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18 May 2007 : Column 943W—continued
Cars: Excise Duties
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars registered to owners in Worcestershire will have to pay the new Band G (£300) per annum tax. [138227]
Dr. Ladyman: As at 31 December 2006 1,507 vehicles registered to addresses in Worcestershire were licensed in the new band G. In addition there were 12,935 vehicles which, although licensed in band F now, would have fallen into the band G emission category had they been registered after 23 March 2006.
Railways: Birmingham
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what progress has been made in easing train congestion problems at Birmingham New Street Station; [138149]
(2) if he will make a statement on train platforming at Birmingham New Street Station for Arriva Trains Wales services. [138150]
Mr. Tom Harris: Responsibility for the performance of the railway network and best use of capacity rests with Network Rail in conjunction with train operators. The High Level Output Specification (HLOS), to be published in the summer, will set out the additional rail capacity the Government propose to buy to meet the recent and forecast growth in demand for rail travel.
Railways: EC Action
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of implementing the European Rail Traffic Management System. [138145]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Strategic Rail Authority made an extensive study of the effects of ERTMS on the UK railway. Network Rail now leads the National ERTMS Programme and has updated the SRA’s work. If applied when a line is being resignalled, ERTMS can reduce the overall cost of the railway and support capacity enhancement. ERTMS also produces a small safety improvement over and above the high level of train protection afforded by TPWS. However, the capacity and cost benefits only apply if ERTMS Level 2 is used to eliminate lineside signalling. The Cambrian Early Deployment Scheme will demonstrate the use of this technology in the UK for the first time.
Roads: Tolls
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what representations he has received on potential links between road pricing and applications for transport infrastructure funds by (a) local authorities and (b) Transport for London; and if he will make a statement; [R] [135979]
(2) if he will make a statement on progress with the 10 road pricing pilot areas; [R] [135980]
(3) if he will make it his policy not to link applications for projects under transport infrastructure funds to road pricing schemes. [R] [135981]
Dr. Ladyman: Ministers have met representatives of local transport authorities and Transport for London and departmental officials have regular ongoing contact.
No decisions have been taken on areas to take forward local road pricing. 10 areas have been awarded pump-priming funding to support the development of Transport Innovation Fund packages that address local congestion problems. The guidance we have issued has made clear that TIF will be used to support packages that combine investment in transport with demand management
measures, such as road pricing. These packages will need to address problems in a way that supports economic growth, and supports other objectives for environmental protection, safety and social inclusion. We expect to receive the first bids for TIP support this summer.
However, TIP is additional to other transport investment. We are continuing to invest record sums in local transport for all local authorities in England. Funding for transport infrastructure in the English regions outside of London can still be accessed through the Regional Funding Allocation process.
South West Trains: Standards
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether South West Trains has met all of its performance targets in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [138124]
Mr. Tom Harris: Targets for SWT were introduced in the 2003 refranchising process.
Performance targets and the Moving Annual Average (MAA) that SWT achieved for the years that they had targets are shown as follows:
| Percentage | ||
| Target (MAA) | Actual (MAA) | |
The Stagecoach South Western Franchise that commenced in February 2007 has performance benchmarks on a period by period basis and to date these have been met.
Traffic Lights
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2007, Official Report, column 1677W, on traffic lights, what progress is being made in the introduction of traffic responsive operation of traffic signals. [137470]
Gillian Merron: It is for local traffic authorities to decide on the optimum mode of operation for traffic signals. Traffic responsive systems have been available and encouraged by the Department since the 1930s. The Department’s advice contained in Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/06, “General principles of traffic control by light systems”, re-iterates and endorses their use. I have arranged for copies of the Traffic Advisory Leaflet to be placed in the Library.
Justice
Elections
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Indra electronic counting system used in the electoral pilot of May 2007 by Bedford borough council; and if she will make a statement. [137684]
Bridget Prentice: The independent Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to evaluate and report on each of the May 2007 electoral pilot schemes, and will assess the effectiveness of the electronic counting system used by Bedford borough council. My Department awaits the Electoral Commission’s findings which will be published by 4 August 2007.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of (a) advance voting during the week before polling day, (b) voters providing their signature before being issued with their ballot papers, (c) electronic counting and (d) use of a single column on the ballot paper for the mayoralty election in the electoral pilots of May 2007 by Bedford borough council; and if she will make a statement. [137685]
Bridget Prentice: The independent Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to evaluate and report on each of the May 2007 electoral pilot schemes, including the effectiveness of each of the elements of the Bedford borough council pilot scheme. My Department awaits the Electoral Commission's findings which will be published by 4 August 2007.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what representations her Department has received from the Electoral Commission on the use of electronic vote counting technology and equipment for the May 2007 electoral pilots; and if she will make a statement. [137689]
Bridget Prentice: My Department sought the Electoral Commission's views on all of the applications that were made to conduct electoral pilot schemes at the May 2007 local elections, including the use of electronic vote counting technology. The Commission's comments were received on 1 December 2006.
