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20 Jan 2003 : Column 37W—continued
Air Transport (Scotland)
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the Future Development of Air Transport-Scotland consultation documents were (a) sent out and (b) downloaded from the Department of Transport website by 10 January 2003; and how many responses have been received. [91175]
Mr. Jamieson: Estimates of Scottish consultation documents dispatched and downloaded from the web site as of the 10 January 2003 are shown in the following table:
| Dispatched | Downloaded from the Web Site | |
|---|---|---|
| Main and Summary Documents | 13,149 | 30,738 |
| Questionnaires | 6,704 | 640 |
As of the 10 January 2003, we have received approximately 350 letters and e-mails and 882 questionnaires for the Scottish region.
Air Travel Organisers Licensing Regulations
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on changes to the law affecting Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL); and if he will make a statement. [91320]
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Mr. Jamieson: My Department has received one letter on behalf of a travel agent. However, the CAA in response to its consultation paper ("Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the ATOL Regulations") received over 90 replies.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to amend ATOL Regulations to cover firms who sell package holidays by air under separate contracts; and if he will make a statement. [91321]
Mr. Jamieson: The Government are planning to introduce an early amendment to the ATOL Regulations to cover firms who sell package holidays by air under separate contracts.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning the protection of individual airline passengers against schedule airline failure from whom they have bought accommodation from a listed supplier; and if he will make a statement. [91323]
Mr. Jamieson: My Department has received no representations concerning the protection of individual airline passengers. However we have received representations from a number of travel organisers who assert that scheduled airlines that offer accommodation via linked websites ought to be obliged to comply with the ATOL Regulations.
Air Travel Trust Fund
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will introduce legislation to increase the Air Travel Trust Fund; and if he will make a statement. [91322]
Mr. Jamieson: A draft Bill to secure the necessary powers to impose a levy will be introduced as soon as a suitable legislative opportunity arises.
Annual Report
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much producing his Department's latest Annual Report cost; how many copies were printed; how many copies of it were sold at its cover price; to whom copies of the report have been provided free of charge; and how many copies were provided free of charge. [90891]
Mr. Jamieson: The latest annual report for the Department for Transport was the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) Annual Report 2002.
The DTLR Annual Report was published in June 2002 at a cost of £37,761.14. This figure represents the cost to the Department for the design, production and printing of 600 copies. Other costs of printing and publication were met by the publisher, The Stationery Office Limited (TSO). These 600 copies were distributed free of charge to members of the Transport, Local Government and the Regions Committee, various stakeholder groups and internally to officials within the Department. Copies were also laid before Parliament.
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The Stationery Office Limited (TSO) can provide definitive numbers of the total number of copies printed and sold at the cover price.
British Transport Police
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British Transport Police there were in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [91670]
Mr. Jamieson: The British Transport Police have provided me with the following information:
| Police officers | Support staff | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2,123 | 644 |
| 2001 | 2,109 | 565 |
| 2000 | 2,091 | 523 |
| 1999 | 2,113 | 524 |
| 1998 | 2,095 | 492 |
| 1997 | 2,132 | 461 |
| 1996 | 2,165 | 468 |
| 1995 | 2,147 | 410 |
| 1994 | 2,155 | 406 |
| 1993 | 2,114 | 373 |
Coach Accidents
Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passenger (a) injuries and (b) fatalities were recorded for accidents involving coaches in each year since 1991. [91763]
Mr. Jamieson: Figures for coaches alone are not available, the table shows the number of bus or coach passenger casualties from accidents involving a bus/coach in each year since 1991:
| Casualties | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Killed | Injured | All | |
| 1991 | 25 | 8,197 | 8,222 |
| 1992 | 16 | 8,413 | 8,429 |
| 1993 | 32 | 8,637 | 8,669 |
| 1994 | 20 | 9,331 | 9,351 |
| 1995 | 34 | 8,510 | 8,544 |
| 1996 | 10 | 8,528 | 8,538 |
| 1997 | 12 | 8,594 | 8,606 |
| 1998 | 17 | 8,915 | 8,932 |
| 1999 | 11 | 9,333 | 9,344 |
| 2000 | 14 | 9,050 | 9,064 |
| 2001 | 10 | 8,882 | 8,892 |
Congestion Charging
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many letters were received by his Department on the proposed policy of the Mayor of London to introduce congestion charges in London; and what percentage of the letters (a) supported the proposal and (b) opposed it. [90978]
Mr. Jamieson: Between May 2000 and 15 January 2003 we had received 154 letters. Approximately 5 per cent. supported the proposal and 95 per cent. opposed it.
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Running Costs
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the running costs of (a) the Department and (b) each of its sponsored agencies were in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available. [90704]
Mr. Jamieson: Detailed information on administration costs for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and its transport related agencies, going back to 1998–99 and with projections to 2003–04, is set out in Table A5 of the 2002 departmental report Cm 5405. Data for years before 1998–99 are not available on the same basis. Provisional outturn for gross and net administration costs limits were published in Public Expenditure 2001–02 Provisional Outturn (Cm 5574), Tables 4 and 5. Updated information, with plans to 2005–06, will be published in the 2003 departmental report in the spring.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many documents were sent to DVLA as proof of identity in the last year for which information is available; and how many are known not to have been returned to their owners or holders. [90992]
Mr. Jamieson: In the financial year 2001–02 DVLA returned 3.9 million identity documents to customers. In the same year the Agency met 2,704 compensation claims from customers whose documents were not delivered (0.07 per cent. of cases where identity documents were sent to DVLA). 5.9 million photocard driving licences were issued in the same period.
Driving Licences (Vision Tests)
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving licences were withdrawn between July 2001 and December 2002, due to people failing a field of vision test. [92005]
Mr. Jamieson: Around 2,000 drivers have had their licences withdrawn or applications refused in this period, due to a failure to satisfy the visual field standard for driving.
Foreign Commercial Vehicles
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the effectiveness of measures to ensure that foreign commercial vehicles driving on British roads are properly insured. [91539]
Mr. Jamieson: Both UK and European law require any vehicle, including commercial vehicles, to be covered by compulsory insurance when they are used on our roads. Foreign vehicles are subject to the same random checks as UK vehicles and if one were found to be uninsured, its user would be subject to the same fines as any UK motorist.
Liquid Petroleum Gas
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road vehicles which run on liquid petroleum gas fuel were in use in each year since 1999. [91157]
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Mr. Jamieson: DVLA statistics do not provide a breakdown by fuel type, only vehicles that are dedicated gas or petrol/gas combinations. The following table shows the number of vehicles that are dedicated gas or petrol/gas combination. DVLA statistics also do not distinguish between Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Natural Gas vehicles.
| Number of gas or bi-fuel vehicles | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 17,010 |
| 2000 | 23,968 |
| 2001 | 29,968 |
But this understates the number of vehicles because not all conversions to alternative fuelling are notified to DVLA.
The Energy Saving Trust estimate that there is around 75,000 LPG vehicles currently in the UK. Motorists are converting to LPG at an increasing rate, with the number expected to increase by about 25,000 per year over the next two years, prompted by the Government grants available, and the fact that low-cost LPG fuel is now available in all areas of the country.
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