§ David TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there will be an increase in the funds allocated to the Energy Saving Trust for the next financial year. [156199]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe funds allocated to the Energy Saving Trust for the Transport Energy programmes in England and Wales will be maintained at their 2003–04 levels in the next financial year.
§ David TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the extra money the Energy Saving Trust would require to provide Powershift grants to all qualifying applications received since the scheme was set up. [156200]
§ Mr. JamiesonPrior to 2003–4, the Powershift grant programme had been under–subscribed. In November 2003, the Trust estimated that it would overspend the Transport Energy budget for England and Wales by at least £8 million if it continued accepting new applications to the end of the financial year.
§ David TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to extend the Energy Saving Trust's(a) Powershift and (b) CleanUp schemes in the next financial year. [156201]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Transport Energy programmes administered by the Energy Saving Trust, which include the Powershift and CleanUp schemes, will continue to receive financial support for 2004–05 at the same level as provided in 2003–04. However, in response to the increase in demand for Powershift and CleanUp experienced this year, individual grants levels provided by these two schemes (in England and Wales) are being reviewed by the Energy Saving Trust following discussions with stakeholders. The Trust will announce levels and arrangements for the 2004–05 programme shortly.
§ David TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Energy Saving Trust's Powershift scheme in increasing the number of vehicles using liquid petroleum gas. [156245]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe number of LPG vehicles converted or purchased with the aid of Powershift grants since 2000–01 is as follows:
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Number of Powershift LPG vehicles1 2000–01 3,971 2001–02 4,259 2002–03 2,086 2003–04 (Forecast) 3,200 This can be compared to the growth in the total number of UK LPG vehicles since 2000.
Total Number of UK LPG Vehicles2 2000 39,000 2001 65,000 2002 89,000 2003 107,000 1Figures from the Energy Saving Trust 2Figures from the Liquid Petroleum Gas Association
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many(a) cars, (b) vans and (c) trucks have gained grants from the Powershift scheme. [157267]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe following numbers of cars, vans and trucks have gained grants from the Powershift scheme since 1997–08 (figures from the Energy Saving Trust).
Year Passenger cars 1Vans 2Trucks 1997–98 92 198 25 1998–99 285 373 39 1999–2000 685 695 26 2000–01 1,714 2,347 67 2001–02 2,260 2,382 31 2002–03 720 1,379 11 2003–043 1,638 1,410 66 Total 7,394 8,784 265 1Includes car derived vans 2Includes light trucks, refuse trucks and large commercial vehicles 3To date
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many taxis have claimed a Powershift grant. [157268]
§ Mr. JamiesonNo taxis have claimed a Powershift grant since 2000. Obtaining information for earlier years would incur disproportionate cost as it would require a manual trawl of the Energy Saving Trust's paper records. In addition, information on the number of passenger cars that received Powershift grants and were subsequently operated as taxis is not held on the Trust's record.