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28 Feb 2008 : Column 1841W—continued
Surveillance: Members
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of hon. Members who have taken the Oath who have been directly or indirectly the subject of (a) surveillance or (b) intercept since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [189247]
Mr. McNulty: It has been the longstanding practice of successive Governments not to comment on surveillance or interception operations.
Transport
Department Equality
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of (a) women and (b) men work in each bargaining unit of her Department and its agencies. [189099]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The figures shown are actual headcount (not FTEs) and exclude temp/employment agency staff.
| Percentage | ||
| Agency | Male | Female |
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Publicity
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s television advertisements aimed at stopping vehicle excise duty fraud. [183503]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Latest road side survey estimates include that vehicle excise duty (VED) revenue lost through evasion is £79 million per year. The current television advertisement, aimed at deterring VED evasion, was produced during the 2006-07 financial year at a cost of £478,409.
It was first on air in May and June 2007 with a second period during January and February 2008.
The media cost, including fees, for television advertisements of this kind in this financial year to date, is £2,300,955.
It is intended to run the advertisement again during 2008-09.
In addition, a 30-second TV ‘filler’ was commissioned in 2007 at a cost of £111,792. This features a road safety message and is aired by television companies at no cost to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Electric Vehicles
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what discussions she has had with her European counterparts on the potential impact of electric personal assistive mobility devices on carbon emissions and congestion; and if she will make a statement; [189387]
(2) what assessment she has made of the potential impact of electric personal assistive mobility devices on the Government’s (a) road traffic congestion and (b) carbon emissions targets; and if she will make a statement. [189388]
(3) what assessment her Department has made of the impact the introduction of electric personal assistive mobility devices would have on carbon emissions in the UK. [189389]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 26 February 2008, Official Report, columns 1347-48W, to the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington (Mr. Leech).
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she plans to amend legislation to permit electric personal assistive mobility devices on the public highway or on pedestrian or cycle facilities; and if she will make a statement. [189622]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There are no plans to amend legislation to permit electric personal assistive mobility devices on the public highway or on pedestrian or cycle facilities in the UK.
Electric Vehicles: Government Cars
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the merits of introducing electric vehicles into the Government car fleet. [190025]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) actively engages with vehicle manufacturers on the development of alternatively powered vehicles, including electric vehicles.
GCDA’s car fleet was one of the first in the country to introduce hybrid electric/petrol technology on a large scale. Vehicles solely powered by electricity do not yet have the range or performance to meet the day to day operational needs of the agency.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) hybrid and (b) electric vehicles there are in the Government car fleet. [190026]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government Car and Despatch Agency currently operates 105 hybrid vehicles but no electric vehicles. This represents 54.4 per cent. of the total car fleet.
Heathrow Airport
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of passengers using (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick airports were in transit (i) between domestic and international flights and (ii) between international flights in the last year for which figures are available. [188503]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 22 February 2008]: The following table shows percentage of passengers transferring between domestic and international flights and between international flights at Heathrow and Gatwick in 2006.
| Passengers at Heathrow and Gatwick 2006 | ||||
| Heathrow | Gatwick | |||
| Passengers (million) | Percentage of total passengers | Passengers (million) | Percentage of total passengers | |
| (1) This includes domestic to domestic transfer passengers. | ||||
Motor Vehicles: Carbon Emissions
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what target she has set for carbon dioxide emissions from road vehicles by 2020, expressed in g/km. [188893]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 25 February 2008]: We believe that 100 g/km should be achievable by 2020, or no later than 2025, at the EU level. We are pushing strongly for the recent European Commission legislative proposal on new car CO2 to be amended to reflect this.
Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government have taken to reduce levels of road tax evasion. [189146]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has in place effective processes to collect Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), making vehicle licensing requirements easier to comply with but harder to avoid.
A comprehensive package of measures is employed to combat VED evasion. This includes targeted advertising, automated penalties generated from the record, use of debt collection agencies, deployment of enforcement officers and use of automatic number plate recognition to detect and prosecute users of unlicensed vehicles. In addition, DVLA and its police and local authority enforcement partners take direct roadside enforcement action to wheel clamp and impound unlicensed vehicles.
The most recent roadside survey of VED evasion estimates that 98.5 per cent. of duty payable in 2007 was successfully collected.
Railway Stations: Sight Impaired
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government have taken to make train stations user-friendly for blind people. [190023]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Since the launch of the Railways for All Strategy in March 2006 Access for All funding has been used to support a variety of accessibility improvements that will benefit visually impaired passengers at more than 270 stations. Schemes have included improvements to public address systems, tactile paving, lighting, stair handrails and colour contrasting.
Railway Stations: West Midlands
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps the Government have taken to improve accessibility of train stations in the West Midlands. [190022]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Since the launch of the Railways for All Strategy in March 2006 Access for All funding has been used to support a variety of accessibility improvements including accessible toilets, customer information systems and hearing induction loops, at 61 stations in the West Midlands. The Department for Transport has contributed £1.2 million towards projects totalling £3.1 million.
In addition, £160 million was announced by the Department earlier this month for improvements to passenger capacity and access at Birmingham New Street Station. This is in addition to the £128 million of funding pledged by the Department last year.
Roads
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to issue a manual for streets to aid reconfiguration of existing (a) high streets and (b) other streets. [186111]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We have no immediate plans to develop a manual specifically for high streets or other roads. Although the Manual for Streets, published in March 2007, focuses on residential and other lightly trafficked roads, many of its key principles are applicable to other types of roads. We are aware of the call for it to be extended in scope and we are considering how we may do this, possibly in partnership with stakeholders.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many scheme impact evaluations she has received from local authorities for road schemes the Department for Transport has funded; and if she will (a) list them and (b) make them available on the Department’s website. [188481]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Evaluation is an integral part of the scheme development and since July 2006, the Department for Transport (DfT) requires local authorities submitting a Major Scheme Business Case to include an outline evaluation plan. We have issued guidance titled “The Evaluation of Local Authority Transport Schemes: A Guide” to local authorities conducting scheme evaluations in December 2006. The guidance is available on the DFT website at the following web link:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/ltp/major/pdfeval mailocautranpro
This provides detailed guidance for local authorities on how to plan and conduct an effective evaluation.
We do not have any evaluations for those schemes that received funding approval before July 2006 and it will be sometime before we start receiving completed evaluations for schemes receiving funding approval after July 2006.
In addition, we now expect local authorities to make available, on their own websites, scheme evaluations as they become available.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make it her policy to record centrally expenditure by local authorities on compensation paid as a result of inadequate road maintenance resulting in (a) personal injury and (b) damage to vehicles. [189100]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Highway maintenance on local roads in England is the responsibility of each local highways authority. This responsibility includes management of claims for compensation for personal injury and damage to vehicles resulting from alleged inadequate road maintenance. There are no plans to introduce central recording of those claims.
Sea Rescue: Ireland
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the (a) Republic of Ireland’s coast guard agency, (b) Irish Air Corps and (c) Irish navy have been involved in marine emergency and rescue in United Kingdom waters in the last two years; and if she will make a statement. [188458]
Jim Fitzpatrick: According to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency records, in 2006 the Republic of Ireland’s coastguard was contacted for assistance 206 times, and the Irish navy three times. In 2007 the coastguard was contacted for assistance 209 times and the Irish navy on one occasion. The Irish Air Corps was not used in either year.
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