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18 July 2006 : Column 274W—continued
Transport Direct
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the value for money of the Transport Direct portal. [85818]
Dr. Ladyman: The original business case for Transport Direct recorded three key value for money measures:
Achieve one million user sessions in the first year of service.
Achieve 10 million user sessions by the end of 2006.
10 per cent. of users reassess their travel habits as a result of the information provided by Transport Direct.
The one millionth user session was achieved ten months after soft-launch of the service (soft-launched in July 2004, achieved in May 2005)
We are on course to achieve our ten millionth user session by the end of 2006.
Early results of user surveys have indicated that 64 per cent. of those who completed our surveys were considering a change of travel mode preference.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the impact of the Transport Direct portal on journey decisions, including modal shift. [85820]
Dr. Ladyman: The portal service includes a self-completion feedback questionnaire that has been designed to form part of the independent evaluation framework for the portal. The analysis of the first 1,002 forms (December 2005) indicates that:
64 per cent. of users who responded indicated a change of original travel mode preference for at least part of the journey.
In 33 per cent. of cases the respondent had made the journey previously and of these 51 per cent. indicated a change in original mode preference.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many visitor hits Transport Direct has received; and what its advertising expenditure has been since it became operational. [85821]
Dr. Ladyman: Transport Direct usage is recorded in “user sessions”. A user session is defined as:
“One continuous dialogue with the Transport Direct Portal through one browser window”.”
By the end of June 2006 Transport Direct had recorded 6,055,702 user sessions. The current rate is around 150,000 user sessions a week, viewing an average of seven to eight pages each.
Advertising costs across the financial years 2004-05 to 2005-06 were £1,063,000.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport why the default setting for the cost of car travel on the Transport Direct portal is for fuel costs. [85822]
Dr. Ladyman: The portal provides the user with two choices for assessing the costs of car travel. One is “fuel costs”; including exceptional costs such as tolls, ferry charges and congestion charges, and the other is ‘total running costs’ which take into account the cost of owning a car.
Transport Direct’s purpose is to give users an impartial series of travel options and to enable them to select choices that meet their needs. Market research strongly indicates that motorists are overwhelmingly interested in seeing information about the ‘point of use’ of costs of their car. Therefore the default is to display the fuel costs and other direct costs. Showing full costs as the default would result in this functionality not being used by the majority of motorists, thus negating any potential effect on their travel choice.
Users do have the option to select an estimate of the total running costs. This is based on advice and information provided by the major motoring organisations and provides a figure which reflects the total cost of motoring, on a per mile basis. If the user chooses this option, then fuel costs, the exceptional costs and the total ownership costs are displayed.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much it cost to construct www.transportdirect.info; and how much it has cost to operate a month on average. [82210]
Dr. Ladyman: The information is as follows:
Construction of www.transportdirect.info.
Overall capital spend on the Transport Direct portal design, build and operate (DBO) contract has been as follows:
| Period | £ million |
These figures represent the sums paid to Atos Origin (the DBO contractor) for all aspects of the DBO contract excluding non-capital elements.
The DBO contract has been just one part of the overall Transport Direct programme. Whilst the portal DBO contract cost more than we originally estimated, the overall programme budget under spent.
Operational costs are in the region of £225,000-£250,000 per calendar month, while data supply costs are in the region of £100,000 per month.
Vehicle Excise Duty Licences
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicle excise duty licences were paid in each band, including goods vehicles, for the most recently available year; and how many licences in each band were paid for by (a) private individuals and (b) incorporated businesses. [83959]
Dr. Ladyman: DVLA estimates the number of vehicle licences issued within each band for the “Private and Light Goods” tax class, as the following table:
| Estimate of licences issued for Private and Light Goods vehicles, 2004-05 | |
| Class | Licences issued |
Additionally, 554,153 licences were issued for heavy goods vehicles in 2004-05. No statistical information is available to indicate how many licences in each band were paid for by (a) private individuals and (b) incorporated businesses.
Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 18 July 2006
Scotland
Carbon Emissions
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent estimate he has made of the carbon emissions of his Department; what commitment he has made to reducing such emissions; and if he will make a statement. [81054]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office subscribes to the energy efficiency policies adopted by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, East (Bridget Prentice), on 10 July 2006, Official Report, column 1615W.
Departmental Travel
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to ensure that all flights undertaken by Ministers and officials in his Department are carbon neutral; and if he will make a statement. [81381]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office subscribes to the principles of environmental performance adopted by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, East (Bridget Prentice), on 6 July 2006, Official Report, column 1344W.
Environmental Management
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department (a) is committed to the achievement of environmental management to ISO 14001 standard and (b) has been externally certified as in compliance with that standard; and if he will make a statement. [81189]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office subscribes to the environmental management principles adopted by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, East (Bridget Prentice), on 13 July 2006, Official Report, column 1992W
Private Members’ Bills
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which Private Members' Bills were drafted by his Department in each session since 1997; and which subsequently received Royal Assent. [78840]
David Cairns: Since the Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999, one private Member’s Bill has been drafted and has subsequently received Royal Assent—my Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those Private Members' Bills in respect of which his Department has adopted a policy of neutrality in each session since 2001-02; and if he will make a statement. [72484]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office has not adopted a policy of neutrality on any of the private Members' Bills since session 2001-02 for which it had the lead interest.
Scottish Affairs Select Committee
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action has been taken by his Department to implement Scottish Affairs Select Committee recommendations since the 2001-02 session; and if he will make a statement. [78843]
David Cairns: The Government have responded to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee's recommendations in the period in question in the following published memoranda:
The Drinks Industry in Scotland: Response by the Government and the Scottish Executive (HC 696), published on 18 March 2002.
Customs Services in Scotland: Response by the Government (HC 1287), published on 5 November 2002
Employment in Shipbuilding on the Clyde: Response by the Government (HC 199), published on 19 December 2002
Homeworkers in Scotland and the Minimum Wage: Response by the Government (HC 816), published on 19 June 2003
The Coincidence of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in Scotland and the Consequences of Change: Response by the Government (HC514), published on 7 April 2004
The Proposed Whisky Strip Stamp: Response by the Government (HC 822), published on 5 July 2004
Meeting Scotland's Future Energy Needs: Government Response (HC 579), published on 24 October 2005
Each memorandum stated whether the Government accepted the recommendations in the relevant report.
Northern Ireland
Access to Work Scheme
Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many disabled staff in his Department received support through the Access to Work scheme (a) in each of the last five years and (b) in 2006-07. [82231]
Paul Goggins: The table provides information on the numbers of NIO staff with disabilities for whom NIO requested support through the Access to Work scheme. This relates to the provision of workplace assessments to identify individual needs and recommend special aids and equipment and, where applicable, the provision of assistance with the cost of providing reasonable adjustments. While the scheme also assists with the cost of travel to work, the Department has no knowledge of assistance provided for NIO staff, as individuals must apply direct to the scheme.
| Number | |
| (1 )To date. | |
Building Regulations
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures are in place to assess compliance with building regulations in Northern Ireland. [80954]
Mr. Hanson: Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments do not hold this information. Enforcement of building regulations is the responsibility of district councils. Having written to district councils I can confirm that Building Control employ professionally qualified and trained staff to carry out independent and impartial plan assessments and detailed inspection of all sites to ensure compliance. Applicants must notify Building Control at various stages of projects, and if remedial action is necessary, it is always carried out prior to the issue of the completion certificate.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many homes built in the last 10 years in Northern Ireland do not comply with environmental building regulations. [80953]
Mr. Hanson: Northern Ireland civil service departments do not hold this information. Enforcement of building regulations is the responsibility of district councils. Having written to district councils I can confirm that no homes built in the last 10 years contravene the environmental building regulations.
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