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28 Oct 2009 : Column 363W—continued
Biofuels
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to paragraph 4.150 of the UK Renewable Energy Strategy 2009, what assessment he has made of (a) increases in commodity prices and (b) effects on food security consequent upon using food crops for fuel. [295778]
Mr. Khan: The Government are assessing the combination of factors associated with the global food commodity price spike in 2008, and intends to publish the results early in 2010 as part of a food strategy package.
The relationship between biofuels and international food security is also being assessed through research focused on how to increase food production and access in an environmentally sustainable way, which will inform next year's food strategy package; and longer term through the Government's Foresight project on global food and farming futures, which is due to produce its final report in October 2010.
The EU Renewable Energy Directive requires the European Commission to monitor impacts of this policy on commodity prices and food security and the Commission shall, if appropriate, propose corrective action. The UK Government will continue to contribute to the EU policy debate. In addition, the UK is working in the Global Bioenergy Partnership to help develop voluntary sustainability criteria and indicators for bioenergy and biofuels, including for potential impacts on food security.
Bournemouth Airport: Roads
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether the Highways Agency has plans for the construction of a new road linking Bournemouth Airport and the A338. [295684]
Mr. Khan: The A338 is not a Highways Agency trunk road. The Highways Agency have no plans to construct a new road linking to it.
Furthermore, the South West region has not identified such a link as a regional priority within its regional funding allocation advice to Government.
Departmental Motor Vehicles
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department spent on hire vehicles in each of the last five financial years. [291608]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport and its Executive Agencies spend on vehicle hire is set out in the following table:
| £ | |||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Driving Offences: Speed Limits
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many vehicles identified by (a) mobile and (b) static speed cameras as driving in excess of the speed limit were not pursued for prosecution purposes because the licence plates indicated that they were not UK-registered in the most recent year for which figures are available. [295577]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 26 October 2009]: I have been asked to reply.
Information available on the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on offences involving vehicles does not identify those cases that are not pursued for prosecution.
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what his policy is in respect of the (a) identification by (i) mobile and (ii) static speed cameras and (b) prosecution of motorists driving vehicles in excess of the speed limit where the vehicles in question are non-UK registered. [295578]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 26 October 2009]: I have been asked to reply.
Foreign drivers are subject to the provisions of the Road Traffic Acts at all times when driving on British roads. They are therefore liable to prosecution for contravention of the legislation. It is for individual chief officers of police to decide what action should be taken against foreign drivers detected speeding by mobile or static speed cameras.
We have taken a number of measures to improve enforcement action against the drivers of non UK registered vehicles. These include a provision in the Road Safety Act 2006 which will allow the exchange of driver licensing and vehicle registration information with other countries.
Further help will be provided by the European Framework Decision on the Mutual Recognition of Financial Penalties, which will allow penalties imposed by courts in one member state to be enforced in another and by the International Convention on the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications. The growing use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras, is also helping enforcement against foreign offenders detected speeding and jumping red lights, since a person who succeeds in leaving the country without being dealt with for such an offence can have their vehicle's number-plate recorded on a database and so be detected and dealt with on return here.
Driving Offences: Working Hours
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many drivers' hours offences were detected in respect of (a) UK-registered and (b) overseas registered drivers in each year since 1997. [295009]
Paul Clark: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) do not record the nationality of drivers, the following table sets out the number of drivers' hours offences from the drivers of foreign registered vehicles by type since 2003-04 when VOSA was formed.
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