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Olympic Games 2012

Question

Asked by Lord Berkeley

Lord Shutt of Greetland: To ensure effective security at the Olympic Park site, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) works in partnership with a dedicated Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) team which enables the secure identification and escorting of visitors on

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the Olympic Park. However, although this approach is secure, the ODA does not retain records of the organisations that have visited the Olympic park.

Specifically, since 2007, the ODA and the MPS economic and specialist crime command have been working in partnership to prevent fraudulent activity in relation to construction activities on the Olympic site. During this period 16 people were arrested for being in possession of false identities in an attempt to gain employment. In addition, six people have been arrested in relation to other fraudulent activities.

Pensions

Question

Asked by Baroness Hollis of Heigham

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Government do not hold the information requested, which could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The Government have announced that John Hutton will chair an independent public service pensions commission, to undertake a fundamental structural review of public service pension provision. The commission is likely to consider such issues as part of its work.

Police: Central Motorway Police Group

Question

Asked by Lord Trefgarne

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Neville-Jones): The Central Motorway Police Group comprises officers from Staffordshire Police, West Mercia Constabulary and West Midlands Police. The group patrols and enforces the law on motorways in the West Midlands region, disrupts criminality and helps ensure the safe, efficient and effective running of the strategic roads network to enhance road safety and further reduce the numbers of persons killed and seriously injured.

The group reports at six-monthly intervals to an executive board comprising the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and police authority members from each constituent force.



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Public Bodies

Questions

Asked by Lord Selsdon

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Information on total expenditure by non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) is published in the annual Cabinet Office Public Bodies report. Copies of Public Bodies for the period 2004-09 are available from the Libraries of the House. Copies can also be downloaded from www.civilservice.gov.uk/ndpb. Information on expenditure for the period 2009-10 is currently being collated and will be published by the Cabinet Office as soon as it is ready.

Following the Government's commitment to greater transparency, HM Treasury has now made public the combined online information system (COINS). This is used by HM Treasury to collect financial data from across the public sector and includes some financial information on NDPBs for 2009-10. This information can be downloaded from www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_coins_data.htm. Information on estimated expenditure and future budgets for NDPBs for 2010-11 is not held centrally.

Railways: High Speed 1

Questions

Asked by Lord Berkeley

Earl Attlee: The documentation related to the sale of HS1 Limited-the High Speed 1 concessionaire-is based on:

(a) the regulation of High Speed 1 by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) so far as possible in the way in which the ORR regulates the national network. However, in its statement of 30 October 2009 on the regulation of High Speed 1, the ORR indicated that it would expect, where relevant, to have regard

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to the different characteristics and economics of High Speed 1 vis-à-vis the national network and the differences in HS1 Limited's business model from Network Rail's in its approach to the regulation of High Speed 1;(b) full compliance with European Union and United Kingdom regulations, including the Railways Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations (SI 2005/3049), and(c) the new owner of HS1 Limited not being subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in respect of its management of High Speed 1 as the company ceases to be a public authority. However, the High Speed 1 concession agreement places certain obligation on HS1 Ltd to provide information to the Secretary of State and to the ORR. Such information might be available under the Freedom of Information Act in the usual way.

Asked by Lord Berkeley

Earl Attlee: In order to incentivise the High Speed 1 staff and management to deliver a successful sale of High Speed 1, the company remuneration committee approved a sale incentive bonus for all High Speed 1 staff of up to 10 per cent of salary and up to £50,000 for the managing director. Payment of these bonuses will be on a sliding scale linked to the sale value achieved for High Speed 1 compared with a central case value. It will range from -10 per cent of the central case value (zero sale bonus) to +10 per cent of the central case value (maximum 10 per cent bonus). The bonus is payable on completion of the High Speed 1 sale and no bonus is payable if there is no sale.

Retirement Age

Question

Asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): The Government announced in their coalition agreement a commitment to phasing out the default retirement age. It is important that we do this in a way that helps individuals and employers to adapt to the new situation. As we set out in the Budget, we will shortly consult on how we will quickly phase out the default retirement age from April 2011.

Road Safety

Question

Asked by Viscount Simon

Earl Attlee: The road safety funding allocations for each local authority in 2010-11, as at April 2010, can be found on the Department for Transport's website at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/localauthorities/funding/fundingstreams/capitalandrevenue/roadsafety/.

The Government have made it clear that their most urgent priority is to tackle the UK's record deficit. To help achieve this, on 10 June the Department for Communities and Local Government announced £1.166 billion of savings from grants to local authorities, including reductions to road safety capital grant and revenue funding. These are detailed on the Department

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for Communities and Local Government's website at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localgovernmentfinance/.

The percentage reductions for each local authority in 2010-11 are approximately -26.6 per cent for the road safety area based revenue funding, and -100 per cent for the road safety capital grant.

The fact that certain grants have been chosen for reduction over others does not indicate the relative importance Government attach to different areas. The specific grants selected are simply a mechanism to deliver the cash reduction in funding in a way which is equitable as possible between authorities and to protect revenue budgets as far as possible. Local authorities are free to make efficiencies elsewhere in their budgets in order to deliver road safety outcomes as previously planned, and I would expect this to be a priority for them.

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