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30 Mar 2010 : Column 880W—continued
Measures to make roads safer for pedestrians include providing better infrastructure, promoting child pedestrian training, improved training and testing for motorists and advice and guidance to pedestrians in The Highway Code on crossing the road and making themselves conspicuous.
Other initiatives such as anti drink/drug-drive and speeding campaigns, the provision of 20 mph zones can also contribute to pedestrian safety.
We are also promoting wider use of 20 mph zones in residential areas and roads with high cycle and pedestrian activity and we are intending to publish revised guidance for local highway authorities.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to his Department's press release of 24 March 2010, on Highways Agency highways maintenance planning, what assessment he has made of the effect of such plans on levels of payments to local authorities for jointly contracted highways work. [325323]
Chris Mole: The Highways Agency has been set a target to achieve annual efficiencies of £90 million from its maintenance and renewals budget through improved contracting, better commercial management and longer term planning. Achievement of these efficiencies does not assume additional joint contracting for highways works with local authorities.
Rolling Stock
Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport for how many additional carriages for (a) the Northern Trains fleet and (b) the total fleet contracts have been let under his Department's franchises since April 2009. [325248]
Chris Mole: The number of additional carriages contracted for Northern Rail since 1 April 2009 are 18. The Department for Transport is currently in discussions with Northern Rail about providing further additional carriages. For other franchises let by the Department for Transport, the number of additional carriages contracted are 188 for National Express East Anglia; 41 for First Capital Connect; 30 for First Great Western; and eight for East Midlands Trains. In addition 28 additional vehicles for London Midland were contracted on 31 March 2009.
Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department has taken to meet the commitments in the 2007 Rail White Paper in relation to carriages for Northern Trains; and whether those commitments will be met without new train orders. [325249]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport has recently announced an agreement with Northern Rail to add vehicles to its rolling stock fleet.
The £300 million programme of electrification announced for the North West will allow for the cascade of electric rolling stock from Thameslink. This will provide additional capacity, on well as improving the speed and reliability of services. The Department is also currently finalising new forecasts of passenger demand, which it will use to assess the requirement for any further additional rolling stock.
Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of carriage provision for passengers from Greater Manchester on (a) Northern Rail and (b) Transpennine services; and if he will make a statement. [325250]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport has commissioned a study of current and forecast demand for rail passenger services in the North of England cities. Final results are expected shortly.
Waterloo Station
Susan Kramer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton of 18 November 2008, Official Report, columns 271-73W, on Waterloo station, what the timetable is for the (a) physical integration with the domestic terminal and (b) return to operational use of platforms 20 to 24 of Waterloo International Terminal. [324769]
Chris Mole: Work to convert platform 20 of Waterloo International for domestic usage has been completed.
Discussions continue between the Department for Transport, Network Rail and Stagecoach South West Trains to agree the most appropriate way to integrate the remainder of the former Eurostar platforms at Waterloo International terminal for use by domestic train services.
The Office of Rail Regulation issued a letter to Network Rail on 3 September 2009 which included specific requirements in respect of the use of Waterloo
and Waterloo International stations as part of the Control Period 4 (2009-14) enhancements delivery plan for Network Rail. A copy of this letter is available at:
Susan Kramer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what consideration the Secretary of State has given to the (a) sale and (b) transfer of Waterloo International station to Network Rail; and if he will make a statement. [324770]
Chris Mole: The British Railways Board (Residuary) Ltd. is currently exploring a number of options for the future of Waterloo International regarding both the arrangements required to support the return of passenger services to the former Eurostar platforms and the commercial development of the space below.
Susan Kramer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether any application to integrate platforms 20 to 24 of Waterloo station into the domestic terminal would require planning consent from the London borough of Lambeth. [324771]
Chris Mole: The works required to bring back the former Eurostar platforms at Waterloo station do not require planning consent from the London borough of Lambeth.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Badgers: Crime
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to tackle the persecution of badgers since this was set as one of the wildlife crime priorities for 2009-10; and what plans he has to increase the level of protection for badgers. [324632]
Huw Irranca-Davies: In addition to the general protection afforded to wildlife, badgers are specifically protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Badgers and their setts are fully protected. I have no plans to alter this protection.
