Tag: Lord Bradshaw

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2014-04-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 27 March (WA 141), what steps they will take to ensure that legal aid resources are spent in the most equitable way and are not concentrated on fewer high-profile defendants.

Lord Newby

In the vast majority of cases, legal aid fees are based solely on factors such as the type of alleged offence, the length of trial and the amount of paperwork involved. They are not increased just because a defendant is “high-profile”. We plan to reduce these fees in 2015, subject to consideration of a number of reviews currently taking place. In addition, a very small number of the longest cases (Very High Cost Cases) are paid based on the work required and the substance of the case. These cases account for approximately 0.1% of criminal cases, but 7.5% of the legal aid spend. The Government is committed to controlling the cost of these cases, and has recently introduced a 30% cut in fees.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2014-04-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that library facilities in prisons, including the availability and ordering of books, are fit for purpose.

Lord Faulks

Prison library services are, in the majority of prisons, provided by Public Library Authorities. Prison libraries enable prisoners to receive, subject to the constraints of operating within a custodial environment, a service equivalent to that provided for library users in the community.

We consider them to be fit for purpose.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2014-04-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of road vehicles in Great Britain are fitted with efficient particulate filters; and what assessment they have made of the potential benefit from fitting such devices.

Baroness Kramer

We have no firm information, but our best current estimate is that about seventeen percent of cars currently in use are fitted with wall-flow diesel particulate filters. We have made no estimate of the proportion of lorries, buses, and coaches that are fitted with diesel particulate filters. Reduction in airborne particulate has clear public health benefits. Some 29,000 premature deaths are estimated to occur each year as a result of airborne particulate, and poor air quality has health costs estimated at £15 billion annually for the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2014-04-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether particulate filters fitted to road vehicles are subject to testing to ensure that those devices remain in good working order.

Baroness Kramer

The annual roadworthiness tests include a test for diesel smoke, using an opacimeter, which is intended to detect a diesel particulate filter that has suffered a mechanical failure or which has been removed from a vehicle. The Department has amended the MoT testers’ manual so as to include a visual check to confirm that a diesel particulate filter is present where one was fitted as standard by the vehicle manufacturer. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-rules-for-mot-to-test-for-diesel-particulate-filter

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2014-04-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have as to whether the origin or formulation of the diesel oil used has any bearing on the amount of particulates which are trapped in particulate filters fitted to road vehicles.

Baroness Kramer

The formulation of diesel fuel can have an effect upon the amount of particulate matter formed during combustion. There is evidence, for instance that biodiesel blends produce slightly less particulate matter, in general, than do pure petroleum-based diesel fuels. We would not, however, expect the differences in rates of particulate formation between fuels meeting the statutory requirements of the Motor Fuels (Composition and Content) Regulations, and meeting the EN 590 industry standard to affect the operation of diesel particulate filters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2014-04-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether lower quality fuel used in road vehicles has any impact on air quality.

Baroness Kramer

We have made no specific assessment of the impact of low quality fuels since all fuel supplied for road vehicles has to comply with the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations, and these requirements are set in order to reduce the environmental impacts of vehicles.

In practice, all producers supply fuel that also meets the EN 590 (Diesel) or EN 228 (Petrol) industry standards. The Composition and Content Regulations, and the standards, have been revised over time, most notably to remove lead from petrol and to ensure that all road fuel is effectively sulphur-free. There should be little difference between the air quality emissions from vehicles running on fuels that meet the statutory and industry standards.