To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which 10 locations on (a) the A127 and (b) the A13 between the M25 and Southend have had the highest incidence of traffic accidents in each of the last five years. (77502)

The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many free air miles have been earned by senior civil servants in his Department in each of the last three years; and how they were used. (72874)

The Department for Transport and its agencies do not record air miles accrued by staff. Civil servants must conform to policy which states that benefits such as air miles arising from official travel may not be used for private journeys, but may be offset against further official travel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) current and (b) proposed aircraft corridors are across (i) Ribble Valley and (ii) Lancashire. (74826)

At present, all UK airspace is controlled above approximately 24,500 ft above mean sea level up to 66,000 ft. This will change in July next year when, in order to comply with European legislation, the lower limit of this Upper Airspace Control Area will be reduced to 19,500 ft. In the Upper Airspace Control Area, air routes UN615, UN57, UN601 and UL46 currently cross the Ribble Valley constituency. In addition, air route UY99 overflies Lancashire.

In lower airspace, above the Ribble Valley and the adjacent areas of Lancashire, controlled airspace exists in the form of airways with stepped lower limits to accommodate the climb and descent profiles of aircraft operations associated with airports at Manchester and Liverpool. From west to east the routes are N615, lowest limit 6,500 ft; N57, lowest limit 5,500 ft; and N601, lowest limit 9,500 ft.

I have arranged for a chart to be placed in the Libraries of the House indicating these routes as they pass over the Ribble Valley and northern Lancashire, together with the associated lower vertical limits.

South of a line, which approximately joins Barnoldswick and Woodfold Hall (south of Mellor Brook), the airways are in the Manchester terminal area. The lower limit of controlled airspace immediately to the south of this line is 4,500 ft. Below these specified levels/altitude the airspace is uncontrolled.

The Civil Aviation Authority is not aware of any proposals to change the dimensions of controlled airspace over the Ribble Valley and Lancashire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether aircraft operators are required to show (a) crews and (b) passengers the Material Safety Data Sheets of the products they have been exposed to after a contaminated air event. (74817)

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has advised that there are no certification or operational requirements related to Material Safety Data Sheets. Aircraft operators are not therefore required by civil aviation safety regulations to show them to crews or passengers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which aircraft types have reported the highest number of contaminated air events in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. (74818)

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has advised that there have been 373 reportable occurrences involving contaminated air during the 10 year period from 1 May 1996 to 30 April 2006, during which there were 13.8 million flights carried out by UK operators worldwide in public transport operations.

Seven aircraft types had 10 or more reportable occurrences of contaminated air, representing 75 per cent. of the total number of contaminated air occurrences in the 10 year period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Civil Aviation Authority has suspended the medical clearance of a pilot due to possible exposure to contaminated air or organophosphates in the last 30 years. (74819)

It has not been possible to establish from the Civil Aviation Authority’s medical records prior to1999 that any pilot attributed his/her symptoms to exposure to contaminated cabin air. During the past six years symptoms that have been reported by licence holders and attributed by them to exposure to contaminated cabin air have resulted in the suspension of medical fitness of 10 airline transport pilot licence holders. The periods of suspension varied according to the type of symptoms reported. However, the symptoms that have been reported by these pilots have been very varied and it has not been possible to attribute the symptoms reported to definite chemical exposures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were ejected from trains for antisocial behaviour in the last 12 months, broken down by region. (77779)

Figures for the ejection of passengers from trains are not recorded by the British Transport Police.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to (a) complete and (b) report on his review of airport policing and the system of designation under section 25 of the Aviation Security Act 1982. (75216)

The Secretary of State anticipates receipt of a report from the independent review team on airport policing before the summer parliamentary recess.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which Minister in his Department is responsible for monitoring his Department’s compliance with its duty under section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity in carrying out its functions; and if he will make a statement. (73937)

Under Section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, Ministers and Government Departments have a duty to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity. This has been replaced by a similar provision under Section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act which comes into effect on 1 October 2006. There is no statutory duty to monitor compliance with this duty.

The Department for Transport has taken a number of steps to benefit biodiversity. The Highways Agency has in place a comprehensive biodiversity action plan (HABAP) that ensures all habitats and species likely to be affected by its roads or form part of the roads estate are restored or enhanced as appropriate.

The UK through the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been very active in the development of the NW Europe Ballast Water Management Strategy and the International Maritime Organisation’s convention for the control management of ships ballast water and sediments, which aims to control non-indigenous species invading through the medium of ballast water and therefore protect maritime, coastal, and estuarine environments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department plans to take to monitor the extent to which public bodies which report to him comply, from October, with their duty to conserve biodiversity in exercising their functions under section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. (74395)

Under Section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, all public bodies have a duty to have regard to the conservation of biodiversity in the exercising of their functions. There is no statutory obligation on Departments to monitor the extent to which public bodies comply with this duty. However, we understand the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is working with a wide range of partners to develop guidance for public bodies to support the implementation of this duty and will involve all relevant Departments on the development of guidance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) black and Asian and (b) other people are employed in his Department's press office. (74359)

Information on ethnicity is collected on a voluntary basis, and not all members of staff wish to declare their ethnic origin. Our existing database does not identify any staff working in the press office who have declared that they are from an ethnic minority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place (a) on the Department’s website and (b) in the Library a copy of the Department’s bus delivery plan. (73809)

The Department does not intend to publish the delivery plan for its public service agreement target to increase bus and light rail patronage. It is a working document intended for internal planning purposes that is used for the formulation of Government policy.

