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6. Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole)
(LD): What steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the roads; and if he will make a statement. [191993]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. David Jamieson): Uninsured drivers on our roads are a menace. We have taken a number of steps to bear down on uninsured driving, including setting up a review of motor insurance arrangements in the United Kingdom by Professor David Greenaway. His report was published on 11 August this year, and we are now taking urgent measures to implement its recommendations. We are working closely with the insurance industry, and we now plan to introduce legislation, further education and enforcement programmes to force uninsured drivers from our roads.
Mrs. Brooke: Does the Minister acknowledge that fines can be as low as £150, which, in many cases, is less than the cost of insurance? Liberal Democrats have long called for higher penalties, as recommended by Greenaway. What will the Minister do as soon as possible to clamp down on the million and more motorists who are creating danger every day and cheating the law-abiding motorist?
Mr. Jamieson: While the Liberal Democrats are calling for action, the Government are taking action. The top end of fines for being uninsured is very high indeed, and we are introducing a range of measures, we hope in legislation, to give power to the police, for example, to seize a vehicle at the side of the road and, if necessary, have it destroyed if someone is driving while uninsured. We are also looking at other measures to improve the insurance database and give police access to it so that they can use automatic number plate-reading cameras to take pictures and identify people who are not only untaxed but uninsured. Recent action that we have taken has considerably reduced the number of uninsured drivers on the road, and we want to drive those figures down further.
Mr. Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley) (Lab): I am sure my hon. Friend is aware of the great campaign for the introduction of insurance discs, which would have the same benefits as tax discs. Is it not time to come into line with other countries that have seen the advantages of insurance discs, which motoring organisations and police alike believe would be of benefit to them?
Mr. Jamieson: The Republic of Ireland has an insurance disc system and it has twice the rate of non-compliance. Professor Greenaway looked at the matter closely and discussed it widely throughout the industry with interested parties. It is not one of the recommendations that he made. I should point out to my hon. Friend that there are people who drive around without a tax disc. It does not stop them doing so. What does stop them is being spotted, with the fines in place and being enforced. We want a similar system for the insurance industry as well, so that a number plate camera can pick up whether a vehicle is insured or not. That will be a much more powerful way of making sure that people cannot get away with driving while uninsured.
Mr. Tim Yeo (South Suffolk)
(Con): Will the Minister confirm that as many as one driver in 20 drives without insurance and that the cost of those irresponsible drivers to the responsible motorist exceeds £500 million a year?
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Given that he has belatedly adopted one of the key planks in our policy to deal with uninsured drivers, will he explain a little further how toughly he proposes to enforce the new approach? How many vehicles a year does he expect will be confiscated and destroyed if repeat offenders are discovered to be driving without insurance?
Mr. Jamieson: We will introduce legislation in the House, I hope, in the next parliamentary Session, which will give the police the power to seize and destroy such a vehicle. I look forward to the hon. Gentleman's support for that measure. But we are taking a variety of measures, including enforcing more rigorously the vehicle excise dutythe car tax. Hundreds of thousands more vehicles are taxed in this year alone. For a vehicle to be taxed, it must be insured. In the next few weeks we will produce figures that show a substantial increase in the number of taxations and therefore in the number of people who have insured.
7. Mr. Huw Edwards (Monmouth) (Lab): If he will meet representatives of the British Transport police to discuss how to combat vandalism and antisocial behaviour at railway stations. [191994]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mr. Tony McNulty): Over the past year I have had regular meetings with the chief constable of the British Transport police. Next week I am to meet Sir Alistair Graham, the new chair of the British Transport police authority. Among other things I will discuss what action BTP are taking to reduce crime on the railways, including vandalism and antisocial behaviour.
Mr. Edwards: Will my hon. Friend acknowledge that vandalism and antisocial behaviour are a depressing feature of many of our local stations, especially those that are unstaffed, like Chepstow in my constituency? When I recently met representatives of Arriva Trains to discuss the problem, they informed me that since British Transport police are responsible for policing railway stations, their resources are so limited, especially in south Wales and outside the main cities, that the job cannot be adequately done. When my hon. Friend meets the chief constable of British Transport police will he see whether a strategy can be devised whereby the policing responsibility can be effective between BTP and local police stations in order to combat this serious problem?
Mr. McNulty: I undertake to raise those matters with Sir Alistair Graham when I see him next week. Although there has been huge success in tackling graffiti, vandalism and antisocial behaviour in cities and many urban areas and key interchanges, more needs to be done at some of our more rural railway stations. I shall raise with Alistair Graham the specific issues relating to Wales, and when I have something constructive to tell my hon. Friend, I shall do so.
Mr. John Horam (Orpington)
(Con): From the Minister's reply, which was very interesting, he seems to accept that the hon. Member for Monmouth (Mr. Edwards) raised an important point. The problem
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is antisocial behaviour and vandalism not just in railway stations, but around railway stations. A particular problem is open-access stations, such as Pett's Wood in my constituency. There are steps that can be takennot just the introduction of ticket barriers, but proper staffing, as the hon. Member for Monmouth mentioned. I find train operators resistant to such measures. They speak about the cost and say it is a matter for the police and so on. Will the Minister write to train operators and stress to them the importance of doing something about antisocial behaviour in and around railway stations?
Mr. McNulty: The hon. Gentleman's first point is certainly right, and I recognise that my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouth raised a serious issue. Much is being done in urban areas both in and around stations. In London, the Metropolitan police and community support officers have brigaded both the approaches to key interchanges and key interchanges themselves. The hon. Gentleman makes some fair points, which I shall pass on to the train operating companies and British Transport police.
8. Mr. Peter Pike (Burnley) (Lab): What monitoring his Department undertakes to check the effectiveness of airport security systems. [191995]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Alistair Darling): Although the industry is responsible for implementing the appropriate security measures, my Department carries out a regular programme of compliance monitoring visits.
Mr. Pike: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. In this day and age, airport security is unfortunately essential, and that job is not always easy for workers to perform. As well as his Department's independent monitoring of airport security, we should ensure that all airports follow best practice. Does he agree that photographing all passengers, which occurs at Gatwick and Manchester airports, is a good idea that should be introduced into all UK airports?
Mr. Darling: I agree with my hon. Friend that it is important for the Department to continue to inspect security regimes. Airport security is a fact of life and it will remain so for the rest of our lives. Photographing passengers was introduced at Manchester and Gatwick because of those airports' particular layouts, and I suspect that it will be extended to other airports, in which case newer and sometimes more thorough security measures can be introduced at the same time. We will keep the matter under review.
David Taylor (North-West Leicestershire)
(Lab/Co-op): Security at airports, including East Midlands airport in north-west Leicestershire, is important. Will the Secretary of State acknowledge that in addition to the security offered by airport operators, civil servants, Customs officers and others have an important subsidiary role to play? Does he share the concerns of those people who have contacted me from East Midlands airport that the reductions in staff associated with the Chancellor's plan might imperil security?
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Mr. Darling: I am not sure that those fears are particularly well grounded. The Chancellor's proposed reductions in civil service numbers are independent of security considerations. As far as security is concerned, we make sure that adequate security cover exists at each airport. Such matters are reviewed from time to time, but the Chancellor's proposals on Customs and Excise officers are not related to safety. If my hon. Friend has a particular concern, however, I will, of course, be pleased to hear from him.
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