Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 7 May 2009
Church Commissioners
Religious Broadcasting
9. Robert Key: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners whether the Church of England has made recent representations to broadcasters on trends in levels of religious broadcasting. [273158]
Sir Stuart Bell: The Church of England is in regular contact with broadcasters, and the BBC in particular, and seeks to help them retain and develop religious broadcasting. The Bishop of Manchester wrote on the Church's behalf to the Director General of the BBC about recent changes in the Religion and Ethics department and I understand he has received an encouraging response.
Carbon Footprint
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what steps the Church Commissioners are taking to reduce the carbon footprint of their activities. [273154]
Mr. Gibb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what steps the Church Commissioners are taking to reduce the carbon footprint of their activities. [273275]
Sir Stuart Bell: In the last two years the Commissioners have increased from seven to 24 the number of fuel-efficient hybrid-power cars provided to bishops. They also share in the energy-efficiency measures in place at Church House, Westminster including the use of lower-energy heating and lighting systems, and recycling facilities. They are also improving their approach to sustainability in land management.
Church Commissioners: Finance
John Robertson: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what effect the financial situation has had on the investment policy adopted by the Church Commissioners. [273152]
Sir Stuart Bell: The Commissioners continue to diversify their portfolio and allocate more capital internationally but the financial situation has not caused them to change their overall policy of holding the majority of their assets in equities and property.
The financial situation to which my hon. Friend refers is a moving target, however, and I assure him that they keep it under constant review.
Church of England: Finance
Mr. Gibb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what proportion of the Church of England's running costs in each of the last three years was met by the Church Commissioners. [273479]
Sir Stuart Bell: Around one sixth.
Lambeth Palace
Mr. Gibb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what the cost of (a) running and (b) maintaining Lambeth Palace was in each of the last three years. [273478]
Sir Stuart Bell: The Commissioners' policy is not to make public the running and maintenance costs of individual bishops' residences.
Electoral Commission Committee
Electoral Registration
8. Mr. Hollobone: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission what the Electoral Commission’s most recent estimate is of (a) the number of non-British EU citizens who are registered to vote in the United Kingdom and (b) the number of non-British EU citizens who are wrongly registered to vote as British citizens. [273157]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 961,681 non-British EU citizens were registered to vote in the United Kingdom as of 1 December 2008. This figure does not include EU citizens from the Republic of Ireland, Malta or Cyprus.
The Commission further informs me that no estimate has been made of the number of non-British EU citizens who are wrongly registered to vote as British citizens. All applicants are required to state their nationality on the registration form and electoral registration officers can request evidence as to nationality.
Fraud
Bob Spink: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the likelihood of fraud in the 2009 European Parliament elections. [273153]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has issued detailed guidance to police and returning officers, jointly with the Association of Chief Police Officers, on assessing the risk of electoral malpractice at elections.
It is the operational responsibility of returning officers and the police to assess the risk of electoral malpractice at specific elections, including the 2009 European parliamentary elections.
Transport
Driving Tests: Motorcycles
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many sites were available to run module one of the new motorcycle test on 27 April 2009 of each type in each region. [272771]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table provides the information on operational sites for the new module one motorcycling test on 27 April.
| Operational multi purpose test centres | VOSA sites (weekend) | Casual hire sites | |
Driving: Elderly
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatal road traffic accidents were caused by drivers aged (a) 70 to 79, (b) 80 to 89 and (c) over 89 years old in each of the last 10 years. [273573]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 22 January 2009, Official Report, column 1575W.
Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to amend regulations for vehicle excise duty (VED) refund applications to prevent VED refund claims being made by a vehicle seller before the new registered keeper’s details have been updated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. [273258]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The 2008 Finance Act introduced changes to ensure that refunds of vehicle excise duty (VED) are available only in specific circumstances. As these changes only came into effect on 1 January 2009, no further changes are currently planned.