Information on the detail and delivery of the public transport PSA target is available in the Department’s Annual Reports and Autumn Performance Reports on PSA targets. These can be found on the DfT website and in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many posts are available to each traffic commissioner to monitor the reliability of bus services; and what the occupancy rate for each of these posts has been in each quarter in each of the last five years. (73857)

The information requested is in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what total public spending (a) per head of population and (b) in total was on bus services in (i) County Durham, (ii) Tyne and Wear, (iii) Northumberland and (iv) the North East of England in each of the last 10 years. (75290)

The majority of financial support for bus services is provided by local authorities in line with policy choices made at a local level, from their Revenue Support Grant supplemented by Rural Bus Subsidy Grant paid to authorities by the Department. The figures requested are shown in the following tables and include re-imbursement of concessionary fares on local buses, (consistent figures are available only from 1998-99).

In addition, operators of local bus services receive Bus Service Operators Grant from this Department. This is paid direct to operators and is not attributed to a specific area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many employees of the Confederation of Passenger Transport are seconded to his Department; and what the length of each secondment is. (73808)

There are no current inward secondments from the Confederation of Passenger Transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of his Department’s employees have been seconded to the Confederation of Passenger Transport in each of the last five years, broken down by grade; and how long each secondment lasted. (73853)

There has been one pay band 6 (grade 7) secondment to the Confederation of Passenger Transport since the Department for Transport was formed in May 2002. The secondment lasted three years and 10 months from May 2002.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will reply to the letter of 6 March (reference DT/007188/06) from the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington), on railway services, on behalf of Mr M. M. of Aylesbury. (76343)

I have now written to the hon. Member on this matter, and apologise for the delay.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what facility is available for senior civil servants in his Department to use credit cards supplied by the Department. (72873)

The Department does not issue official credit cards. The Department uses charge cards which are issued to officials, including some senior civil servants, to meet specific business needs.

The Department has adopted the Government Procurement Card for purchasing low-value goods and services, and Corporate Cards for some official travel and related expenditure, issued under the umbrella of the OGCbuying.solutions pre-tendered National Framework contract.

At the end of April 2006, six Government Procurement Cards and 21 Corporate Cards were held by senior civil servants.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of the staff in his Department is (a) male, (b) female and (c) disabled, broken down by grade. (69088)

The gender split of staff employed by the Department for Transport at 31 December 2005 along with the percentage of those reporting to be disabled are set out in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of staff in his Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension. (73118)

Members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) can pay additional contributions to top up their pension either through the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contributions Scheme (CSAVCS), a money purchase arrangement, or by buying added years of service in the PCSPS. As an alternative to membership of the PCSPS recruits from 1 October 2002 have been able to join a stakeholder arrangement, the partnership pension account.

The number and percentage of staff in the department (including the Agencies) who are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension as at 26 May 2006 are shown in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what incentives are available to encourage members of his staff to use public transport for travelling to and from work. (75102)

The Department for Transport provides the following incentives to encourage staff to use public transport for travelling to and from work:

Salary advances for the purchase of season tickets

Desktop journey planning tools

Promotion of public transport and local and national transport information via intranets, internal newsletters and other communication routes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Government car in each of the last 10 years. (70672)

Guidance on the use and provision of Government cars is set out in Travel by Ministers and the Ministerial Code. It is for individual Ministers to account for their travel arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the transport infrastructure of the proposed supply of discounted oil to London from Venezuela. (73649)

The supply of oil or oil products at discounted rates to the UK is a commercial decision for Venezuela. The Department is not at present aware of any firm commitment by the Government of Venezuela to do so. It is therefore not possible to speculate on the potential implications for UK’s transport infrastructure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants were employed in his Department before the Gershon Report; what net reductions are proposed in the Gershon Report; how many reductions have been made; and how many civil servants are expected to be employed in his Department in the Gershon target month of April 2008. (74285)

The Department’s 2006 annual report records 16,338 full-time equivalent (FTE) civil servants in the Department for Transport, including its six agencies, for 31 March 2004 and 18,005 FTE for 31 March 2008. The Gershon Report proposed a reduction of 700-500 from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and 200 from the Centre of the Department by 31 March 2008. On 31 March 2006, DVLA and the centre had exceeded their trajectories for 2005-06 and are making good progress towards meeting the 2007-08 target. Further detail will be available in the Department’s Autumn Performance Report. The Department’s headcount reflects the 700 reductions in back office areas and necessary increases in front-line service areas—transport security, accident prevention, driving test provision, and traffic officer services—in order to meet customer demand. The Department has also taken on the Strategic Rail Authority’s responsibilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the mandatory High Return Alternative Tender for the Greater Western Franchise. (72450)

The High Return Alternative Tender (HRAT) formed part of the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the Greater Western Franchise issued by the Strategic Rail Authority in June 2005. The Department intends to make this public once the franchise agreement has been placed on the public register, and is working to do this as soon as possible.

