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Railtrack (Oasis Concert)
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will instruct the health and safety inspectorate to investigate the safety implications of Railtrack's decision in respect of the running of trains through Stevenage station during the weekend of the Oasis concert at Knebworth; and if he will make a statement. [40349]
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Mr. Watts: The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate is already investigating incidents which occurred at Stevenage railway station on 10 and 11 August 1996. The investigation will consider, among other issues, whether there have been any breaches of relevant legislation.
Office of Passenger Rail Franchising
Mr. Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by how much the grant to the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising has changed since the figure published in the Government's expenditure plans for transport in March 1996. [39933]
Mr. Watts: Parliament voted the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising £1,651,588k in the supply estimates for class V, vote 7 passenger rail services which is the figure set out in table 1 of the transport report. Any changes in funding will be through the normal parliamentary supply procedures.
Road and Rail Freight
Mr. Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has undertaken to estimate the comparative environmental cost of transporting freight by (a) road and (b) rail. [39950]
Mr. Watts: As part of the Government's commitment to ensuring that transport users pay their full costs, the Department is at the forefront of research trying to place monetary values on the environmental impact of transport. The economics of environmental valuation is still in its infancy and the complexities involved mean that it is not yet possible to derive robust values. However, the Department does take into account the environmental impacts of policies and projects. The Department makes use of freight facilities grants and track access grants to encourage the transport of freight by rail rather than road, which amongst other things recognises the environmental benefits of rail versus road in particular circumstances.
European Airlines
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he collects regarding European airlines with special reference to the percentage share of slots each airline has at its principal base or hub. [40155]
Mr. Bowis: None. This is a matter for the slot co-ordinator at each of the airports concerned.
Driving Test
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that theory test venues are within a readily accessible distance from driving test centres; [40262]
- (2) what criteria his Department uses to determine whether a driving test centre has its own theory test venue. [40263]
Mr. Bowis: Theory test centres have been located balancing costs, travelling distances for candidates and the frequency of test sessions.
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Tests are available:
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations his Department has received concerning the establishment of a venue in Huddersfield for the theory test element of the driving test. [40201]
Mr. Bowis:
We have received two letters on this issue, one from my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Riddick) and one from a member of the public.
Mr. David Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of aircraft passengers' hold baggage is not screened by security at (a) Gatwick airport, (b) Heathrow airport and (c) Stansted airport. [39932]
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the implications for environmental protection policy for coastal waters of the decision of the Court of Session, announced on 16 September, on compensation claims made by Shetland islanders for oil pollution contamination arising from the Braer tanker accident of January 1993. [40393]
Mr Bowis:
No decision was announced by the Court of Session on 16 September in relation to compensation claims arising out of the Braer incident.
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what environmental benefits he expects to accrue from the coming into force of Statutory Instrument No. 1946, the Harbour Works (Assessment of Environmental Effects) (Amendment) Regulations 1996. [40476]
Mr. Bowis:
These regulations simply clarify the existing procedures following discussions with the European Commission.
Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in how many fatal motor accidents in each of the last three years the driver responsible has been found to have between 50mg and 80mg of alcohol in his blood. [40297]
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Mr. Bowis:
The numbers of vehicle drivers and riders killed, and found to have from 50mg to 80mg of alcohol in their blood are as follows for the three most recent years for which statistics are available: 32 in 1992, 23 in 1993 and 25 in 1994.
Statistics for blood alcohol levels are available only for fatal casualties and hence no data is available for fatal accidents in which the driver or rider was not killed. No information is available relating to whether the deceased driver was responsible for the accident.
Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cases of vehicle tax evasion were detected in the last three years; and how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions resulted. [40295]
Mr. Bowis:
The number of vehicle excise duty offence reports received by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in the last three years was 5.2 million. These led to 657,000 evaders being successfully prosecuted, with a further 753,000 paying penalties out of court. Many of the remaining reports were duplication for the same vehicle. In other cases, it turned out that an offence had not been committed, or that enforcement action had encouraged relicensing, making any further action unnecessary.
Mr. Callaghan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he intends to take to prevent adult cyclists from riding their bicycles on pavements in central London. [39957]
Mr. Bowis:
It is an offence to cycle on the footway--the pavement adjacent to the carriageway--in London. As elsewhere in the country, enforcement in London is a matter for the Metropolitan police.
Mr. Callaghan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money is allocated in the current financial year to improving safety standards on the London Underground. [39960]
Mr. Bowis:
Decisions on investment priorities are a matter for London Underground Ltd. It is impossible to estimate how much money is spent each year on improving safety standards because very many projects include some element of safety-related work.
Mr. Callaghan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his plans to relieve current levels of congestion on London Underground. [39963]
Mr. Bowis:
London Underground has in hand a range of measures which will help to relieve congestion, including increases in train frequencies and station improvements. Implementation of these plans is an operational matter for London Underground. Longer term improvements will come from major investments in new lines when current projects such as the Jubilee line extension and the Heathrow progress are completed.
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Ms Abbott:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many women from ethnic minorities are employed by his Department and its agencies; at what grade; and what measures he has taken to encourage the (a) recruitment, (b) employment and (c) promotion of women from ethnic minorities within his Department and its agencies. [39905]
While it is desirable that theory test centres are readily accessible by public transport, the quality of test routes is important for driving test centres. Therefore, we have no policy of co-locating theory test centres with driving test centres, although population centres often have both.
within five miles in districts (usually town or cities) with a population density of greater than equal to 1,250 persons per square kilometre;
within 40 miles in sparsely populated districts with a population density of less than 100 persons per square kilometre;
within 20 miles in other districts where the population density lies between these limits.
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