§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many chartered engineers there are in his Department; and what grades they hold. [43586]
§ Dr. Whitehead[holding answer 19 March 2002]:Very few posts within DTLR(C) require Chartered Engineer status. Where this is the case, individuals are recruited on a job specific basis and the information is not collated centrally. There may be individuals with Chartered Engineer status employed in generalist jobs within DTLR(C).
Information on the number of Chartered Engineers employed by the Executive Agencies of my Department and in Government Offices is given as follows.
DTLR Government Offices
There are currently 17 chartered engineers at Special, Professional and Technical Grades (SPTO) in the Government Offices for the English Regions.
Highways Agency (HA)
The Highways Agency employs 541 engineers at the grades shown in the table. They may not all have chartered status as some may be graduates who are working towards it. For engineers who have achieved chartered status, the Agency does not pay professional fees and therefore has no record of whether the status has been retained.
87W
Pay Band 3 Pay Band 4 Pay Band 5 Pay Band 6 Pay Band 7 Pay Band 8 SCS Total Engineer—Electronic 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Mechanical Engineer 1 1 6 2 3 0 0 13 Total 1 11 74 261 140 39 15 541 Planning Inspectorate (PINS)
The number of chartered engineers employed by PINS, by grade, is as follows:
Number Principal Housing and Planning Inspector 5 Senior Housing and Planning Inspector 10 Housing and Planning Inspector 7 Flexible Housing and Planning Inspector 1 23 Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)
The Vehicle Certification Agency has 15 Chartered Engineers in the following grades:
Number Grade 5 1 Grade 6 1 Grade 7 4 Grade S 6 Grade H 3 Vehicle Inspectorate (VI)
The Vehicle Inspectorate has six chartered engineers among its staff as follows:
- G6: 1
- G7: 4
- SPTO: 1.
VI also employs many graduate engineers who have chosen not to apply for chartered status.
VI has this year launched a graduate mechanical engineer programme in line with the Institution of Mechanical Engineer's Monitored Professional Development Programme which takes new graduates through four years structured training and leaves them qualified for Chartered Status, should they wish to apply. VI will be taking on two this year following a recruitment campaign for which there were 90 applicants. 16 candidates will attend assessment centres in mid-April and successful candidates will take up post in September.
QE11 Conference Centre
The QE11 has two Chartered Engineers, they do not have grades but the job titles are:
- Operations Director
- Systems and Engineering Manager.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
The DVLA employs one Chartered Engineer at the Grade of Senior Executive Officer.
Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and The Fire Service College
Both these agencies have no Chartered Engineers.