The Department did not require bidders to submit an HRAT in its Invitation to Tender for the South Western franchise, nor does it intend to require bidders to submit HRATs with future ITTs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on information technology (IT) sourced from outside his Department in each of the last five years; who is responsible for such projects in his Department; and what IT (a) expertise and (b) qualifications they possess. (71810)

The total spend for the Department for Transport and its agencies on IT sourced from outside the Department in each of the last five years is as follows:-

The accounting officer is the person ultimately responsible for IT projects in DfT. This will normally be agency chief executives (who are also the agency accounting officers) or the permanent secretary (the departmental accounting officer). There are two additional accounting officers in Department for Transport (one for the Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group and one for rail).

Accounting officers will in turn be advised by their head of IT or equivalent, or the project manager for the relevant project.

Bearing in mind disproportionate costs, it is not feasible to identify and list all those involved in DfT with their expertise and qualifications. However, some 400 DfT staff have been trained in programme and project management as part of the Professional Skills for Government initiative. Of these, some 47 in the senior civil service and some 150 below the SCS have so far obtained related qualifications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) originally estimated, (b) most recently estimated and (c) outturn cost was in each of the five largest information technology contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years. (71811)

The Department was formed in May 2002. A table showing the five largest information technology contracts agreed by the Department since that date has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to promote International Car Free Day on 21 September. (76276)

The Department for Transport sponsors the UK Co-ordinator of the “In Town, Without My Car!” Campaign who oversees the process by which local authorities in England and Wales register to participate in International Car Free Day, which is on 22 September.

Each local authority has been sent a newsletter and information about European Mobility Week, which will take place between 16 to 22 September, and they have been invited to register to participate in the event. A new Good Practice Guide has recently been published and is available free of charge to members of the public.

This year, “In Town, Without My Car!” Good Practice Guides and an information sheet “European Mobility Week—You Control Climate Change” were distributed to local authorities in England, Northern Ireland, the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Executive.

An advertisement to promote “In Town, Without My Car!” will shortly appear in an edition of “Local Transport Today” and a copy of the Good Practice Guide will be enclosed in each copy.

Regional workshops are being held and information linked to the campaign disseminated via the DfT website.

Additionally, the results of the campaign are registered on the website of www.22september.org and are used to monitor progress and the effectiveness of individual initiatives.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the evidential basis was for the conclusion in the annual road maintenance condition survey that there had been a marked improvement in local authority roads; and what evidence was found in relation to roads in the (a) Essex county council and (b) Colchester borough council area. (76463)

The local roads defects index in the national road maintenance condition survey is based on a sample survey of assessment sites throughout England and Wales. As the survey is not designed to provide statistically valid estimates below regional level, results for Essex county council and Colchester borough council are not available.

The conclusions on the visual condition of local roads in England as a whole are set out in Chapters 2 and 3 of the national road maintenance condition survey report, with further details of the statistical process provided in Annexe 3 of the report. The report for 2005 was published on 20 April 2006 and a copy placed in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has made any plans for M4 widening. (76962)

The Department has no current plans for widening the M4.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provisions have been made to improve transport links between Wellingborough and the surrounding area and London in the context of the implementation of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands spatial strategy. (76635)

Specific funding is already being made available to support transport schemes around the Wellingborough area.

This includes growth area funding of £4.4 million to improve services and infrastructure on the X4 bus route linking Wellingborough with Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Oundle, Milton Keynes and Peterborough and £2.5 million for the Rushden Town Centre link road.

Northamptonshire have commissioned a series of transportation studies to inform the development of a specific transport strategy for growth.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what use is being made of diffusion tube data in his Department’s work assessing nitrogen dioxide levels in the Heathrow area. (77650)

Diffusion tube data have not been used by the Department in assessing the air quality in the Heathrow area as part of the Project for the Sustainable Development of Heathrow. Diffusion tube data may be useful for trend analysis but are not deemed appropriate for the purpose of monitoring compliance. The EC Directive and UK air quality objectives require the use of automatic analysers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which methods of measuring concentrations of nitrogen dioxide are considered acceptable by the European Commission in order to demonstrate compliance with the relevant air quality directives. (77651)

The reference method for assessing the concentration of nitrogen dioxide to demonstrate compliance with EU air quality legislation is given in Directive 1999/30/EC as that defined in ISO 7996: 1985 “Ambient air—determination of the mass concentration of nitrogen oxides—chemiluminescence method”. A member state may however use any other method which it can demonstrate gives equivalent results. Data from the Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) are used to fulfil the UK’s obligations to monitor nitrogen dioxide concentrations in air and to report the results to the European Commission. The AURN has 94 urban and 16 rural nitrogen dioxide monitoring stations, all of which use the chemiluminescence method.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role his Department plays in the delivery of the Northern Way initiative. (74040)

The Northern Way is a pan-regional growth strategy being taken forward by the three northern regional development agencies and their partners. Its work has potential to play an important role in delivering the Government’s Regional Economic Performance PSA. The Department for Communities and Local Government co-ordinates Government involvement with the Northern Way.

