| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
At regional level, assessment is carried out by using informal discussions with business representative organisations such as the CBI, chambers of commerce and the EEF, as well as regular meetings with agents of the Bank of England. At local authority area level, survey data from chambers, the CBI and economic/labour
13 May 2008 : Column WA129
Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 24 April (WA 315—16) concerning the appointment of the chairman of the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum, if no curriculum vitae was available at the time of his appointment, how was Mr Chris Sidoti appointed, and on what information; and whether they will place that information in the Library of the House. [HL3312]
Lord Rooker: I refer the noble Lord to my previous Answers of 5 February (Official Report, col. WA 171) and 19 February (Official Report, col. WA 46).
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 24 April (WA 315) concerning the appointment of the chairman of the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum, how the public can assess the expertise and suitability of the appointment in the absence of knowledge of those making the appointment. [HL3354]
Lord Rooker: I refer the noble Lord to my previous Answer of 18 March 2008 (Official Report, col. WA 30), and reiterate that it is neither policy nor practice to disclose the personal details of the skills and experience of individual officials.
I have previously advised the noble Lord that the decision to appoint Mr Sidoti as chairman of the Bill of Rights Forum was based on his experience and proven ability in this field (5 February, Official Report, col. WA 171). The public can access comprehensive details of his subsequent work as chairman of the forum on the forum's website at www.billofrightsforum.org.
Northern Ireland: Murder Prosecutions
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 21 April (WA 257) concerning convictions for the murder of police officers in Northern Ireland, what is the level set which would be considered to be a disproportionate cost; how it was calculated; and by whom; and [HL3202]
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 30 April (WA 27) about convictions in Northern Ireland, what is the disproportionate cost referred to; who calculated it; and on what basis. [HL3441]
Lord Rooker: The disproportionate cost threshold (DCT) is set by the Treasury and is currently £700, as Lord McKenzie of Luton announced to the House by Written Statement on 28 November 2006.
13 May 2008 : Column WA130
The DCT is set at eight times the average marginal cost of answering written PQs. The marginal cost is the direct cost of civil servants' time in preparing answers for Written PQs or producing the relevant data.
Population
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the population of the United Kingdom in (a) 1951, (b) 1961, (c) 1981, and (d) 2001; and what they estimate the population will be in (e) 2011 and (f) 2021. [HL3443]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician, to Lord Laird, dated May 2008.
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Question regarding the population of the United Kingdom in (a) 1951, (b) 1961, (c) 1981, (d) 2001, (e) 2011 and (f) 2021. (HL3443)
Population figures for the years requested are available in tables 1.1 and 1.7 of the 2008 edition of Social Trends (No. 38) which can be found on the National Statistics website at www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=13675&;Pos=1&ColRank =1&Rank=272.
Royal Mail
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vadera on 3 April (WA 206), on which date Ministers last discussed the possibility of a full or partial privatisation of Royal Mail; and what were their conclusions. [HL3105]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Baroness Vadera): The Government have no plans to privatise Royal Mail. Royal Mail management's proposal for an employee share scheme was considered and rejected by Ministers in 2007 on the grounds of the substantial impact on the public finances.
Shipping: Stricken Vessels
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which ports of refuge serving the Western Approaches and Channel areas are available to stricken vessels under the control of the Secretary of State's representative for maritime salvage and intervention. [HL3447]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The UK's National Contingency Plan for Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations recognises that anywhere around the UK's coasts (including ports, harbours, anchorages, bays, inlets) could be a place of refuge. The Government would consider it unwise pre-emptively
13 May 2008 : Column WA131
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Queen's Harbour Master may overrule a request from the Secretary of State's representative for maritime salvage and intervention to make use of a port under his control. [HL3448]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Queen’s Harbour Master may not overrule the Secretary of State's representative for maritime salvage and intervention where there is an urgent need of a place of refuge for a vessel in order to lessen the risk of pollution or in the interests of safety. In such circumstances, the Secretary of State's representative for maritime salvage and intervention may override the authority of any harbour master.
Somalia: Pirates
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any British owned or registered ships have been attacked by pirates based in Somalia; if so, how many; and when. [HL3481]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea are reported to the International Maritime Bureau. The bureau records neither the ownership of the reporting ship nor where the pirates or armed robbers are based. Her Majesty's Government have not been made aware of any British registered ships having been boarded by pirates based in Somalia in the past three years.
Transport: Journey Times
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 22 April (WA 289), what values of time are applied to trips made by bus; and whether a distinction is made between work and other journeys. [HL3378]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Department for Transport (DfT) guidance is that a distinction should be made between work and other journeys when valuing time.
