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25 Feb 2010 : Column 666W—continued
These data are based on returns made by Government Departments and agencies to ONS for the reference date of 31 March 2009.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Snow and Ice
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of recent adverse weather on the delivery of car tax renewal notices to motorists; how many have been delayed; and what the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's policy is on this matter. [318746]
Paul Clark:
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's policy is to send out vehicle tax renewal reminders around three weeks before the existing tax disc expires.
This gives customers, plenty of time to get a new tax disc. The agency's online and telephone based tax disc services are available 24 hours a day to ensure that customers need never miss the deadline for taking action.
Renewal reminder notices are sent as a courtesy. The registered keeper of a vehicle is responsible for ensuring it is correctly licensed, even if a renewal reminder is not received. Our assessment is that there is no evidence that reminders were unduly delayed during recent bad weather and that 3 million motorists licensed their vehicles during January.
Electric Vehicles
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what research (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have commissioned on the reliability of electronic systems fitted in vehicles in the last five years. [318756]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport or its agencies has not commissioned any specific research to look at the reliability of vehicles' electronic systems. However, under harmonised European construction rules electronic vehicle systems such as braking and steering are assessed for potential failures and any effect they may have on the safe operation of the vehicle.
Government Car and Despatch Agency: Internet
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport for what reasons the Government Car and Despatch Agency has no contact details on its website. [318343]
Paul Clark: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) publishes its contact details on its website:
Within the 'Contact Us' section, telephone numbers for GCDA departments are shown.
E-mail addresses and contact telephone numbers are shown at the end of each of the GCDA product/service pages.
Motor Vehicles: Safety
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) on what date the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency was informed by Toyota of the possibility of the need to recall certain models of the Prius motor car; and if he will make a statement; [318755]
(2) what discussions he has had with representatives of the Toyota Motor Company on reported faults with the Prius model; and if he will make a statement. [318759]
Paul Clark: On 1 February 2010, the Vehicle Safety Branch (VSB) of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) held a meeting with Toyota GB to discuss the Toyota accelerator pedal matter.
The Vehicle Standard Branch raised at the same time the issue concerning the braking system fitted to the Toyota Prius. Toyota GB advised that its parent company was conducting an investigation and agreed to keep VSB informed.
Toyota GB believed this to be a brake pedal issue during brake application and the intervention of the ABS on low friction road surfaces rather than a safety defect. The Vehicle Standard Branch engineers conducted extensive tests and concluded that there was no safety defect.
On 9 February 2010 Toyota GB informed VSB of their intention to treat this matter as a recall. Keepers of 8,500 Prius vehicles in the UK will be contacted to submit their vehicle to a dealer who will re-programme the Anti Lock Braking System software. Toyota GB informed VSB that as of 22 February 2010, 1,258 vehicles have been fixed.
Motor Vehicles: Testing
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many vehicles failed an MOT test for incorrectly adjusted headlamps in the last five years. [318757]
Paul Clark: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) does not record this specific information and to find this information would result in disproportionate cost being incurred.
VOSA publishes MOT failures by categories in its Effectiveness Report. Incorrectly adjusted headlamps would be recorded within the Lighting and Signalling category along with other related failures. Figures for the last three years are listed in the table.
Official Cars
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2010, Official Report, column 420W, on official cars, how many such cars were available for (a) Ministers and (b) senior civil servants in 1997-98; and what the annual cost was of providing the service in that year. [318194]
Paul Clark: The Government Car and Despatch Agency holds no historical information for that period and this could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Railways: Fines
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport to what use fines received from train operating companies as a result of franchise breaches are put. [318676]
Chris Mole: No fines have been imposed on train operating companies since the Department for Transport assumed responsibility for rail franchising, as the Government have instead sought appropriate passenger benefits from the train operator concerned, at a financial cost to the operator.