The DCLG, Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry are currently working with the Northern Way to reinvigorate its work and focus more clearly on a smaller number of key priorities to deliver its strategy. As part of this process, the three Departments have recently been discussing with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education and Skills, DfES and the DfT their engagement with the Northern Way and how this might be strengthened. The DfT is represented on both the Northern Way’s strategic policy group and the transport compact.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what promotion boards have been held in his Department in each of the last five years. (72870)

Promotion in the DfT is achieved by way of promotion board panels, often for particular posts, and through assessment centres for certain grades within and below the senior civil service.

Information on the number of boards held is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints of racial abuse have been (a) investigated and (b) upheld in his Department in each of the last 5 years. (72871)

There have been a total of four complaints of racial abuse across the Department and its Executive Agencies over the past five years. None of these complaints has been upheld.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to encourage the streamlining of rail fares. (76587)

[holding answer 14 June 2006]: The Department do regulate some rail fares but many are a commercial matter for the operator concerned. We are discussing with train operators what might be done to simplify passengers’ choice of fares. We are also discussing with National Rail Enquiries how fares information might be better presented.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2006, Official Report, column 1280W, on rail services, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s specifications for the construction of the timetable from Paddington to the West Country. (74390)

[holding answer 5 June 2006]: The timetable specification formed part of the invitation to tender (ITT) for the Greater Western franchise, issued by the Strategic Rail Authority in June 2005. The Department intends to make this public once the franchise agreement has been placed on the public register, and is working to do this as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 18 April 2006, Official Report, column 641W, on railways, what discussions his Department has had with Network Rail on (a) the funding of and (b) the likely timetable for the installation of enhanced CCTV at Network Rail railway stations. (71741)

[holding answer 17 May 2006]: Network Rail and the train operators are taking forward the installation of CCTV at stations as part of an ongoing programme of work. Franchise agreements already include funding to make improvements to station facilities and this would include the installation of CCTV where appropriate. About a third of the 2,500 stations on the national network already have CCTV in place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what bonuses have been paid as a result of the publication of Network Rail’s preliminary results for the year to 31 March; and to whom. (76020)

Network Rail is a private sector company, so decisions on bonuses paid to its directors and other employees are a matter for it. Network Rail’s preliminary results for the year to 31 March 2006 and accompanying press notice provide information on bonuses and are available on the company’s website, www.networkrail.co.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department and Network Rail expect to take a decision on the upgrading of Reading Station. (76957)

Reading borough council has submitted to the Department a local transport plan major scheme bid for Reading Station. Decisions on major scheme bids will need to take account of the advice from regions on their priorities within regional funding allocations, which we are currently considering.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with Network Rail concerning the upgrading of Reading Station. (76958)

The Department is a member, alongside Network Rail and the Government office for the South East, of the Reading Station Partnership Board which is led by the local authority. Departmental officials last attended the board when the finalised business case for the enhanced capacity elements of the project was presented.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with other agencies concerning a rail link to Heathrow from Reading Station. (76964)

The Department continues to discuss the project with relevant parties, especially with regard to the funding of the capital element of the project. In the invitation to tender for the South Western franchise, bidders have been invited to include indicative proposals for the costs of operating AirTrack services, assuming the necessary infrastructure is in place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on recruitment, search and selection agencies in each of the last five years. (68336)

The Department for Transport and its agencies have spent the following amount on recruitment, search and selection agencies in each of the last five years:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is towards developing Redhill Aerodrome as a commercial passenger airport; and if he will make a statement. (75911)

The Government’s policy on airport capacity is set out in “The Future of Air Transport” White Paper. The White Paper did not support major commercial development at Redhill Aerodrome because of its close proximity to Gatwick Airport and the associated airspace conflicts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much central Government funding has been allocated to (a) Suffolk county council and (b) each local authority for road improvements in each year since 1997. (75383)

The information is as follows:

(a) The following table shows the funding allocated to Suffolk county council in the local transport capital settlements between 1997-98 and 2005-06. The integrated transport block allocations are available for local authorities to use on road and public transport improvements, according to their local priorities.

In addition Suffolk county council is receiving £30.5 million for the South Lowestoft Relief Road that will remove the major traffic flows from the old A12 allowing significant bus, safety and environmental improvements.

(b) Information relating to central funding for each local authority for road improvements since 1997 was placed in the Libraries of the House on 18 January 2006 and is also available on the DFT website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2006, Official Report, column 1285W, on the Royal Flight, on which occasions since 1 January 2003 the BAe 146 and HS125 aircraft of 32 Squadron have been used by members of the Royal Family for private purposes; and what amount was reimbursed for each journey. (74296)

Since 1 January 2003, the BAe 146 and HS125 aircraft of 32 Squadron have been used for private purposes on four occasions. The details are as follows:

27 March 2004 - HRH the Duke of Edinburgh

Northolt - Stuttgart - Northolt (HS125) Reimbursement cost £6,375.