A number of issues were raised by the Commission which were resolved following ongoing discussions with my officials.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what independent safeguards were put in place for electoral pilots in May 2007 using electronic counting technology and equipment; and if she will make a statement. [137690]
Bridget Prentice: My Department carried out a rigorous procurement process to identify suppliers to work with local authorities to conduct electoral pilot schemes at the May 2007 local elections in England. Each pilot scheme involving the use of electronic voting or counting systems was also subject to a rigorous quality assurance assessment by independent experts on behalf of my Department, and also to testing by suppliers and local authorities prior to use.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what steps the Government are taking to ensure public confidence in electronic vote counting technology and equipment in elections; and if she will make a statement. [137691]
Bridget Prentice:
My Department is implementing a programme of work to develop effective and secure
electoral systems for the future, including electronic vote counting technology. The programme includes the piloting and evaluation of new technologies, and research and development activities with suppliers, electoral administrators and other organisations. Public confidence in electoral systems is essential, and no new technologies will be rolled out for general use until we are satisfied that they are accurate and secure.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice at what time the final election result was declared in (a) Bedford borough council, (b) Breckland district council, (c) Dover district council, (d) Stratford-on-Avon district council and (e) Warwick district council in the electoral pilot schemes of May 2007; how much was spent on the use of electronic counting and equipment in each area; how many spoilt ballot papers were rejected as a percentage of the total vote in each area; and if she will make a statement. [137695]
Bridget Prentice: The times of the declaration of the final election results and the percentages of ballot papers rejected in each of the five electoral pilot schemes in May 2007 are listed in the following table.
| Authority | Time of declaration | Percentage of rejected ballot papers |
It is expected that the details of the total costs for the electoral pilot schemes using electronic counting in May 2007 will be provided in the independent Electoral Commission’s statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes, which will be published by 4 August 2007.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many electoral pilots in May 2007 which used electronic counting technology and equipment reverted to manual counting of votes; and if she will make a statement. [137697]
Bridget Prentice: Two electoral pilots reverted to manual counting of votes. These were Breckland council, and the joint pilot by Stratford-on-Avon district council and Warwick district council. The Electoral Commission is currently evaluating each electoral pilot scheme, and their findings will provide valuable information about the issues that arose in these authorities and will also help us to identify how to address any future issues.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what representations her Department has received on the use of random hand counts of ballots in electoral pilots of May 2007 which used electronic counting and equipment; and if she will make a statement. [137698]
Bridget Prentice:
My Department has not received any representations on the use of random hand counts
of ballots at the electoral pilot schemes which used electronic counting in May 2007.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what measures were put in place to ensure that electoral pilots using electronic counting and equipment in May 2007 could be independently verified; and if she will make a statement. [137699]
Bridget Prentice: My Department commissioned independent quality assurance audit and testing to support the delivery of electoral pilot schemes using electronic counting at the May 2007 local elections. Under provisions introduced by the Electoral Administration Act 2006, independent observers were also permitted to monitor all elections, including those where electoral pilot schemes were held.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many of the electoral pilots of May 2007 which used electronic counting and equipment undertook random hand counts of ballots; and if she will make a statement. [137700]
Bridget Prentice: I am not aware that any of the electoral pilot schemes of May 2007 which used electronic counting undertook random hand counts of ballot papers.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what plans the Government have to use electronic counting and equipment in future electoral pilots; and if she will make a statement. [137701]
Bridget Prentice: My Department is currently considering the future role of electronic counting technology, and how it might be developed through further piloting or other research. The findings of the independent Electoral Commission’s statutory evaluation of the May 2007 electoral pilot schemes will inform that ongoing consideration before any decisions about future pilot schemes are made.
Electoral Systems
Mr. Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2007, Official Report, column 1725W, on electoral systems, when the review of electoral systems currently in use in the United Kingdom began; and if she will make a statement. [138051]
Bridget Prentice: The review under way in the Ministry of Justice commenced after the May 2005 elections. It is anticipated that the review will be completed within the lifetime of this Parliament. Ministers will take decisions on any next steps, if necessary, after the review is completed.
Ministry of Justice
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if she will list the dates of the meetings of the working group set up by the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice on 19 March 2007 to consider the implications of the creation of the Ministry of Justice. [137648]
Bridget Prentice: The working group has met regularly since it was set up on 19 March 2007. Its discussions are ongoing.
Prisons: Construction
Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (1) how many prison places she plans to bring into use from (a) refurbishment, (b) new build on existing sites and (c) new build on sites that do not currently house a prison in each of the next five years; [137645]
(2) what funds have been allocated for capital works on the prison estate on (a) refurbishment, (b) new build on existing sites and (c) new build on sites that do not currently house a prison in each of the next four years. [137647]
Mr. Sutcliffe: NOMS undertakes a rolling programme of refurbishment on the prison estate. As schemes come back into use following refurbishment, other schemes are taken forward and the accommodation is taken out of use.
Of the 8,000 new prison places announced by the Home Secretary in July 2006, approximately half will be on sites not currently occupied by prisons. The programme is still in the planning stages and the number of places to be provided beyond 2007 has not been finalised. However, this year the capacity of the prison estate will increase in total by around 2,200 places. This includes 700 places from the 8,000 programme and the remainder from already planned expansions. All of the new places this year will be provided at existing prison sites.
The estimated total capital cost of the new 8,000 places is around £1.5 billion. The breakdown of costs in each of the next five years has not yet been finalised.
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