Prime Minister
2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Prime Minister how many staff of his Office attended the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. [318778]
Official Residences
Mr. Maude: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2010, Official Report, column 1070W, on official residences, on what date the squatters who occupied the property at the beginning of December 2009 left the ministerial residence of South Eaton Place; whether the police or courts were used to secure occupation; and what steps have been taken to secure the property in future. [318301]
Angela E. Smith: I have been asked to reply.
Following a court order the persons illegally occupying South Eaton Place vacated it on 13 December 2009. The property is for sale.
Olympics
Departmental Disabled Staff
Mr. Harper: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many and what proportion of staff in the Government Olympic Executive are disabled; and what the average salary in the Government Olympic Executive is of (a) full-time disabled staff, (b) full-time non-disabled staff, (c) part-time disabled staff and (d) part-time non-disabled staff. [317903]
Tessa Jowell: The Government Olympic Executive (GOE) reports to me through the permanent secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). GOE will be included within the answer provided by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at DCMS.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much her office has spent on entertainment in each of the last five years. [318472]
Tessa Jowell: My office has been in existence since June 2007. In the reporting year 2007-08 £1,215 was spent on entertainment, in the reporting year 2008-09 £717.05 was spent. Figures for 2009-10 will not be available until the end of the reporting year.
Olympic Games: Canada
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many staff of the Government Olympic Executive attended the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver; and whether she attended. [318779]
Tessa Jowell: Four members of the Government Olympic Executive have attended the 2010 Winter Olympics. It is planned that a further four officials will attend the Paralympics. They are participating in the observer programmes which run throughout the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
I attended the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games from 10 to 18 February, with my private secretary, a press officer and a special adviser. This provided an invaluable opportunity to study at first-hand Vancouver's experience in staging an Olympic Games and to learn lessons for London 2012.
Overseas Aid: Expenditure
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much was spent on humanitarian assistance programmes in each of the last five years. [318624]
Tessa Jowell: The role of my Humanitarian Assistance Unit is to:
ensure that the needs of British people affected by major emergencies are acted on within Government in building preparedness for and responding to major emergencies; and
act as an advocate for victims and their families within Government and beyond.
Expenditure on humanitarian assistance programmes in each of the last five years is as follows:
| £ | |
In addition, the Government provided:
£1 million to the British Red Cross in 2006-07 to set up the Relief Fund for Victims of Terrorism; and
£1 million to the Royal Parks for the 7 July memorial in Hyde Park.
Energy and Climate Change
Warm Front Scheme: Eaga
18. Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will review the effectiveness of the role of Eaga in the allocation of grants under the Warm Front scheme. [318559]
Mr. Kidney:
All applications to Warm Front will be considered by the scheme manager, Eaga, in accordance with the regulations which govern the scheme. The assistance provided to qualifying households will depend on their circumstances and the range of measures available. Work is allocated to those installers appointed under
the scheme to work in the local area. The Department has an independent quality assurance contract in place to verify the work of the scheme manager.
Gas Storage
20. Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much additional gas storage capacity he expects to be available in the UK by 2012; and if he will make a statement. [318561]
22. Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much additional gas storage capacity he expects to become available in the UK by 2012. [318564]
Mr. Kidney: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change gave to the hon. Member for Bracknell (Mr. Mackay) earlier today.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
21. Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many miners' claims relating to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease remain to be settled; and when he expects the compensation scheme to end. [318562]
Mr. Kidney: The Department has settled over 590,000 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claims to date. A further 1,762 claims remain to be settled of which less than 270 have yet to receive an offer. The Department aims to settle these claims by end of December 2010, although some claims involve protected parties and may take longer to resolve.
Carbon Capture and Storage
Mr. Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to secure progress in the post-competitive phase of the carbon capture and storage programme. [318542]
Edward Miliband: I expect to announce shortly which consortia will be selected following detailed scrutiny to undertake the tens of millions of pounds-worth of work for the front-end engineering and design for the first CCS demonstration project, the necessary work prior to construction. Later this year, we will also open the competition for the three other projects, to be funded under the CCS Incentive. The latter is, of course, dependent on the successful passage of the Energy Bill.
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