8 June 2004 - HM the Queen

Deauville - Northolt (BAe 146) Reimbursement cost £2,150.

5-7 November 2004 - HM the Queen

Northolt - Manchester - Northolt (HS125) Reimbursement cost £3,547.

11 November 2005 - HM the Queen

Blackpool - Northolt (BAe 146) Reimbursement cost £4,054.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the prevalence of smoking on buses where a no-smoking policy is in place. (76150)

Where general legislation on smoking is not in force it is for local bus operators to determine and enforce their own policies on passengers smoking on their vehicles, ultimately with recourse through the courts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is legal to smoke while driving a car. (78340)

There is no specific prohibition on smoking while driving a vehicle. Road traffic legislation places responsibility on all drivers to have proper control of their vehicles. Any motorist who fails to do so, for whatever reason, such as smoking, or eating and drinking, is liable to prosecution.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what restrictions apply to the amount of time a taxi driver is allowed to drive in one shift. (75406)

The majority of taxi drivers are self-employed and there are no restrictions on the amount of time such drivers are allowed to drive in one shift.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what recent discussions his Department has had with local authorities about a third Thames crossing in the Greater Reading area; (76956)

Although officials in the Government office for the South East have regular meetings with the authorities in the Thames Valley area, they have not been party to any recent meetings to specifically discuss a third Thames crossing in the Greater Reading area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list Acts which received Royal Assent between 1976 and 2006 and for which his Department has policy responsibility which remains in force. (69604)

The provision of a definitive list would require extensive consultation with other Government Departments and incur disproportionate costs. The following are the general Acts passed during the relevant period which remain in force and which appear to the Department for Transport to be those for which it has primary policy responsibility.

Road Traffic (Drivers’ Ages and Hours of Work) Act 1976 (1976 c 3)

Transport Act 1978 (1978 c 55)

Carriage by Air and Road Act 1979 (1979 c 28)

British Aerospace Act 1980 (1980 c 26)

Civil Aviation Act 1980 (1980 c 60)

Highways Act 1980 (1980 c 66)

Transport Act 1980 (1980 c 34)

Ports (Financial Assistance) Act 1981 (1981 c 21)

Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 (1981 c 14)

Transport Act 1981 (1981 c 56)

Aviation Security Act 1982 (1982 c 36)

Civil Aviation Act 1982 (1982 c 16)

Merchant Shipping (Liner Conferences) Act 1982 (1982 c 37)

Transport (Finance) Act 1982 (1982 c 6)

Transport Act 1982 (1982 c 49)

Civil Aviation (Eurocontrol) Act 1983 (1983 c 11)

International Transport Conventions Act 1983 (1983 c 14)

Level Crossings Act 1983 (1983 c 16)

Ports (Reduction of Debt) Act 1983 (1983 c 22)

Transport Act 1983 (1983 c 10)

Cycle Tracks Act 1984 (1984 c 38)

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (1984 c 27)

Dangerous Vessels Act 1985 (1985 c 22)

London Regional Transport (Amendment) Act 1985 (1985 c 10)

Ports (Finance) Act 1985 (1985 c 30)

Transport Act 1985 (1985 c 67)

Airports Act 1986 (1986 c 31)

Dockyard Services Act 1986 (1986 c 52)

Highways (Amendment) Act 1986 (1986 c 13)

Road Traffic Regulation (Parking) Act 1986 (1986 c 27)

Channel Tunnel Act 1987 (1987 c 53)

Motor Cycle Noise Act 1987 (1987 c 34)

Pilotage Act 1987 (1987 c 21)

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Act 1988 (1988 c 20)

Merchant Shipping Act 1988 (1988 c 12)

Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Rear Seat Belts by Children) Act 1988 (1988 c 23)

Road Traffic (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (1988 c 54)

Road Traffic Act 1988 (1988 c 52)

Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (1988 c 53)

Parking Act 1989 (1989 c 16)

Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (1989 c 22)

Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990 (1990 c 31)

Civil Aviation Authority (Borrowing Powers) Act 1990 (1990 c 2)

Horses (Protective Headgear for Young Riders) Act 1990 (1990 c 25)

British Railways Board (Finance) Act 1991 (1991 c 63)

Motor Vehicles (Safety Equipment for Children) Act 1991 (1991 c 14)

New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (1991 c 22)

Ports Act 1991 (1991 c 52)

Radioactive Material (Road Transport) Act 1991 (1991 c 27)

Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Act 1991 (1991 c 26)

Road Traffic Act 1991 (1991 c 40)

Traffic Calming Act 1992 (1992 c 30)

Transport and Works Act 1992 (1992 c 42)

Railways Act 1993 (1993 c 43)

Road Traffic (Driving Instruction by Disabled Persons) Act 1993 (1993 c 31)

Road Traffic Regulation (Special Events) Act 1994 (1994 c 11)

Transport Police (Jurisdiction) Act 1994 (1994 c 8)

Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (1994 c 22)

Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 (1995 c 23)

Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (1995 c 21)

Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 (1995 c 13)

Shipping and Trading Interests (Protection) Act 1995 (1995 c 22)

Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 (1996 c 61)

