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Ministerial Transport
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he last used the railway service in connection with his official duties; what station he left from and what was the destination; and whether it is his intention to make greater use of the railways in future. [28097]
Mr. Byers: I last used the railway on Monday 28 January travelling from Newcastle to London King's Cross.
Arrangements for official travel are made in line with guidance set out in Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code and the accompanying guidance document travel by Ministers, using the most efficient and cost effective mode of transport, and bearing in mind security considerations.
I last used the train for official travel on Friday 16 November from London St. Pancras to Derby.
EU High Speed Interoperability Directive
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of the full cost of implementing the EU High Speed Interoperability Directive; and whether these costs are provided for in the £33.5 billion strategic plan allocation. [28554]
Mr. Spellar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Mr. Jamieson) on 23 October 2001, Official Report, column 192, and to the SRA strategic plan.
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Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many rail bridges would have to be raised to enable Britain to comply fully with European interoperability directives. [30247]
Mr. Jamieson: None. The directives provide for derogations for projects whereby the existing loading gauge, track gauge and space between the tracks can be retained. Therefore, existing rail bridges built to the current loading gauge would not have to be raised. These derogations can be given by the member states; they do not require approval from the European Commission.
Forth Rail Bridge
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what measures are proposed to extend the capacity of the Forth Rail Bridge, as set out in the Strategic Rail Authority report. [29481]
Mr. Jamieson: The measures proposed include the introduction of new signalling on and around the bridge and work on other lines to divert freight trains from the route.
Stolen Equipment
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what equipment has been stolen from his Department since 1 May 1997; and what the approximate value of each item was. [26829]
Dr. Whitehead [holding answer 22 January 2002]: The details are as follows.
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Voluntary Organisations
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many grants have been paid to voluntary organisations based in the Buckingham constituency from the (a) road safety small grants budget, (b) Special Grants Programme and (c) Tenant Empowerment Grant Programme, indicating the (i) level of funding and (ii) date awarded in each case. [30050]
Ms Keeble: My Department has made no awards to voluntary organisations based in the Buckingham
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constituency from the road safety small grants budget and the Tenant Empowerment Grant Programme. Awards to be made under the Special Grants Programme for 2002–03 are due to be announced shortly.
Workplace Deaths
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many deaths at work there were in (a) the UK and (b) Buckinghamshire in each year since 1997. [30053]
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Dr. Whitehead: The number of deaths of employees and self-employed people reported to the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities between 1997–98 and 2000–01 were as follows.
| Employee | Self-employed | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Great Britain | ||
| 1997–98 | 212 | 62 |
| 1998–99 | 188 | 65 |
| 1999–2000 | 162 | 58 |
| 2000–01(3) | 213 | 78 |
(3) Provisional figures
| Employee | Self-employed | |
|---|---|---|
| (b) Buckinghamshire | ||
| 1997–98 | 2 | 1 |
| 1998–99 | 1 | — |
| 1999–2000 | 3 | 3 |
| 2000–01(4) | 4 | 1 |
(4) Provisional figures
Note:
Table (a) The figures for Buckinghamshire exclude the mining or railway industries, whose data are only available on a national basis.
Health and Safety Prosecutions
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful prosecutions for health and safety cases there were (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) in Buckinghamshire in each year since 1997; and what the average fine per offence imposed was in each year. [30054]
Dr. Whitehead: The number of successful and unsuccessful prosecutions by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities for separate health and safety offences were as follows:
| Successful | Unsuccessful | Average fine (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (i) Great Britain | |||
| 1997–98 | 1,284 | 343 | 4,694 |
| 1998–99 | 1,512 | 247 | 4,861 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,616 | 486 | 6,820 |
| 2000–01(5) | 1,493 | 584 | 6,250 |
| (ii) Buckinghamshire | |||
| 1997–98 | 11 | — | 3,455 |
| 1998–99 | 7 | — | 5,450 |
| 1999–2000 | 8 | 3 | 1,875 |
| 2000–01(5) | 17 | 15 | 5,824 |
(5) Provisional figures
Note:
'Unsuccessful' prosecutions includes a number of charges adjourned by the court.
Note:
Local authority data for 2000–01 will not be available until April 2002.
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