§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when the computerisation of the compliance and local bus registration systems under the auspices of the Transport Area Network was introduced; what changes there have been to the timetable for introduction and nature of this scheme; and what assessment has been made and is planned of its progress; [75618]
(2) what changes have been made to the timetable for the development and introduction of the TAN21 self service online service for road hauliers to update 21W operators' licences; what the reasons for the changes were; and what costs were incurred as a result of these changes; [75593]
(3) if he will make a statement on the research contracts relating to the TAN21 self service online service for road hauliers to update operators licences; and if he will place copies in the Library. [75617]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe TAN 21 project computerises all the key business functions of the Traffic Area Network. The compliance function was introduced in Jan 2002, 10 weeks behind schedule. Bus registration was introduced in April 2002, 20 weeks behind schedule. The self-service component is 18 months behind schedule and no changes have been made to the original plan. The self-service development was part of a fixed price contract, so the delay resulted in no extra costs. There were no research contracts for the self-service module. TAN21 has been widely welcomed by operators and will be increasingly used by them as the project develops.