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24 Jun 2004 : Column 1531W—continued

Vietnam

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he will be making to the Government of Vietnam concerning the arrest of Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang in Ho Chi Minh City on 8 June. [180139]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are working with our EU colleagues in Vietnam to establish the circumstances surrounding the reported arrest on 8 June of Pastor Quang and to determine whether he should be added to the EU list of prisoners/detainees of concern whose cases are regularly raised with the Vietnamese authorities. A copy of this list was handed over to the Vietnamese during the EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue meeting on 22 June, attended by the British Ambassador to Vietnam.

TRANSPORT

Motability Scheme

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars receive road tax exemption through the Motability scheme; how much this exemption costs; what the financial value is of the exemption; how many of the exempted cars are registered to people aged 65 years and over; what plans he has to extend the exemptions to adapted cars bought by people disabled after their 65 birthday; and if he will estimate the cost of extending the exemptions. [178459]

Mr. Jamieson: This exemption cost the Exchequer an estimated £155 million in 2002–2003. It can be worth anything between £15 and £2,585 per annum depending on the type of vehicle concerned.

There are currently around 375,000 vehicles in the Motability fleet (either contract hire or hire purchase). About 26 per cent. of these are in the 65+ age group.

There are no plans to change the way the exemption works at present. However, the Chancellor keeps all taxation policy under review and any changes are announced in the context of his Budget statement after considering relevant economic, social and environmental factors.

Air Transport White Paper

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the Sustainable Development Commission's report on the Air Transport White Paper. [180215]

 
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Mr. McNulty: "The Future of Air Transport" White Paper sets out a balanced and measured approach between travel needs, economic benefits of new capacity, and the environmental effects of flying. More does need to be done to limit the environmental impacts of air travel. We recognise the importance of tackling climate change, and welcome the Commission's support for our approach to aviation participation in emissions trading. We are open to dialogue with the Commission, along with other stakeholders, as we work to deliver the White Paper.

Crossrail

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the relative (a) cost-effectiveness, (b) value for money and (c) regeneration effect of the building of Crossrail with and without the Canary Wharf link to Abbey Wood via The Royals; when he expects to make a decision; and if he will make a statement. [179874]

Mr. McNulty: Such issues were all considered by the review chaired by Adrian Montague into the current Crossrail proposals. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, is currently considering Adrian Montague's detailed advice and will publish his findings in due course.

Emergency Vehicles (Speeding)

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been spent, broken down by local authority, in dealing with speeding tickets issued to (a) fire service vehicles and (b) police vehicles. [177079]

Ms Blears: I have been asked to reply.

Information is not collected centrally on moneys spent in dealing with speeding tickets issued to fire service or police vehicles, nor on moneys paid out in fines as a result of fire service and police vehicles contravening speed limits.

Haulage Sector (Emissions)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the emission levels of pollutants from the haulage sector were in each year since 1997, broken down by pollutant. [179926]

Mr. Jamieson: The emissions of the main pollutants, i.e. oxides of nitrogen (NOx), particulate matter (PM _{1 0} ), carbon monoxide (CO) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), for heavy goods vehicles (HGV's) are given in the following table from 1997 through to 2002, this being the latest date for which data are available. The emissions of carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ), a global warming gas, are also included.
ktonnes

	Nox	PM 1 0	CO	NMVOC	CO 2
1997	339.4	12.2	68.4	36.7	26,739
1998	335.3	11.4	66.9	34.0	26,983
1999	323.5	10.5	63.8	31.0	26,830
2000	306.6	9.1	60.5	28.6	26,546
2001	293.4	8.4	57.2	26.4	27,417
2002	284.3	7.8	54.6	24.5	29,410

Source:
2002 National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory.




 
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IT Equipment

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how often since 1997 (a) his Department and (b) its associated public sector organisations have undergone portable appliance testing of IT equipment; and what the cost was of portable appliance testing in each year since 1997. [176915]

Mr. McNulty: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 and as a result the information provided relates to the period from then.

In the Department's headquarters building Great Minster House in London portable appliance testing (PAT) is carried out annually and the latest available figures show expenditure of £19,016 and £15,005 excluding VAT for 2002 and 2003 respectively.

Elsewhere in the Department's Agencies PAT testing of portable equipment is normally carried out on annual basis for non-IT equipment. IT equipment is sometimes included in these tests but in other situations the checking is undertaken by IT engineers as part of servicing arrangements.

Comprehensive information on costs is not readily available because in some cases these are undifferentiated from other Mechanical and Electrical service contracts costs or are not accounted for separately in the individual finance systems. To separately identify such costs would involve disproportionate costs.

PFI/PPP Schemes

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the private finance initiative/public private partnership schemes his Department has entered into that have been subject to refinancing deals, indicating in each case how much of the windfall gain has been repaid to the Government. [179062]

Mr. McNulty: Details of the refinancing arrangements on Government sponsored PFI projects were published on 31 March 2004, Official Report, column 1412W. The Department for Transport has also sponsored the following additional PFI and two PPP schemes that have been refinanced: Essex County Council A130 (PFI), London Underground—Tubelines (PPP), and National Air Traffic Control (PPP). Only the London Underground—Tubelines scheme generated a refranchising gain (£70 million), from which £42 million (60 per cent.) was repaid to Government.

Secure Stations Scheme

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many crimes have been committed at stations that meet secure station status in each year since the scheme's inception. [176964]

Mr. McNulty: The Secure Stations scheme was launched in 1998 to improve security and perceptions of security at railway stations. It is a national accreditation scheme recognising set standards of good practice in rail station, staff and passenger security. The national scheme covers all overground and underground rail stations across England, Wales and Scotland, which are
 
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policed by the British Transport Police. The first stations were accredited in 1998 and the number of stations in the scheme continues to increase.

The British Transport Police have provided the following information on crimes recorded at stations in the Secure Stations scheme for any given year in the period 2000–2004 when a station held accreditation. Data is not readily available for earlier than 2000.

	Crimes recorded at Secure Stations	Number of Secure Stations
2000–2001	16,351	84
2001–2002	22,735	128
2002–2003	30,077	167
2003–2004	31,815	174

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