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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 13 January 2000
DEFENCE
Falklands Conflict
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel who served in the Falklands conflict originated from Northern Ireland; and in which (a) regiments and (b) other parts of the services they served. [104394]
Mr. Spellar: The Ministry of Defence does not hold a centrally collated record of the origins of servicemen and their individual deployments that contains the information requested for all three Services. Full details could be provided only at disproportionate cost, following detailed examination of individual records.
However I can advise that available data show that some 95 Army and 29 RAF individuals who served in the Falklands operations are recorded as having originated from Northern Ireland and I will write with further details concerning regiments and units in which they served.
Defence Vetting Agency
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 21 December 1999, Official Report, column 468W, concerning the move of the Defence Vetting Agency to York, if he will estimate the number of people living within 50 miles of York who will be working at the Defence Vetting Agency. [104667]
Mr. Spellar: The Agency is in the early stages of forming up at York. It will be taking on staff (mainly from HQ 2nd Division but also through local recruitment) at various points between now and early 2001, when the Agency will reach its full strength at York of 181. Many posts are still unfilled.
It is expected that all permanent staff working for the Agency at Imphal Barracks in the eventual workforce will live locally and commute daily. It is not our normal practice to check on the distance that individuals commute, but a random survey suggests that the overwhelming majority of our York-based workforce will live within 50 miles of York.
In my earlier answer I explained that, in addition to the 181 DVA staff who will be based at Imphal Barracks, the Agency would employ 130 Investigating Officers who would work from their homes. The location of these Officers is tied to the major areas of MOD employment across the UK. The Officers are tasked from, and report to the Agency at York, but will very rarely travel there.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the outcome of the feasibility study into compulsory mobilisation of the Territorial Army to sustain peace support operations in the Balkans. [105415]
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Mr. Spellar:
The Feasibility Study has concluded that compulsory mobilisation is feasible in both legal and practical terms. This will enable the TA to make a major contribution to front-line operations and reflects and supports the intent of the Strategic Defence Review that the Territorial Army should be usable. At the same time, as a result of the reduction in UK force levels in the Balkans, we judge that compulsory mobilisation is not operationally necessary at this time. We will keep the possibility of compulsory mobilisation under constant review in the light of the prevailing operational conditions.
Mr. Ashton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reasons underlie the policy of referring applications to his Department for regional aid or assistance to the Minister of Agriculture. [104173]
Ms Hewitt:
The Department asks the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for advice on all Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) applications with an agriculture element to ensure that there are no EC restrictions on projects being eligible for assistance in this respect. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is responsible for decisions taken on awards of RSA.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed of 9 August to the Minister of State about the inclusion of postcodes in telephone directories. [104094]
Mr. Alan Johnson
[holding answer 10 January 2000]: I replied to the right hon. Member yesterday.
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the level of IPPC charges in other EU member states; and if he will make a statement. [104101]
Ms Hewitt:
The system of IPPC charges, which is still under consideration, is the responsibility of the Environment Agency. The Agency consulted on an interim charging regime last autumn, and is considering the outcome of that consultation. The Agency will be monitoring the implementation of IPPC in other member states including their charging policies.
Dr. Iddon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the review of the current minimum wage to be completed. [104688]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
The Government received the Low Pay Commission's Report on the impact of implementation of the national minimum wage at the end of December. Once Ministers have had an opportunity to consider the Report's findings, both the Report and the Government's response to it will be published.
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Mr. Edwards:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to put contracts for the Government of the Philippines Bridge Replacement Project under the existing offer of aid and trade provision out to tender in the United Kingdom.[104034]
Clare Short:
The first component of the Philippines Bridge Replacement Programme, for emergency steel panel bridging, was negotiated with the Mabey Group and is due to be completed shortly. The second component is for various types of steel bridging and a range of design and advisory services. This is being negotiated with a consortium of Balfour Kilpatrick and Cleveland Bridge.
Old Vehicles
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many (a) cars and (b) motor-cycles which are more than 25 years old are in use in the United Kingdom. [103155]
Mr. Hill: The number of vehicles more than 25 years old at the end of 1998 in Great Britain was as follows:
Cars: 256,392 (1.1 per cent. of licensed stock)
Motor Cycles: 91,173 (11.2 per cent. of licensed stock)
At present, we do not have this information for Northern Ireland.
Concessionary Travel
Mr. Martin Bell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what account he will take of the European Court of Justice judgment on 15 December, in amending his policy on permitting local authorities to grant local travel concessions to men aged over 60 years. [104150]
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to equalise at the age of 60 the eligibility for the minimum half price local bus concession for older people following the judgment in the case of John Taylor and Liberty v. HM Government. [104057]
Mr. Hill: Legal advice is that this judgment does not have implications for concessionary fares on local transport.
Road Accidents
Mr. Blizzard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the accident rates including fatalities for (a) single and (b) dual carriageway roads. [104116]
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Mr. Hill:
Accident rates on single and dual carriageway roads are given in the table.
| Single carriageway | Dual carriageway(1) | All roads (2) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fatal | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| Fatal and Serious Accidents | 9.9 | 4.0 | 8.2 |
| All Personal Injury Accidents | 59 | 27 | 52 |
(1) Includes motorways
(2) Includes accidents at roundabouts and those where carriageway type is unknown
Driving Licences
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what published standards are set for the Driver and Vehicle Licence Agency on the time taken to process driving licence applications that include reference to a medical condition; and what standards in respect of such applications the Agency has achieved in the last three quarters of 1999. [104056]
Mr. Hill: The service standards for applications involving a medical investigation are published in the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's Service Guide. This states that the Agency's Medical Unit aims to complete its investigations:
- (a) within five weeks of receiving an application for a car or motorcycle licence;
- (b) within seven weeks of receiving an application for a large goods/passenger carrying vehicle licence.
When medical investigations take longer than this, applicants are advised on an individual basis.
Excluding December, where final figures have yet to be available, in the last three-quarters of 1999 the Agency achieved an average performance of 44 per cent. of car and motorcycle applications and 66 per cent. of large goods and passenger carrying vehicles being processed within the published standard.
Action is being taken to bring this service up to standard and the position is steadily improving.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the average time between applying for and receiving (a) a driving licence and (b) a driving licence that includes reference to a medical condition. [104055]
Mr. Hill:
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency undertakes to issue driving licences and return original documents to customers within three weeks (15 working days) of the date of receipt of their applications. This three-week standard has been met or bettered consistently throughout the year.
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In cases where a driver declares a medical condition--amounting to some 1,100 applications a day--because of the increased complexities of the service the standard is five weeks for a car licence and seven weeks for a bus or lorry licence. Some current cases in these categories are taking longer. Action is being taken to bring this service up to standard and the position is steadily improving.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what published standards are set for the Driver and Vehicle Licence Agency on the time taken to process driving licence applications; and what standards in processing applications the Agency has achieved in the last three quarters of 1999. [104054]
Mr. Hill:
Where there are no medical considerations, DVLA undertakes to issue driving licences (and return original identity documents) to customers within three weeks (15 working days) of the date of receipt of their applications. This standard is set out in the Agency's Customer Service Guide. This three-week standard has been met or bettered consistently throughout the last three-quarters of 1999.
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