Official Report, column 1103W, on the Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation: finance, how much his Department and its agencies have spent on (a) pilots, (b) design studies, (c) development, (d) consultants and (e) equipment relating to the Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation in each of the last 10 years. [301472]
Mr. Khan: The table sets out payments made directly to ITSO Ltd. (and its predecessor, the Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation) in the last 10 years, broken down into development and consultancy. Please note the membership fees are included in the development figures.
No funding for pilot schemes has been paid directly to ITSO Ltd. However, the Department for Transport has made payments to public authorities to support pilots and in some cases the transition of legacy schemes to ITSO compliance.
The Department has not fund design studies for ITSO.
The Department has not directly funded equipment purchase for ITSO Ltd. However, some public authority schemes will have used DFT funding to purchase equipment for their schemes, for example smartcard readers.
| £ | |||
| Development | Consultants | Total spend exc. VAT | |
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