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Uninsured Drivers

9. Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab): What estimate he has made of the average number of uninsured drivers on the road on any one day in the past 12 months. [166177]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. David Jamieson): My Department takes the problem of uninsured driving seriously. The insurance industry estimates that about 5 per cent. of motorists drive without insurance. The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland recently conducted a survey, checking vehicles across the United Kingdom. The results of that survey are being collated and we will study them most carefully.

Chris Bryant: Bearing in mind the significant number of uninsured drivers and the appalling expense and inconvenience caused to those who are involved in accidents with such drivers, is it not time that we considered having a joint tax and insurance disc—or at least ensuring that when someone buys a disc for six or 12 months, they can prove that they are insured for the whole period, not just for the day they go into the post office?

Mr. Jamieson: I note my hon. Friend's interest in this important matter, which he is right to raise. I assure him that I think that uninsured motorists are a menace on our roads. We have not discounted the use of insurance discs on windows, but we have asked Professor David Greenaway to conduct a full inquiry into uninsured driving and we expect his report shortly. We shall examine the recommendations and implement them rapidly. We want tough measures to be taken against those who are clearly flouting the law.

Mr. Greg Knight (East Yorkshire) (Con): Does the Minister agree that the problem affects us all, as every motorist pays for uninsured drivers through higher insurance premiums? Transport Ministers have been showing a modicum of common sense recently. We suggested the introduction of a statutory code for traffic wardens—Ministers adopted Conservative policy. We suggested looking at higher speed limits on motorways—Ministers are now looking into that Conservative policy. Will the Minister complete the hat trick and adopt Conservative policy on uninsured drivers by giving courts the power to confiscate the vehicles of repeat offenders?

Mr. Jamieson: One thing we will not be learning from is the Opposition's transport policy. While we concentrate on safety, they wallow in opportunism. The right hon. Gentleman was quite right, however, that uninsured drivers are a menace, and there is a cost to everyone in our insurance policies and in terms of safety on the road. We will look carefully at Professor Greenaway's report—I hope that he and his party will do so as well, and support the measures that we introduce in the House.
 
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CABINET OFFICE

The Minister was asked—

Civil Servants

21. Mr. Peter Luff (Mid-Worcestershire) (Con): What recent guidance he has provided to Ministers on the public identification of civil servants they believe are responsible for mistakes made by or within their Department. [166189]

The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Douglas Alexander): Ministers are accountable to Parliament for the decisions and actions of their Department. That is clearly set out in the ministerial code and a resolution of the House carried on 19 March 1997.

Mr. Luff : Has not the Government's treatment of civil servants in general been utterly shameful? Special advisers are given powers over civil servants in the burying of bad news; the Lord Chancellor is held to be in contempt of Parliament for his treatment of a civil servant; and recently a Home Office Minister blamed an individual in her private office for policy errors for which she should have carried responsibility. If the Government are to squeeze an extra Bill into the legislative timetable, should it not be a long overdue Civil Service Bill, not a Bill to ban hunting?

Mr. Alexander: I am intrigued by the Opposition's legislative priorities, as I have previously noted that a Bill that won the support of the Opposition included a provision for executive powers for special advisers retained under that measure. That said, the Government have introduced a code on special advisers and brought unprecedented transparency to their work in government, so we will take no lessons from the Opposition.

Paddy Tipping (Sherwood) (Lab): When drafting the Civil Service Bill, will the Minister look at opportunities to deal with this serious problem, which affects not just individual civil servants but the trade unions as well? Will he confirm that he meets civil service trade unions to discuss those issues?

Mr. Alexander: I assure my hon. Friend that I meet regularly with the Council of Civil Service Unions. The Public Administration Committee published its own draft Civil Service Bill on 5 January, and my officials are currently preparing a draft Government Bill.

Mr. Oliver Heald (North-East Hertfordshire) (Con): The Minister holds that it is not important to protect the civil service and define the relationships between civil servants, political appointees and Ministers, but that is not what he said in January, when we called for a Civil
 
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Service Bill. He promised one then, just as Labour have done every year since 1997, but in the three months since, the Lord Chancellor has been found guilty of contempt of Parliament for his treatment of a civil servant. What a disgrace. On top of that, we have a Home Office Minister—

Mr. Speaker: Order. I call the Minister.

Mr. Alexander: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I shall try to rescue the Opposition spokesman from the difficulties in which he finds himself. The Conservatives had 18 years in which to introduce a Civil Service Bill, but did not take the opportunity to do so in any of those legislative Sessions. We gave a commitment in January in the House, and we will honour it.

Mr. Bob Blizzard (Waveney) (Lab): Is it not the case that if something goes wrong in an organisation it will want to know exactly what happened and who was at fault? With the civil service, however, when the issue comes to public notice, the media's thirst for news makes it inevitable that the identity of civil servants who prove to be at fault will come out. Should we not reflect that reality in a new Civil Service Bill?

Mr. Alexander: I will bear in mind my hon. Friend's comments in relation to the work that is under way on the Civil Service Bill. As regards some of the specific cases in the news in recent months, there is little that I can usefully add at this stage.

Norman Baker (Lewes) (LD): Is not the question whether civil servants make mistakes sometimes difficult to establish because of the confusion over the role of special advisers? Can the Minister explain, for a start, why Jonathan Powell should have the right to issue orders to civil servants? Would it not also be helpful if there were a process for identifying publicly the mistakes made by special advisers, such as some of the rubbish put forward by Lord Birt?

Mr. Alexander: The basis on which power is exercised in Downing street by Mr. Jonathan Powell was made clear in the Order in Council when Labour came to power in 1997. As I said, it is significant that the Conservatives chose to support a draft Bill earlier this year that maintained the power of two executive positions in Downing street for a future Administration. Nevertheless, I shall bear his comments in mind.

Home Computing Initiative

22. David Hamilton (Midlothian) (Lab): What assessment he has made of how the recently launched home computing initiative will help to reduce the digital divide. [166190]

The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Douglas Alexander): Employer-provided home computing initiatives make owning a computer more accessible for many people.
 
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Such schemes reduce the costs of acquiring a computer by up to 40 per cent., drive up levels of internet access and use, and improve IT skills as a result.

David Hamilton : My hon. Friend is well aware that I represent a former mining area. Although I welcome the fact that we are down to 2.5 per cent. unemployment in the area, that camouflages a large number of people who have been long-term sick and long-term unemployed. What access will those people have? What can we do to give them free or low-cost digital access? Is any help available for that?

Mr. Alexander: My hon. Friend makes an important point. From his work in Midlothian I know of his keenness to tackle long-term unemployment. I know he shares with me pride in the fact that almost 1.75 million more jobs have been created since 1997. On the specific point that he raises concerning internet access in Midlothian, I shall be happy to take the matter up with the Scottish Executive Minister.

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