Civil Aviation (Amendment) Act 1996 (1996 c 39)

London Regional Transport Act 1996 (1996 c 21)

Railway Heritage Act 1996 (1996 c 42)

Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997 (1997 c 28)

Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997 (1997 c 54)

Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 (1998 c 34)

Road Traffic Reduction (National Targets) Act 1998 (1998 c 24)

Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 (1999 c 3)

Road Traffic (Vehicle Testing) Act 1999 (1999 c 12)

Transport Act 2000 (2000 c 38)

Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001 (2001 c 3)

Private Hire Vehicles (Carriage of Guide Dogs etc.) Act 2002 (2002 c 37)

Travel Concessions (Eligibility) Act 2002 (2002 c 4)

Aviation (Offences) Act 2003 (2003 c 19)

Marine Safety Act 2003 (2003 c 16)

Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 (2003 c 20)

Highways (Obstruction by Body Corporate) Act 2004 (2004 c 29)

Traffic Management Act 2004 (2004 c 18)

Railways Act 2005 (2005 c 14)

Merchant Shipping (Pollution) Act 2006 (2006 c 8)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds he has made available for transport infrastructure schemes in the Thames Valley in the last eight years, broken down by local authority area. (76966)

Since the Local Transport Settlement in December 1998 the Thames Valley area has received £370 million for local transport improvements and maintenance schemes. This figure is broken down in the following table. In addition Buckinghamshire county council is receiving £32.5 million for the A4146 Stoke Hammond and Linslade Western Bypass.

The Highways Agency has also made available £44 million in funding for the A41 Aston Clinton Bypass as well as £72 million for the A34 Chieveley/M4 Junction 13 improvement since 1998.

In addition, the Government are providing record levels of funding for railways infrastructure through the passenger franchises and by direct grant to Network Rail. This funding is not classified by local authority area, but the Thames Valley local authority areas have benefited from work by Network Rail to address the rail infrastructure renewals backlog. Particular local authorities have benefited from rail enhancement projects, including Buckinghamshire from improvements to the Chiltern Line and Berkshire authorities from replacement of “slam door” rolling stock on the Reading/Windsor—Waterloo route.

To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to be in a position to bring forward a Civil Service Bill; and if he will make a statement. (75866)

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Murphy) to my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright) on 8 November 2005, Official Report, column 159.

To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Colchester of 1 March 2006 and 10 April 2006 on the centenary of the scout movement. (76467)

My Office has replied to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2006, Official Report, column 942, on avian influenza, what steps the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has taken to hold discussions with the Association of Local Government Ecologists. (68066)

At the request of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, DEFRA officials held discussions with Mr. Steve Moon, Chair of the Association of Local Government Ecologists. An offer was extended to Mr. Moon, or another representative of the association, to participate in the DEFRA avian influenza stakeholder group. This offer was declined.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what legislation would be required to implement the Countryside Agency’s coastal access proposals; (76652)

In line with DEFRA’s five-year strategy we are looking at ways to improve access to the English coast. We have asked the Countryside Agency, working together with its Natural England partners, English Nature and the Rural Development Service, to undertake additional research and analysis to identify a range of options.

As part of this work, the Natural England partnership has taken forward an information- gathering exercise to collect data on a national basis to develop a comprehensive picture of the coast and existing access provision. Advice will be submitted to DEFRA at the end of July, and will serve to inform a full public consultation paper in October. The consultation will discuss the best ways to improve access to the English coast, including costs and any legislative changes needed to support their implementation. It will be supported by a partial Regulatory Impact Assessment. The results of the consultation exercise will be published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions the Countryside Agency has had with (a) the relevant authorities in (i) Wales and (ii) Scotland, (b) local authorities, (c) non-governmental organisations and (d) non-statutory bodies on its coastal access proposals. (76654)

The Countryside Agency, along with its Natural England partners English Nature and the Rural Development Service, is represented on DEFRA’s Coastal Land Advisory Group. Meetings of the Group have provided a forum for coastal access issues to be discussed with the National Trust, Local Government Association, Ministry of Defence, Environment Agency, English Heritage, Welsh Assembly Government and the Forestry Commission.

The National Countryside Access Forum, chaired by the Countryside Agency, considered coastal access issues at its meeting on 17 May 2006. The Forum’s membership includes the British Horse Society, British Mountaineering Council, Central Council for Physical Recreation, Country Land and Business Association, Cyclists Touring Club, Local Government Association, Moorland Association, National Farmers’ Union, National Trust, Ramblers Association and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Representatives from local access forums, the Countryside Council for Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage also attended the meeting on 17 May 2006.

In addition, the Natural England partnership held a series of stakeholder events in each of four study areas in which they have been doing detailed work on options to improve access to the English coast. At these events they sought the views and expertise of a wide range of local organisations, including the local authorities for each of the areas concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions the Countryside Agency has had with those administering Crown interests on its coastal access proposals; and when they took place. (76655)

The Countryside Agency held initial discussions with the Crown Estate in 2005. My officials also met representatives from the Crown Estate on 6 December 2005.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) research has been commissioned and (b) surveys have been carried out by the Countryside Agency on coastal access in the last five years. (76657)

The Countryside Agency, along with its Natural England partners English Nature and the Rural Development Service, has carried out a detailed data-gathering exercise to support a comprehensive picture of the English coast and existing access provision. This work includes in-depth investigation, testing and costing of a number of possible ways to improve access, and ways to maximise landscape, historic environment and wildlife benefits.

