| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Road Accidents (North Yorkshire)
13. Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York): If he will make a statement on the incidence of road accidents in North Yorkshire in the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [124001]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Ms Beverley Hughes): The total number of personal injury road accidents in North Yorkshire, including the City of York, in the last three years for which published figures are available, was as follows: in 1996, 3,274; in 1997, 3,315; and in 1998, 3,278.
Miss McIntosh: Does the Minister agree that 160 injuries and deaths in accidents per 100,000 of population--her own Department's figures--gives North Yorkshire the worst road accident rate in the country? Most of the traffic is coming from and destined for parts outside North Yorkshire, and is putting increasing pressure on North Yorkshire county council's highways budget. If the Government proceed to detrunk, which is
their announced intention, it will be totally unfair and unjust to ask the council, against the background of those figures, to meet the total contribution.
Ms Hughes: The written answer that the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Mr. Hill), gave to a question about road accidents in relation to static population did give that figure for North Yorkshire but, as the hon. Lady knows, and as North Yorkshire police have pointed out, North Yorkshire is a very large county in terms of area and road miles--it has 6,000 road miles. However, it has a very small population. Therefore, any comparison of accidents in relation to population will give a relatively large figure. If we relate accidents to road miles in North Yorkshire, the incidence is no higher than the national average; indeed, it is somewhat better. We are not, however, complacent.
The Government have given North Yorkshire a 58 per cent. increase in its local transport capital settlement--to the tune of £8.5 million--so that it will be able to put even more emphasis on local safety measures. In the past few years, North Yorkshire has certainly been reducing the number of road accident casualties and serious injuries. I am sure that the hon. Lady will be pleased to note that, since the previous general election, in North Yorkshire, the number of road accidents, the total number of casualties and the number of those who are killed or seriously injured in accidents have all declined significantly.
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): I welcome the improvements that my hon. Friend has just described in road safety, particularly on trunk roads, in North Yorkshire. However, will she consider speaking with people at the Highways Agency about progress on the A64 corridor to Scarborough, examining very carefully the growth in traffic that has occurred in the corridor since the general election, and reviewing progress on possible future work on the A64?
Ms Hughes: Certainly. As the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) will know--at the end of February 2000, she received a letter from the Highways Agency outlining all the initiatives on trunk roads, particular safety studies and traffic calming in North Yorkshire--the A64 trunk road and the A1 Bramham to Scarborough are the subject of a route improvement strategy for improving safety, particularly in relation to the A64 between the A1 and Scarborough. The strategy has recently been presented to the regional planning forum for its agreement, and includes a variety of individual proposals designed to deal with the problems that my hon. Friend rightly raises.
Transport Bill
14. Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby): What recent representations he has received from the RMT union on the provisions of the Transport Bill. [124002]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Mr. Keith Hill): My Department has received a number of representations about the provisions of the Transport Bill and has met a wide range of organisations and individuals
to discuss matters of mutual interest. The organisations include, of course, the RMT, which Ministers meet from time to time. Most recently, on 1 June, my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Macdonald of Tradeston met the RMT.
Mr. Robathan: I am particularly sorry that the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions is not in the Chamber at least to listen to this question, as it is really directed at him. Does the Minister believe that the Deputy Prime Minister's tenancy of an RMT flat contravenes both the spirit and the letter of the ministerial code of conduct's provisions on trade unions, which state:
- care must be taken to avoid any actual or perceived conflict of interest . . . Ministers should arrange their affairs so as to avoid any suggestion that a union of which they are a member has any undue influence . . . and should receive no remuneration from a union . . . ?
- Where there is a doubt it will almost always be better to relinquish or dispose of the interest.
Mr. Hill: The hon. Gentleman is trying to make political capital out of something that is old news. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards investigated the matter and rejected all complaints against my right hon. Friend.
Quite frankly, if the hon. Gentleman is seriously trying to make the imputation that the Government have conferred favour on the RMT in our transport legislation, he has utterly failed to do his homework on the matter. While providing for the more effective regulation of the railways through the new Strategic Rail Authority, the Transport Bill falls far short of the RMT's desire for re-nationalisation of the railway industry. The Bill's proposed National Air Traffic Services public-private partnership is also in direct opposition to the RMT's official policy. In that context, I might also point out that the RMT is not exactly wildly enthusiastic about the London Underground PPP.
The truth is that the Government serve the public interest. We need no strictures from the official Opposition, with their long and discreditable record of subservience to vested and sectional interests.
Mr. Robathan: On a point of order, Madam Speaker. Given the Minister's unsatisfactory answer, I shall raise the matter in an Adjournment debate.
Regional Development Agency (West Midlands)
15. Mr. Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Hall Green): If he will make a statement on the activities of the regional development agency in the west midlands. [124003]
The Minister for Local Government and the Regions (Ms Hilary Armstrong): Advantage West Midlands has been in existence for just over a year. A major activity in that time has been the production of the west midlands regional economic strategy which was endorsed by its partners in the region. Another important task was leading the Rover task force at the request of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. It is due to produce its final report at the end of June.
Mr. McCabe: Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating Mr. Alex Stephenson, the chairman of Advantage West Midlands, and his colleagues on their speedy and efficient work on behalf of the taskforce established in the wake of the BMW-Rover crisis? Will she also confirm that in its first full year of operation, Advantage West Midlands has been responsible for attracting record levels of direct foreign investment to the west midlands, resulting in 5,000 new jobs and safeguarding a further 9,500 jobs in the region? Does that not demonstrate the value of such agencies, and is it not an argument for nurturing and strengthening them, rather than sniping from the sidelines or threatening to dismantle them as the Opposition do all too often?
Ms Armstrong: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The regional development agency enabled people in the west midlands to work together under an organisation that already had an extensive network in the area, and the chairman of AWM, Mr. Alex Stephenson, to lead an effective response to the announcement from BMW. In addition, because the regional development agency has drawn the task force together and developed its work, the west midlands is now well placed to take that work further, to make sure that the response is not what we originally saw in respect of Rover and to develop a sustainable strategy for the future of car manufacturing in the area. Indeed, I can confirm its outstanding success to date. Everyone involved--including those who associate with the Conservative party and who are now involved with regional development agencies--thinks that the Conservative party has totally lost its way and is wrong to talk about getting rid of regional development agencies.
Point of Order
3.32 pm
Sir Sydney Chapman (Chipping Barnet): On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I had always understood that, when the lead Minister in a Department was unable to be in his place to answer questions, it was customary, and expected by the House, that the Minister answering the first question should give an explanation--in this case concerning the absence of the Deputy Prime Minister. Do you agree with that observation? Some of us are still waiting for an explanation.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |