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17 May 2004 : Column 718W—continued

Ship Searches

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of cargo ships over 500 tonnes that docked in Britain in 2003 were boarded and searched by border security personnel. [170065]

Mr. Jamieson: Ships calling at UK ports may be boarded for a variety of reasons and such operations are   conducted by different Government bodies and agencies; including the Police, Immigration, Customs and Excise, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and my own Department's Transport Security Directorate (TRANSEC) inspectors. This information is not collated centrally.

Trinity House Lighthouse Service

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the Business Process Review of Trinity House Lighthouse Service. [167359]

Mr. Jamieson: It is not within the remit of this Department to place a copy of the Report of the Review in the Library of the House, however, it has now been issued to staff and the Trade Unions who have accepted the Report's findings.

Under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, the Secretary of State is required to sanction expenditure by the General Lighthouse Authorities and any proposal to establish new aids to navigation. He has no powers of direction over GLA internal operational matters. The Business Process Review was an internal exercise commissioned by Trinity House Lighthouse Service (THLS) to examine their business processes and update these to take account of best practice and future needs of the lighthouse service.

In terms of granting access to official information, THLS as a non-departmental public body falls under the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. It therefore has its own commitment under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information to extend access to official information and to respond to reasonable requests for information except where disclosure would not be in the public interest in accordance with statutory requirements and the exemptions set out in Part II of the Code. There is no commitment to provide access to documents as distinct
 
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from information. Nor does the Code require Government Departments to acquire information that they do not possess.

Vehicle Activated Signs

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicle activated signs are in operation in England. [171895]

Mr. Jamieson: This information is not held centrally. Local highway authorities are solely responsible for the installation of any traffic signs and all traffic calming measures including vehicle activated signs. The Highways Agency uses vehicle activated signs in special situations where standard signing has failed to resolve a speed related accident problem.

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the (a) installation cost and (b) annual maintenance and running costs of vehicle activated signs. [171896]

Mr. Jamieson: This information is not held centrally. Local highway authorities are solely responsible for the purchase, installation and maintenance of any traffic calming measure, including vehicle activated signs. Variable Message Signs on motorways have an annual maintenance and running cost of £5,550 per sign per year.

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Traffic Area Network's financial position was at the point of merger with the former Vehicle Inspectorate; and whether balances were transferred to the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. [173888]

Mr. Jamieson: The financial position of the Traffic Area Network at the point of merger was contained within the Trading Fund Order which brought the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency into being—the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency Trading Order 2003 (SI 2003 No. 942). The balances transferred into the newly-formed VOSA, based on estimated valuations at that time, were as follows:

	£ million
Net Assets	58.2
Net Liabilities	42.6

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for    Transport how much has been spent on the SchlumbergerSema contract in the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, broken down by main expenditure category. [173892]

Mr. Jamieson: The SchlumbergerSema IT Business has been purchased by Atos Origin. The original contract came into effect on 1 January 2003. The expenditure for the financial year 2002–03 was £3.4 million and the estimated expenditure for the financial year 2003–04 is £14.2 million.

The detailed analysis of this cost is commercial in confidence.
 
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John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for    Transport what impact on (a) services and (b) procedures of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency the award of the contract to SchlumbergerSema has had. [173893]

Mr. Jamieson: The strategic partnership contract between Atos Origin (formerly SchlumbergerSema) and VOSA commenced in January 2003.

The 10-year relationship involves design, build and implementation of a series of integrated business solutions that will have a significant impact on VOSA's business and the quality of services it provides to its customers.

Early stages include enhancements to project and programme management and significant enhancement to the quality of the IT platform. This will allow development of better, more timely data for VOSA examiners and enable the introduction of new EU initiatives such as Digital Tachographs. This will in turn improve the targeting of likely offenders allowing law-abiding Operators to go about their business with less interference.

Future plans include developments of a commercial customer portal bringing together current DVO e-services for commercial customer along with a range of new 'e' enabled services, including e-test bookings and e-payments.

CABINET OFFICE

Contingency Planning

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has created a working group to consider how to issue advice to individual households within the UK. [170054]

Mr. Alexander: A number of working groups have been established to develop the regulations and guidance which will accompany the Civil Contingencies Bill. These working groups are convened by the Cabinet Office, and include members from across the civil protection community. One of these working groups is considering those parts of the legislation covering awareness, warning and informing the public. Full details of these working groups were outlined in the Civil Contingencies Bill update letter to key stakeholders on 2 April 2004, a copy of which has been placed in the Library. A copy of the letter is also available at www.ukresilience.info

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to issue advice to households in the UK detailing how to plan for and cope with a terrorist attack. [170127]

Mr. Alexander: As part of a deliberate strategy by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, an increasing amount of information and advice has been and will continue to be made available to the public about what to do in an emergency, including a terrorist attack.

Public safety is our first priority in all decisions about public information or warnings. If a warning is necessary to protect public safety in the face of a specific
 
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and credible threat, we will issue one without hesitation, as well as giving out any further information that will help the public respond effectively.

The Government and the emergency services will provide immediate information and advice in the event of a discernible threat or a specific incident.

There is a wide range of advice and information on the terrorism section of the Home Office website at www. homeoffice.gov.uk/terrorism, at www.ukresilience. gov.uk and on the MI5 website at www.mi5.gov.uk

Government continue to review the best way to keep the public informed and consider alternatives as part of our wider package of information to the public accordingly.

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