In 2005 the Countryside Agency carried out short studies of six different parts of the English coast to gain an understanding of different coastal environments. In January 2006 the Natural England Partnership selected four study areas in which they are exploring coastal access issues in greater depth. These areas, selected to reflect the diversity of the English coast, are the Suffolk Coast, Southern Cumbrian Coast and Morecambe Bay, County Durham and Hartlepool Coast, North Devon, Exmoor and the West Somerset Coast.

The Countryside Agency has also commissioned a study to examine how coastal access works in other European countries and what might be learnt from their experience. Further survey work is being done to assess current public knowledge about the demand for and use of coastal access, along with research into the costs of possible options to improve coastal access.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations on coastal access the Department has conducted in the last five years. (76659)

The Department has not carried out any public consultations on coastal access in the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to discuss the recommendations of the Affordable Rural Housing Commission Report with his colleagues in (a) the Department for Communities and Local Government and (b) other Government Departments; and whether he has set a timetable for the development of a Government (i) response to the report and (ii) plan to implement the agreed recommendations. (74237)

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Minister for Housing and Planning, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) and I all took part in discussions of the Affordable Rural Housing Commission report on the day of its launch. Affordable rural housing will continue to be one of the subjects covered in the regular dialogue between the two Departments and across Government.

The Government are currently considering the report and will use a range of channels and mechanisms to respond in a constructive way to the agenda set by the Commission, including in the forthcoming Spending Review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for the Entry Level Stewardship scheme have been made; and how much had been paid to applicants at the latest date for which figures are available. (76361)

By 7 June 2006, 22,500 applications for Entry Level Stewardship had been received, and a total of £17.4 million paid to agreement holders.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost was of compiling, printing and posting the leaflet Celebrating the Rural Development Service; and whether there are plans to issue further Rural Development Service leaflets prior to the service’s replacement in October. (76650)

The total cost was £8,300.

There are no plans to issue further leaflets.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place to ensure the next round of single farm payments is made on time. (76188)

We are determined that the right lessons are learned from our experience this year with the Single Payment Scheme, first to prepare for the undoubted challenges that will exist in the delivery of the 2006 scheme, and secondly to move to a more stable position for the 2007 scheme year. Work has already started to this end with the measures set out on 29 March 2006, Official Report, column 305WH, by my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw) and the subsequent appointment of Mr. Tony Cooper as interim chief executive of the Rural Payments Agency. But this is a long-term project with no quick or easy solutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to ensure all maps used for the calculation of single farm payments are accurate. (76189)

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is responsible for the maintenance of the Rural Land Register (RLR), and information from the RLR is used to support claims to the Single Payment Scheme. The process of digitising land and amending existing land registrations has been amended recently, with activity brought back on to RPA's main computer system. This followed a period when an outsourced provider was used to digitise land during a period of exceptionally high demand.

The digitisation process itself includes a number of quality checks to ensure that the correct land parcel and area are digitised. Where errors are found they are corrected before maps are issued to customers. Further amendments are made where customers identify issues with the maps they receive. RPA is aware of a number of cases where there have been issues with maps sent to customers. The re-establishment of an in-house process will aid the cross-check of new and amended land areas to customer details.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost is of processing a Single Payment Scheme claim; and if he will make a statement. (73468)

[holding answer 25 May 2006]: The gross running costs of the Rural Payment Agency (RPA) for 2005-06 were £236.5 million, of which £55.1 million related to one-off costs associated with the RPA change programme and common agricultural policy reform implementation. The balance of £181.4 million represented the costs of RPA’s normal operations, of which the administration of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) forms part.

For the 2005 SPS scheme year, there were 120,000 claims with an expected value of £1.5 million (net of modulation).

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action his Department is taking to recoup overpayments of subsidies paid to farmers in Rossendale. (68598)

We have identified one farmer in the Rossendale area who has an existing debt with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The matter has been referred to the RPA Legal Division for a decision on whether legal proceedings should be issued to recover the debt. RPA is not aware of any other existing or potential overpayments in the Rossendale area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what monitoring systems are in place to ensure that all Government purchased timber and timber products are procured in accordance with the Government’s timber procurement policy; and what evidence is required to prove that timber purchased is derived from legally harvested trees. (76284)

The model conditions of contract that Departments are advised to use in respect of their timber purchases require contractors to obtain documentary evidence that the timber and wood derived products supplied are legal timber. The conditions further require the contractor to identify a chain of custody from the forest source through to delivery of the final product and to obtain independent verification if requested by the contracting authority.

