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14 May 2009 : Column 880W—continued
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the effect on house prices of the stamp duty land tax holiday for properties costing up to £175,000. [275236]
Ian Pearson: As a result of the holiday over 60 per cent. of UK housing is exempt from stamp duty land tax.
No estimate has been made on the effect on house prices of the stamp duty land tax holiday for properties costing up to £175,000.
Taxation: Bingo
Mr. Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the implications of the ruling by the VAT and Duties Tribunal in 2008 that the application of value added tax to bingo interval games breached the EU principle of fiscal neutrality for the application of VAT to bingo interval games. [274766]
Mr. Timms: No recent assessment has been made. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) disagreed with the decision of the Tribunal in the case in question and has appealed to the High Court. This appeal was heard in March this year. HMRC is awaiting the Court’s decision.
Transport
Rolling Stock
7. Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent estimate is of levels of requirement for new rolling stock for the railways; and if he will make a statement. [275297]
12. James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent assessment is of the level of requirement for new rolling stock for the railways; and if he will make a statement. [275303]
Paul Clark: The Government are committed to the delivery of 1,300 additional carriages on the network by 2014 to provide additional capacity in our busiest cities. The Thameslink Programme will provide up to 1,200 new carriages for services in London and the South East and the Intercity Express Programme will provide up to 1,400 new carriages for use on long distance routes across the country.
Street Works: Permit Schemes
8. Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of permit schemes for street works; and if he will make a statement. [275299]
Paul Clark: The permit scheme regulations were made on 28 November and came into force 1 April 2008. The Department is currently considering applications from Kent and from Transport for London and 13 London boroughs for permit scheme powers.
Permit scheme applications are assessed against statutory criteria and the Secretary of State cannot announce approval unless applicants have demonstrated compliance with those criteria.
We have undertaken to report to Parliament on the evaluation of the first implemented permit schemes, following their first year of operation.
Stations’ Champions
9. Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the remit of stations' champions is; and if he will make a statement. [275300]
Paul Clark: The two station champions, Sir Peter Hall and Chris Green, have been asked to advise on ways to improve stations, considering the broader role of stations in the future and the minimum levels of service and facilities that should be offered, as well as identifying improvements that can be made in the shorter term.
London-Scotland High-speed Rail Link
10. John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on proposals for a high-speed rail link between London and Scotland. [275301]
Mr. Hoon: My noble Friend the Minister of State for Transport, Lord Adonis, last met the Scottish Executive Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, and Transport Scotland officials on 24 April 2009, to discuss high speed rail.
Road Maintenance Standards
11. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role his Department has in setting standards for maintenance on local authority-maintained roads; and if he will make a statement. [275302]
Paul Clark: The maintenance of local roads in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities. It is for the local highway authority to assess which parts of the network are in need of repair, and what standards should be applied based upon their local knowledge and experience.
Speed Limits
Mr. Mackay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on proposed changes to speed limits; and if he will make a statement. [275293]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Our consultation “A Safer Way” on road safety published on 21 April, aims to reduce road deaths by a third by 2020. We make a range of proposals and there are two carefully targeted to reduce speeds:
(1) That local authorities reduce limits to 20 mph on roads of a primarily residential nature and around schools; and
(2) That highway authorities reduce limits on the more dangerous rural single carriageways from 60 mph, where the evidence supports it.
We have started receiving representations and the closing date is 14 July 2009.
A38: Cornwall
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve road safety on the A38 between Saltash and Liskeard; and if he will make a statement. [275284]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Highways Agency has undertaken seven safety improvement schemes on this length of the A38 in the last seven years, improving highway infrastructure and increasing driver awareness of the varied characteristics of this route. A further nine schemes are presently being considered for taking forward subject to funding availability.
Aerotoxic Syndrome
Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department is conducting research into a condition referred to as aerotoxic syndrome. [274679]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport is conducting research into cabin air fume events which involves capturing samples of cabin air during normal conditions and fume events and analysing them to see what substances they contain and in what concentrations. The independent Committee on Toxicity (a panel including toxicologists from various universities) completed a substantial review of evidence in September 2007 and concluded that the evidence available did not establish a link between cabin air and pilot ill health, but nor did it rule one out.
Air Routes
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department plans to restrict aircraft leased to fly UK routes to those of UK carriers; and if he will make a statement. [274298]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has no such plans.
Aviation: Redundancy
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and (b) representatives of the British Airline Pilots Association on the development of a customised redundancy package for airline pilots; and if he will make a statement; [274228]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the effects of the operation of age discrimination legislation on airline employers' selection of pilots for redundancy; and if he will make a statement. [274299]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The pilots' trade union BALPA has written to me about the impact of the current economic situation on pilots, and I have offered to meet them.
Departmental Buildings
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on building maintenance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [274564]
Mr. Hoon: The information requested is provided in the following table.
| £ | |
| Note: Above excludes: a. Contractual fixed costs at our main London HQ as the data is not recorded in the format requested. b. Spend at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency as the requested data is not separately recorded | |
All costs relate to routine repair and/or replacement of existing facilities.
Departmental Contracts
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which services his Department has outsourced in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [274443]
Mr. Hoon: The following contracts have been outsourced by the Department for Transport since April 2004.
The method of service delivery is kept under regular review with the objective of securing best value for money.
Departmental Furniture
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on furniture in 2008-09; and how much each of his Department's agencies spent on furniture in each of the last five years. [273791]
Mr. Hoon: The requested information is provided in the following table:
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