Motor Vehicles: Registration
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what reports he has received of allegations of the fraudulent use of V5C forms with serial numbers between (a) BG8229501 and BG9999030 and (b) BI2305501 and BI2800000; [272465]
(2) how many V5C forms with serial numbers between (a) BG8229501 and BG9999030 and (b) BI2305501 and BI2800000 have been misplaced by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency or its contractors. [272466]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 5 May 2009]: The precise circumstances surrounding the theft of vehicle registration certificates (V5C) falling within the serial number ranges quoted are the subject of an ongoing police investigation.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is aware of 1,163 V5C documents within this range that have been stolen and used fraudulently.
DVLA took practical steps to alert the public to the situation, issuing a series of national press releases leading to advice appearing in various national publications.
Railways: South East
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail services Southeastern Railway has cancelled in the last 12 months. [273205]
Paul Clark: In the year to 31 March 2009, London and South Eastern Railway cancelled 7,326 trains. This is 1.2 per cent. of the number of trains that they planned to operate.
Roads: Safety
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents involving Trief kerbs have been recorded in the last 12 months. [273520]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not collected.
Roads: South West
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of central Government funding for road improvements in each local authority area in the South West region. [272528]
Paul Clark: Local major schemes, including road improvements, costing over £5 million need to be identified by the respective region for funding within its regional funding allocation. This funding is based on a formula which reflects the population of the specific region.
In addition to funds for specific major schemes, the Department for Transport also allocates integrated transport block and highways maintenance funding to local transport authorities for general capital investment in transport for schemes costing under £5 million. This funding is not ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities.
Speed Limits: Safety
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on road safety of a reduction of the 60mph speed limit to 50mph. [273200]
Jim Fitzpatrick: On 21 April, the Department for Transport published a consultation paper, ‘A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain's Roads the Safest in the World’.
This paper highlighted the high casualty rates on rural roads, which carry 40 per cent. of traffic, but account for 62 per cent. of road deaths. Of particular concern are rural single carriageways. In the document we propose to publish stronger guidance on these roads and to provide information annually to highway authorities about the most dangerous roads. It will be for individual highway authorities to consider reducing speed limits.
The consultation proposals and background research can be found at:
Transport: Local Government
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to assess the transport infrastructure needs of local authorities with Growth Point status; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure sufficient funding is provided to meet those needs. [272530]
Paul Clark: In 2008, Department for Transport officials collaborated with colleagues in Communities and Local Government and regional Government Offices to set up an information management structure for the infrastructure requirements of new growth points and growth areas. That structure is now in place and provides the framework for the Department's continuing efforts to understand and offer assistance to overcome the transport challenges faced by growth point authorities. The Department has recognised the importance of streamlining mainstream funding with the needs of housing growth, and encouraging regions to do the same: up to 2014, most of the schemes in the national roads programme and over half of the regional funding allocation pot go some way towards supporting housing growth. In addition, the Department has sought to maximise the capacity of the community infrastructure fund, which is dedicated to supporting housing growth.
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency: Expenditure
Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much of the funding for 2008 for Vehicle and Operator Services Agency testing services announced on 30 July 2008 the Agency spent in 2008. [273014]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The funding announced on 30 July relates to the provision of loan funding from the Department for Transport, which is to be repaid with interest. A loan of £20 million has been received which has been spent in the 2008-09 financial year.
Justice
Administration of Justice
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress has been made on national implementation of his Department's Simple Speedy Summary Justice programme. [272994]
Bridget Prentice: Following the publication of Delivering Simple Speedy Summary Justice in July 2006, the Criminal Justice Simple, Speedy, Summary programme was implemented in all magistrates court across England and Wales by March 2008. Since implementation the estimated average time from charge to disposal in the magistrates courts for adult charged cases (excluding committals) has dropped from 61 days in the year to March 2007 to 48 days in December 2008 and the average number of hearings has reduced by around 20 per cent. Following the success of this project, Her Majesty's Courts Service has now implemented a similar programme for youth cases where the estimated average time from charge to disposal for youth cases has dropped from 52 to 40 days (over the same time period).
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