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10 Sep 2008 : Column 2004W—continued
Heathrow Airport: Public Participation
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make it her policy to publish all the responses to the consultation Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport at the same time as the Government's official response. [223307]
Jim Fitzpatrick: When decisions are announced on the future of Heathrow we will publish a summary of the consultation responses and place a copy in the Library. All responses will also be made available for inspection at the same time unless confidentially has been specifically requested.
Heavy Goods Vehicles
Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many weigh in motion sensors have been deployed; and what plans there are for further deployments. [223386]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) currently has four sites where weigh in motion sensors (WIMS) have been deployed. There are currently a further five sites in the process of having WIMS installed. In addition to this VOSA is currently planning another further site.
M25: Lighting
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effects of overhead lighting on road safety on the M25; and if she will make a statement. [223424]
Ms Rosie Winterton: When the M25 was originally constructed each section was assessed in accordance with the policy at that time and overhead lighting was implemented where it could be demonstrated to offer a cost effective safety feature.
As sections of M25 are widened an assessment is made in accordance with current Highways Agency standards. New lighting may be installed if the detailed analysis indicates a high number of night time accidents. Current Agency standards assume that the introduction of overhead lighting should result in a reduction of night time accidents in the order of 10 per cent. A recent example of the installation of lighting is the widening of the M25 between junctions 1b and 3 which followed the assessment process in the standard at that time. Other recent assessments have been carried out for the proposed widening schemes on the M25 16-23 and 27-30.
Audits are carried out 12 months after the installation of lighting and again after 36 months to review accident data and compare them against the data that supported the introduction of the scheme.
Motor Vehicles: Licensing
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were issued penalties due to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency not receiving a vehicle disposal notice in the last 12 months. [223272]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency issued 49,952 penalties to people who did not notify vehicle disposal in the last 12 months.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average cost of issuing a notification to individuals when the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency had not received a disposal notice was in the last five years. [223275]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is not held in the form requested.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many recorded instances there have been of individuals not receiving an acknowledgement letter in regards to a vehicle disposal notification when the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received the notification in each of the last five years. [223276]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is not held in the form requested.
Olympic Games 2012: Transport
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to publish her Department's further work on the Government's proposals regarding the challenges to be addressed in the 2012 transport plan. [223306]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement that was laid before this House on 1 July 2008, Official Report, column 50WS.
Parking: Disabled
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people had a Blue Badge disabled driver’s permit in each year from 2002. [223094]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of Blue Badges on issue in England, to the nearest 1,000, in the years from 2002 were as follows:
| Number | |
Public Transport: Access
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking on access to public transport for parents and carers of infants and young children in prams; and if she will make a statement. [223137]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Many parents and carers with infants or young children now find it much easier to use public transport. This is largely due to the accessibility improvements introduced by the Department to help people with disabilities.
The introduction, for example, of the new generation of low floor buses has improved access not only to wheelchair users, but also to people with other mobility difficulties, people with small children in buggies, and people carrying heavy shopping or luggage.
However, the provision of public transport—in particular local bus services—is a matter for commercial bus operators and local authorities. Commercial operators have the freedom to decide on their operational systems and practices. For commercial operators, addressing these and other concerns are key factors to their potential for increased patronage and revenue.
Roads: Stonehenge
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she plans to take to ensure that roads around Stonehenge are both adequate to deal with the level of visitor traffic and appropriate for the special nature of the location. [223254]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The performance of roads around Stonehenge is being considered as part of the review of the World Heritage Site Management Plan and consideration of alternative options for new visitor facilities currently being carried out by English Heritage. A Public Consultation is currently underway which will help to inform our decisions on the way forward.
Rolling Stock
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what railway rolling stock was off-lease as of 15 July 2008. [223256]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport does not maintain records of off-lease vehicles as this is a matter for the Rolling Stock Companies. However, indications are that there is a very little usable rolling stock which is not either already on lease or due to come back on lease in the coming months.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2008, Official Report, column 8W, on rolling stock, how many train operating companies have had discussions with her Department on the provision of additional rolling stock since 2005. [223257]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport has had discussions since 2005 with all train operating companies. Those discussions typically cover a wide range of issues and it is likely that all operators will have raised existing and proposed rolling stock provision on one or more occasions.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to change her Department's role in rolling stock procurement; and if she will make a statement. [223308]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We expect that train operators will continue to take the lead in procuring new rolling stock in most cases. This includes the 1,300 new carriages promised in the rail White Paper.
Exceptions will be the Intercity Express and Thameslink programmes, both of which are major strategic projects which have necessitated the Department for Transport taking the lead. The industry, and train operators and Network Rail in particular, will nevertheless continue to be closely involved.
Sea Rescue: Hope Cove
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reasons were for refusing permission for the Hope Cove inshore lifeboat to launch in response to the recent incident which involved two teenagers in difficulty in the sea. [223444]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The decision to remove the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) general purpose boat at Hope Cove from the water was taken before the incident in question and was made on the strength of the information collated from recent surveys of the boat, which highlighted concerns about the state of its hull and interior space, At the time of the incident concerned, the crew of the MCA’s Hope Cove general purpose boat crew took the decision to launch the boat, before they had managed to establish contact with Brixham Coastguard.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been assisted by the Hope Cove inshore lifeboat since 2000; how many boats have been towed by the lifeboat in that period; how many animals have been rescued by the lifeboat in that period; and how many times the boat has been launched in that period. [223445]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The incident data involving the Hope Cove general purpose boat from 2004 to present day is detailed as follows:
| People rescued | People assisted | Boats towed | Animals rescued | Total callouts | |
The MCA changed the basis on which it collects incident information in 2004, when work began on setting up a more robust statistical database. Officials are currently interrogating the older data sets from a pre-2004 database and I will write to the hon. Member with this further information as soon as it is available.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with the Chief Coastguard and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the (a) role and (b) operational area of the Hope Cove inshore lifeboat. [223446]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Ministers have regular discussions with the chief executive and other senior managers from the MCA about all aspects of the Agency’s business.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the responsibilities and duties of the Hope Cove inshore lifeboat were until 2007; what they are now; and for what reasons they have been changed. [223447]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The MCA’s Hope Cove general purpose boat was introduced in 1993 to provide a search and rescue asset covering Hope Cove and neighbouring Bigbury Bay areas. The role of the boat was to support first line assets in a waterborne rescue capacity. However, since the Salcombe RNLI lifeboat was installed in 2003, that role has changed. The Salcombe lifeboat operates extensively in the Hope Cove and Bigbury Bay areas and the need for the Hope Cove boat to fulfil a rescue support role has subsequently diminished. This is especially true now that the RNLI have upgraded their boat at Bantham to carry out rescues in the Hope Cove area. The Bantham boat is capable of reaching Hope Cove in less time (under six minutes) than the MCA’s general purpose boat.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Appeals
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions his Department has instructed the Treasury Solicitor to seek leave to appeal to the House of Lords from (a) the Court of Appeal and (b) the House of Lords itself in each of the last 10 years; and on how many occasions the application was rejected. [220823]
Paul Goggins: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which organisations have received (a) free and (b) discounted room hire from (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in each of the last five years; and what the commercial value of the discount was in each case. [221587]
Mr. Woodward: The information requested is not held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Computers
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of (a) the number of computer devices left on overnight in his Department when not in use and (b) the cost of leaving computer devices on overnight when not in use in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [217874]
Paul Goggins:
All Northern Ireland Office staff have been issued with guidance on shutdown procedures for personal computers when they are not in use. From figures that are held we estimate that an average of 280 are left on at night. The cost analysis requested has not been completed. This work is, however, within the scope
of the green issues which will be incorporated in the ICT strategy update and green IT action plan to follow in September.
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