DEFRA, together with the Home Office, is the main source of funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). Progress on action to tackle the badger persecution wildlife crime priority is set out in the NWCU's tactical assessment (February 2010). The overall objective is to improve and increase the recording of incidents, crimes and intelligence for badger persecution; and improve the investigation process and increase awareness of badger persecution across the UK. Several meetings of the priority delivery group have taken place and prevention, intelligence and enforcement work taking place. Details of the specific actions being taken cannot be disclosed as they relate to restricted enforcement and intelligence information.
Departmental: Location
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on the relocation of staff from posts in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point constituency in each of the last five years. [321430]
Dan Norris: DEFRA does not keep electronic information to show where individuals have relocated from. We would therefore need to locate every DEFRA relocation file over the last five years and establish the old home location. This means that collated data cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Departmental Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate Defra Estates has made of the extent of the use of (a) voltage optimisers and (b) equivalent technologies within buildings occupied by (i) central Government departments and (ii) the entire Government estate since the publication of the Delivery Plan for Sustainable Procurement and Operations on the Government Estate. [324952]
Dan Norris [holding answer 29 March 2010]: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has made no such estimate, but can confirm that it has installed a total of 33 voltage optimisers/equivalent technologies across its estate. 32 of the units are powerPerfector voltage optimisers and one is an EMS Powerstar.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) voltage optimisers and (b) equivalent technologies are used within buildings occupied by his Department. [324977]
Dan Norris: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has installed a total of 33 voltage optimisers/equivalent technologies across its estate. 32 of the units are powerPerfector voltage optimisers and one is an EMS Powerstar.
Departmental Lost Property
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what property has been recorded as (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in the last 12 months; and what estimate has been made of the cost of the replacement of that property. [322075]
Dan Norris: Items of DEFRA property lost or stolen are all recorded as 'losses'. The following table shows losses with an estimated value (at the time of loss) of over £50. Figures are for 2009-10 to date:
| Description | Number | Estimated value (£) |
All IT equipment is the property of IBM which has provided outsourced IT services to DEFRA since October
2004. Therefore, under the service charge arrangements, IT items do not have a direct cost to the department if lost or stolen.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip Northwood of 5 January 2010, Official Report, column 103W, on departmental marketing, how much his Department and agencies have spent on advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity in relation to the (a) Real Help Now and (b) Building Britain's Future themed campaign to date. [320459]
Dan Norris: The Department contributed around £150,000 to a cross-government fund for Real Help Now activity in January 2009.
In 2009-10 FY, DEFRA also badged already planned campaigns on resource efficiency under Real Help Now. The total media expenditure for these campaigns was £289,337.
There was no spend on campaigns relating to Building Britain's Future.
Detailed spend by DEFRA agencies is not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Public Consultation
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the title is of each consultation document his Department has published in each year since its creation; and what the date of (a) publication, (b) closure and (c) Government's response was in each case. [325061]
Dan Norris: The Department only holds records of consultations centrally dating from 2006. A table showing the title and date of publication and closure of each consultation has been placed in the House Library. Information related to consultations closed prior to this period could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
DEFRA also publishes this information alongside the Government's response to each consultation (issued within the last year) on its website:
Departmental Sick Leave
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days absence through illness staff in his Department have had in each month since 1997. [322549]
Dan Norris: The information requested could be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost, therefore we have supplied data which shows the total and average working days lost through sickness in DEFRA and its Agencies in each year since 2002. Data for earlier years are not available. The end dates of the 12-month periods vary between years due to the way that data were collected at the time. Data to the 12 months ending 31 December 2009 are given as information to 31 March 2010 are not yet available.
| 12 months ending | Total working days lost | Number of staff | Average working days lost |
| (1) Excludes Central Science Laboratory for which data is not available. | |||
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