For non-work purposes it is recommended that a rate of £5.04 per hour for commuting and £4.46 per hour for other journeys is applied in an appraisal. When considering the time spent waiting for public transport, these values should be increased by a factor of two and a half. This reflects research suggesting people place a greater weight on these time savings.
The value of time for work purposes should reflect the average income of relevant business travellers. It is recommended that for workpurposes a rate of £20.22 per hour be applied to time spent travelling on a bus as a passenger.
13 May 2008 : Column WA132
All values are in market prices and expressed in average 2002 prices and values. Guidance on the appraisal of transport schemes is published by the DfT at www.webtag.org.uk. Detailed advice concerning the valuation of time savings is contained within Transport Analysis Guidance unit 3.5.6, which was last updated in February 2007.
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 22 April (WA 289), how the value of time awarded to a car journey to a park-and-ride site on the periphery of a city and the subsequent bus journey would compare to a car journey throughout where the time taken for both journeys is the same; and whether there is a difference between work and other journeys in this respect. [HL3379]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: In valuing the time costs of two journeys of equal duration—one by car all the way, and the other using park-and-ride—it is recommended that a distinction be made between trips made for work and non-work purposes.
For non-work purposes the same equity value of time is applied to in-vehicle time for both journeys. This is £5.04 per hour for commuting and £4.46 per hour for other journeys. Time spent walking (when interchanging and walking to the final destination) should be valued at double these rates. Time spent waiting for the bus should be valued at two and a half times these rates. This reflects research suggesting people place a greater weight on these time savings. As a result, a car journey will have a lower time cost than a park-and-ride journey of equal duration. Of course, any appraisal would need to consider all factors. Typically, park-and-ride would have lower monetary costs and/or faster access times; for example, through bus priority.
The value of time for journeys made for work purposes should reflect the average income of relevant business travellers. In cases of staged journeys, the value of working time for the main mode should be used, where the main mode refers to the mode for the longest journey by distance. For a park-and-ride trip, that would usually mean the car driver or car passenger values of time are more appropriate than the bus passenger value.
In the appraisal process, changes in travel time on employer's business are valued the same whatever stage of the journey is involved; that is, there is no weighting applied to take account of the reluctance of passengers to walk to/from or wait for transport services. This is because the time spent or saved is assumed to be lost or gained in productive working time—the travel activity taking up the time is therefore deemed irrelevant. A car journey for a particular group of business travellers will have the same time cost as a park-and-ride journey of equal duration.
All values are in market prices and expressed in average 2002 prices and values. Guidance on the appraisal of transport schemes is published by the Department for Transport at www.webtag.org.uk.
13 May 2008 : Column WA133
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 22 April (WA 289), how waiting times and time taken to park a car are valued and compared. [HL3380]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: It is recommended that for non-work purposes (such as commuting, shopping and education journeys) the time spent waiting should be valued at two and a half times the value of time spent travelling in the vehicle (“in-vehicle time”). This reflects research suggesting that people attach a greater weight on these time savings. For work purposes, the value attached to waiting time is the same as applied to in-vehicle time.
The time spent taken to park a car is assumed to form part of the total journey time for a car based trip. There is no difference in the value of time applied to the time spent parking the car.
Guidance on the appraisal of transport schemes is published by the Department for Transport at www.webtag.org.uk. Detailed advice concerning the valuation of time savings is contained within Transport Analysis Guidance unit 3.5.6, which was last updated in February 2007.
Young Offenders
Baroness Stern asked Her Majesty's Government:
In the light of the findings of the Independent Monitoring Board, what changes they have made
13 May 2008 : Column WA134
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): There are no plans to change the design and fabric of the Toscana (juvenile) unit at Foston Hall.
Baroness Stern asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the latest time of day a female juvenile prisoner arrived from court at Foston Hall Young Offenders Institution in the past six months; and [HL3240]
What was the earliest time of day a female juvenile prisoner left Foston Hall Young Offenders Institution for a court appearance in the past six months; and [HL3241]
On how many occasions in the past six months female young prisoners have been transported with male young prisoners to and from Foston Hall Young Offenders Institution. [HL3242]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The latest that a juvenile female prisoner has entered reception at HMP Foston Hall during the past six months was 23:48 hours. This followed a court appearance at Margate magistrates' court.
The earliest that a female juvenile prisoner has left HMYOI Foston Hall for a court appearance during the past six months is 07.57 hours.
During the past six months, there was one occasion when a male juvenile prisoner was escorted with a female juvenile prisoner from court to HMYOI Foston Hall on the same vehicle. The movement of female and male juvenile prisoners on the same vehicle is permitted under the escort contracts. To ensure prisoners are segregated, cellular vehicles are used.
| Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |