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9 Feb 2010 : Column 843W—continued
Bus Services: Leicester
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he expects to make an announcement on Leicester city council's bid for Kickstart funding for services in 2010-11. [316603]
Mr. Khan: No date for the announcement of the outcome of the 2009 Kickstart scheme has yet been set. An announcement will be made in due course.
Departmental ICT
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department and its agencies have spent on font licensing in the last three years. [315490]
Chris Mole: The Driving Standards Agency spent £142 in 2007.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Hurd:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many staff in his Department and its agencies have the status of (a) embedded communicators and (b) are members of the
Government Communications Network and are not listed in the Central Office of Information White Book. [315570]
Chris Mole: The information requested is as follows.
(a) The full-time equivalent (FTE) number of communications staff embedded in policy and delivery units in the central Department and its executive agencies are set out in the following table.
| Communications staff embedded in policy and delivery units | |
| Staff (FTE) | |
(b) The Government Communication Network (GCN) is a virtual network open to all full time civil servants engaged in a communications role. The Cabinet Office unit who administer the GCN are unable to share membership data without the permission of individual members. Gathering membership information within the Department to identify those who are not listed in the Central Office of Information White Book could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many performance reviews were undertaken in respect of staff of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a direct result of such a rating; and what percentage of full-time equivalent staff this represented. [313824]
Chris Mole: The number of performance reviews undertaken in the Department for Transport (including our Agencies) is shown in the following tables. Statistics on how many staff left as a result of an unsatisfactory marking are not held by the Department.
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | ||||
| Reviews | Unsatisfactory | Reviews | Unsatisfactory | Reviews | Unsatisfactory | |
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |||
| Reviews | Unsatisfactory | Reviews | Unsatisfactory | |
| n/a = not available | ||||
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Anne Milton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what he expects the timetable to be for implementation of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's draft enforcement policy. [316048]
Paul Clark: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's revised enforcement strategy document is scheduled to be completed by the end of March. This strategy will seek to maximise collection of vehicle excise duty at minimum cost through encouraging compliance and using proportionate enforcement action where necessary. Most of the initiatives contained in the strategy are already in place. When finalised the strategy document will also set out proposed timescales for the implementation of new initiatives.
Driver Information Systems: Bridges
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department has taken to ensure that accurate information on the (a) location and (b) height in metric and imperial measurements of low bridges is accessible to producers of satellite navigation systems. [316207]
Mr. Khan [holding answer 8 February 2010]: None. Producers of satellite navigation systems are responsible for the accuracy of information provided in their products. Moreover, the onus remains on drivers to adhere to warnings and restrictions indicated by traffic signs.
First Capital Connect
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what meetings (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with First Capital Connect to discuss the break clause in the franchise agreement in the last three months. [316592]
Chris Mole: The Continuation Review period ran from November 2007 to November 2008, during which time my officials met with First Capital Connect regularly. The last meeting regarding the Continuation Review was held in February 2009, following the conclusion of that review.
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what performance targets First Capital Connect is required to meet before the break clause in the franchise agreement is considered on 1 April 2010. [316593]
Chris Mole: A Continuation Review took place pursuant to the terms of the franchise agreement from November 2007 to November 2008. At that time it was concluded that the franchise should be extended beyond the initial expiry date. Therefore there is no break clause in the franchise agreement to be considered on 1 April 2010 and consequently there are no performance targets associated with that date.
Termination is however dealt with under Schedule 10.2 of the National Rail franchise terms. Performance targets and benchmarks which are used to measure this performance can be found at appendices 5, 6 and 7 of the franchise agreement. The First Capital Connect franchise agreement and National Rail franchise terms can be found on the DFT website at:
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which clauses in the franchise agreement in respect of First Capital Connect enable the Government to terminate the agreement due to (a) cancellations of rail services, (b) punctuality and (c) performance. [316594]
Chris Mole: Termination of the franchise agreement is dealt with under Schedule 10.2 of the National Rail Franchise Terms.
The events of default and termination event which could lead to termination of the franchise agreements are in Schedule 10.3 of the National Rail Franchise Terms. These include passenger service performance and the benchmarks which are used to measure this performance can be found at Appendices 5, 6 and 7 of the Franchise Agreement. The First Capital Connect Franchise Agreement and National Rail Franchise Terms can be found on the DFT website at:
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will consider bringing forward proposals for a remedial plan for the First Capital Connect franchise. [316599]
Chris Mole: In the event that we determine that First Capital Connect is contravening or is likely to contravene any term of their Franchise Agreement, we may serve notice requiring them to propose a remedial plan facilitating compliance with the term in question. We are reviewing First Capital Connect's performance on a daily basis.
Hemsworth
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will set out, with statistical information related as directly as possible to Hemsworth constituency, the effects on Hemsworth of his Department's policies and actions since 2000. [316304]
Mr. Khan: The Transport Act 2000, as amended by the Local Transport Act 2008, has provided a new policy framework benefiting all local transport authorities. The framework gives greater certainty of funding, while encouraging more strategic transport planning with local consultation, and increasing local flexibility and discretion over resources. It was accompanied by a significant increase in capital funding: support from the Department for transport investment in the Metropolitan borough of Wakefield, within which transport authority Hemsworth falls, has doubled over the last decade.
Investment in West Yorkshire's Joint Local Transport plan, to which Wakefield council is a partner authority, has delivered a number of improvements to the quality, safety and accessibility of the local transport network. Between 2006 and 2008, the percentage of local authority roads requiring structural maintenance decreased by 58 per cent. and the number of people killed or seriously injured on the local highway network decreased by 30 per cent. in the period 2001-2007.
In December 2003, the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, Metro, submitted a successful £18.7 million bid to the Department for funding of the 'Mybus' project, which provides dedicated school transport to 133 schools throughout West Yorkshire, including Hemsworth Arts and Community college. Mybus has delivered a number of benefits, including reduced congestion, air pollution and accidents around schools, improved pupil behaviour on journeys to and from school, and enhanced educational performance and attendance. More than 10,000 pupils currently use the service, 64 per cent. of which previously travelled to school by car.
The Wakefield 'Free City Bus' service was introduced by Metro and Wakefield council in April 2007, providing residents and visitors with a frequent and fully accessible service between the city's rail and bus interchanges and main shopping areas. Patronage of the service has far exceeded expectations, particularly for journeys to and from the Ings Road and Westgate Retail Parks, which were previously inaccessible by public transport. The introduction of the Free City Bus has resulted in a 5 per cent. increase in the number of people living within 30 minutes travel time of Wakefield city centre by public transport.
The £24.2 million Hemsworth-to-A1 Link Road was completed in November 2009. The project was commissioned to promote the economic regeneration of the former coal and steel communities in the area by significantly improving their access to the strategic road network. The new section of road, between Hemsworth and the A638 at Upton, includes a link to the proposed South Kirkby Business Park.
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