To ask the Leader of the House if he will keep a separate record of the amount spent annually by his office on alcohol for hospitality purposes. (77322)

My Office already keeps records on alcohol and hospitality costs. It spent approximately £1,150.00 on alcohol in the financial year 2005-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the (a) name, (b) professional and academic qualifications and (c) relevant experience are of the chief accounting officer of his Department. (76837)

As set out in the annual report (Col. 6385, published 25 May 2006), the Wales Office pays grant to the National Assembly for Wales, accounting directly within the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) for its own expenditure of some £5 million a year. Its director is appointed as an additional accounting officer to the DCA permanent secretary. The director combines these duties with responsibility for the overall organisation, management, staffing and procedures of the Wales Office.

The director is Alan Cogbill, a graduate entrant to the civil service. He has no professional accountancy qualification. He has experience as finance director of the DCA, and has undertaken civil service training in Government finance and accounting. He is assisted by professionally qualified accountants in DCA as need be.

2. To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contribution his Department is making to meeting the 2015 targets for reducing world poverty. (77540)

The Treasury works closely with DFID to deliver a substantial and high quality UK aid programme, and also with the international community to make progress towards the 2015 Millennium Development Goals. DFID’s budget is increasing from £3.8 billion in 2004-05 to £5.3 billion in 2007-08—making a real terms increase of 140 per cent. since 1997. I have announced a timetable to reach the UN target of 0.7 per cent. ODA/GNI in 2013.

The MDGs and global poverty were at the heart of the UK Presidencies of the EU and the G7/8 in 2005. The international community committed to raise an additional $50 billion of aid by 2010, to cancel 100 per cent. of the multilateral debts of the world’s poorest countries, and to launch the International Finance Facility for Immunisation. G8 leaders also agreed to achieve universal access to AIDS treatment for all those who need it by 2010, and work on Advance Market Commitments for vaccines against malaria, HIV/AIDS and other priority diseases.

These are the sorts of measures needed to get progress towards the MDGs back on track. The key challenge now is for donors to fully implement their commitments and for developing countries to develop 10-year plans to meet the MDGs.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the principal factors affecting the competitiveness of UK businesses. (77555)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has had made of the principal factors affecting the competitiveness of UK businesses and industry. (77561)

I refer the hon. Members to what I said on the Floor of the House earlier today in reply to the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Miss Kirkbride).

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the merits of changes to taxation on biodiesel. (77617)

Biodiesel attracts a favourable duty differential of 20 pence per litre less than that for the main road fuels. In line with the alternative fuels framework, we have guaranteed that this differential will continue until 2008-09. Changes to duty rates, including that for biodiesel, are made by the Chancellor in the light of a range of social, environmental and economic factors.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2006, Official Report, column 1842W, on bonuses, why (a) the total amount awarded in bonuses to staff rose and (b) the total number of awards dropped between 2003-04 and 2005-06. (77200)

The payment of end-year bonuses is linked to an individual’s overall performance mark in their annual performance appraisal for the previous year. Prior to 2004-05 HMT operated a system for staff below Senior Civil Servant (SCS) with the following categories:

Top 5 per cent.

Next 30-35 per cent.

Next 50-55 per cent.

Next 5-10 per cent.

with those in the top two categories being awarded a bonus.

The categories in appraisal year 2004-05 were changed to:

Top 20 per cent.

Next 60 per cent.

Bottom 20 per cent.

with only those in the top category being awarded a bonus, which were paid in 2005-06. As a result the average size of end-year bonuses increased significantly.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many girls aged 16 years and under (a) became pregnant, (b) had an abortion, (c) gave birth and gave the child up for adoption and (d) gave birth and kept the child in each year since 1985, broken down by (i) age and (ii) region. (75626)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 15 June 2006:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many girls aged 16 and under (a) became pregnant, (b) had an abortion, (c) gave birth and gave the child up for adoption and (d) gave birth and kept the child in each year since 1985, broken down by (i) age and (ii) region. I am replying in her absence. (75626)

Available figures are estimates of the number of pregnancies that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or termination.

Number of conceptions to girls aged under 14, 14, 15 and 16 from 1987 to 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) are shown in Table 1. Figures for 1985 and 1986 are not provided because ONS amended the method for calculating woman's age at conception and revised data are not available prior to 1987.

Conception figures are routinely published each year by region for all girls aged under 16. Conception to girls aged 16 years by region can only be made available at a disproportionate cost.

Number of conceptions to girls aged under 16 by region from 1992 to 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) are shown in Table 2. There have been Government Office Regional boundary changes prior to 1992 and figures prior to then are not compatible with later years.

Number of abortions to girls aged 14 and under, 15 and 16 from 1987 to 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) are shown in Table 3. Figures for girls for aged 14 and under are grouped to protect small numbers which may be revealed by previously published data.

Numbers of abortions to girls aged 16 and under, by regional offices in England from 1987 to 2004 are shown in Table 4.

Number of live births to girls aged under 12, 12 ,13, 14, 15 and 16 from 1985 to 2005 (the latest year for which figures are available) are shown in Table 5.

Figures on live births by region have been compiled on the same basis as conceptions and number of live births to girls aged under 16 by Government Office Region from 1992 to 2005 are shown in Table 6.

Information is not available on how many girls aged 16 years and under gave birth and gave the child up for adoption and gave birth and kept the child.