Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will detail how his Department provides support for a not-for-profit training programme for drivers in administering first aid; and how many drivers this programme has trained.
Answered by John Hayes
The Department has provided a grant payment of £70,000 to Driver First Assist for its 2016-17 programme.
Driver First Assist is a not for profit organisation training large goods vehicle drivers to provide lifesaving first aid and manage the scene at a road traffic collision prior to the arrival of the emergency services. So far the organisation has trained 738 drivers to act as first responders.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the report by the British Red Cross, entitled Are pre-hospital deaths from trauma and accidental injury preventable?, published in September 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that first aid education is included in the Government's road safety strategy.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Advice on “First aid on the road” is contained in Annex 7 of The Highway Code. Driver’s knowledge of first aid is tested as part of the driver theory test and many professional drivers take first aid training. The Department is providing support for a not-for-profit training programme for drivers in administering first aid.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been received from fines generated from vehicle clamping or instant removal for non-payment of vehicle excise duty in Northern Ireland between (a) 1 August 2013 and 31 July 2014 and (b) 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015; and what proportion of this income has been retained in or returned to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not record the revenue generated from vehicle excise duty enforcement action carried out in Northern Ireland separately to that from the rest of the UK. Therefore, the information requested is not available. The DVLA passes all revenue generated from such enforcement action to HM Treasury.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether all registered owners of a vehicle in Northern Ireland have been issued with a new V5C document with a 12 digit reference number.
Answered by Andrew Jones
No. However, since July 2014, when vehicle registration and licensing services in Northern Ireland were transferred to the DVLA in Swansea, the 12 digit reference number has been added to Vehicle Registration Certificates for Northern Ireland customers as and when they are issued.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of vehicles clamped for non-payment of motor tax in Northern Ireland between (a) 1 August 2013 and 31 July 2014 and (b) 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The table below shows the number of vehicles that have been clamped or instantly removed for non-payment of vehicle excise duty in Northern Ireland:
Date | Number of vehicles clamped or instantly removed |
1 August 2013 – 31 July 2014 | 1,522 |
1 August 2014 – 31 July 2015 | 2,502 |
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many owners of vehicles clamped for not having motor tax in Northern Ireland between 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015 appealed against that enforcement action; and how many such appeals were successful.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Between 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015 there were 52 appeals lodged by vehicle keepers in Northern Ireland against enforcement action for the non-payment of vehicle excise duty. Of these 12 were successful.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost was of the transfer of the administration of motor vehicle taxation in Northern Ireland from Coleraine to Swansea.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The centralisation of registration and licensing services to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency was delivered as part of a wider project to provide parity of services for Northern Ireland customers including electronic vehicle licensing. This has delivered £9m of savings so far and a projected saving of £12m per annum. The overall cost of this project was £22.15m. These costs cannot be broken down to separate out a specific cost for the transfer of the centralisation of motor vehicle taxation.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of passengers on flights originating in Northern Ireland who take connecting flights from other UK Airports in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The estimated numbers of passengers on flights originating in Northern Ireland who take connecting flights from other UK airports in each of the last five years are given in the table below.
Passengers originating in Northern Ireland who transfer at UK airports, 2009 - 2013
| |
Year
| Transfer passengers (000's)
|
2009
| 571
|
2010
| 506
|
2011
| 400
|
2012
| 441
|
2013
| 343
|
These figures are based on data from the CAA’s passenger surveys and reflect those airports which form part of the continuous survey (Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Manchester). These airports account for the majority of transfer passengers travelling from Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the economy of (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the UK of the cost of air fares to and from Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government has not made an assessment of the economic effects on Northern Ireland or the UK of the cost of air fares to and from Northern Ireland. However, we said in last year’s Aviation Policy Framework that the aviation sector’s economic output to the whole UK economy in 2011 was approximately £18 billion, and that it employs around 220,000 workers directly and supports many more indirectly. We recognise that airports across the UK play an important role in securing connectivity for local populations and their contribution to local, regional and national economies.