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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 12 December 1996
TRANSPORT
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Roy Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the (a) capital value and (b) expected start date of each of the private finance initiative schemes relating to transport which are summarised in table 5.5 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1997-98" and which are expected to start in the period 1997-98 to 1999-2000. [8627]
Mr. Watts [holding answer 11 December 1996]: The information is as follows:
| Estimated capital value (£ million) | |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Northern Relief Road | 300 |
| CAA New Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre | (1)200 |
| DBFO road schemes | 350 |
| London Transport Communications | 150-200 |
(1) Subject to review.
Timing is subject to progress with negotiations and with approvals procedures, but most of these schemes are expected to start in 1997-98.
Mr. Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the estimated forward financial commitments for each signed PFI contract agreed by his Department or one of its agencies as summarised in table 5.6 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1997-98". [8620]
Mr. Watts
[holding answer 11 December 1996]: Details of individual contracts are commercially sensitive, but we estimate the average annual costs over the next three years to be around £100 million for signed design, build, finance and operate road contracts and a further £100 million for other agreed transport PFI schemes.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to conduct the next general review of the trunk road network. [9013]
Mr. Watts:
We have no plans at present for a further general review of the trunk road network.
Sir Robert Hicks:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications his Department has received (a) nationally and (b) from Devon and Cornwall for compensation from regular exporters of fish and fish products as a consequence of the recent French lorry drivers' dispute; and if he will make a statement. [8692]
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Mr. Watts:
We have had two inquiries on behalf of fishing interests, neither specific to Devon or Cornwall, about eligibility for claiming compensation and the procedure. I am not aware of any claims having yet been submitted to the French authorities.
Sir Robert Hicks:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the criteria governing eligibility for compensation for exporters on a regular basis of United Kingdom products to the European Union following the recent lorry drivers' dispute in France; and if he will make a statement. [8708]
Mr. Watts:
Any business which can demonstrate, with hard supporting evidence, that it has suffered financial loss as a direct result of the dispute is at liberty to submit a claim for compensation to the French authorities for their consideration. We shall publish shortly details of the arrangements for making claims.
Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the current objectives of the road and vehicle safety directorate. [8328]
Mr. Bowis:
The road and vehicle safety directorate contributes to my right hon. Friend's objectives set out in the "Transport Report 1966" and, in particular, to promoting transport safety by seeking to reduce the number of road accidents in which people are killed and injured and to reducing the adverse impact of transport on the environment through tighter vehicle standards and other measures.
Sir Roger Moate:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road fatalities arising from the loss of road wheels from heavy commercial vehicles occurred in each of the last five years; how many wheel loss incidents there were; what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into this matter; what assessment he has made of the advantages of safety wheel nuts in reducing accidents; and if he will make a statement. [8706]
Mr. Bowis:
It is estimated that each year there are approximately five to six fatal road accidents involving heavy goods vehicles in which wheel detachment occurs. As data on the causation of accidents are not routinely collected by my Department, figures on the number of fatalities arising from such accidents are not available.
With regard to the number of incidents involving wheel loss each year the cases indicated by the analysis of the Vehicle Inspectorate database represent only those cases where the police have called upon an investigation to be carried out by the inspectorate.
My Department has been represented for many years on the British Standards Committee for wheels and tyres who commissioned research by the Motor Industry Research Association--MIRA--into the problems of wheel loss from commercial vehicles. This research complemented work carried out by the University of Exeter on behalf of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers--IRTE--and the Department of Trade and Industry which contributed some £35,000 to the funding.
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Results of the MIRA research showed that the basic cause of the problem of wheel loss is a relaxation of the tension in the wheel fixing and that this took place regardless of whether the vehicle was moving. The British Standard code of practice for the selection and care of tyres and wheels for commercial vehicles advises that wheel fixings should be rechecked for tightness after the vehicle has been standing for 30 minutes or has travelled between 30 or 40 km. Our assessment of the engineering principle of proprietary safety wheel nuts is that they do not address the problem of this initial loss of tension of the wheel fixing and therefore do not reduce the need for regular maintenance.
Sir Mark Lennox-Boyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 25 November, Official Report, column 52, on sound barriers on motorways, if he will now make a statement. [9182]
Mr. Watts:
I have completed a review of the policy and have no changes to propose. Noise barriers have been provided on new roads and improvement schemes opened after 16 October 1969 where they offer an effective benefit to an appreciable number of properties which would otherwise have qualified for noise insulation under the Noise Insulation Regulations 1975 (Statutory Instrument No 1763), and where the cost of providing the barriers did not exceed the cost of individual insulation. For the purpose of determining whether a property would qualify for noise insulation, changes in noise level are calculated on the basis of projected traffic growth 15 years from the date of opening of the scheme.
It remains the Department's policy, subject to the availability of funds occasionally, and in exceptional circumstances, to exercise a discretionary power of
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improvement to provide noise barriers alongside trunk roads and motorways which were opened to traffic on or before 16 October 1969, and have not been subject to further improvement.
Subject to the availability of funds, noise barriers may be provided on such unimproved roads open to traffic on, or before, 16 October 1969 where the cost does not exceed the notional cost of insulating properties which would have qualified had the 1975 regulations applied on 16 October 1969. For these purposes qualifying properties are those which existed on 16 October 1969. The calculation of noise impact is to be based upon the assessed traffic flows at 16 October 1984. It must also be technically possible to provide effective barriers alongside the road.
This ensures equitable treatment, with respect to noise barriers, between residents living near to roads opened before and after 16 October 1969.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate how many (a) drivers, (b) front seat passengers and (c) back seat passengers have been (i) killed and (ii) injured as a result of not wearing a seat belt in a vehicle in Wales in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [8233]
Mr. Bowis:
Statistics for seat belt wearing are available only until 1993 and only for the occupants of cars and vans. Data on front and back seat passengers are available only for car passengers. The table shows the recorded number of drivers and passengers killed and injured in Wales whilst not wearing a seat belt whether or not one was fitted. The table does not include figures for casualties where the wearing of a belt was not reported--about a quarter of all accidents.
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| 1991 Killed | Injured | 1992 Killed | Injured | 1993 Killed | Injured | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car or van drivers | 15 | 149 | 11 | 134 | 9 | 146 |
| Car or van passengers | 24 | 800 | 15 | 599 | 10 | 508 |
| Front seat car passengers | 2 | 61 | 3 | 71 | 4 | 61 |
| Rear seat car passengers | 20 | 696 | 11 | 509 | 6 | 420 |
| All van passengers | 2 | 43 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 27 |
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It is not known how many of these casualties were as a direct result of not wearing a seat belt.
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