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Rail Safety
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of red/green zone working—A report on the progress with maximisation of green zone working on Railtrack infrastructure. [37723]
Mr. Jamieson: I have asked the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for a written progress report on each of the ten recommendations in the Railway Inspectorate's report "Red/Green Zone working—A report on the progress with maximisation of green zone working on Railtrack infrastructure". I will write to my hon. Friend shortly with the HSE's response and place copies in the House Libraries.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many (1) employees of railway companies and their contractors successfully completed safety training courses in each year since 1990; [37724]
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- (2) hours of safety training were provided to employees of railway companies and their contractors in each year since 1990. [37716]
Mr. Jamieson: Neither the Health and Safety Executive nor the individual railway companies hold this information in the form requested.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many (a) fatal and (b) major injuries there were to (i) railway staff and (ii) their contractors in each year since 1990. [37714]
Mr. Jamieson: The Health and Safety Executive do not record separate figures for railway and contractor staff. The table therefore shows the number of fatal and major injuries to railway and contractor staff combined.
Comprehensive statistics and information on accidents to railway employees and contractors can be found in the Chief Inspector of Railways' Annual Report on railway safety, copies of which are available in both House Libraries.
| Fatalities | Major injuries | |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 22 | 306 |
| 1991(13) | 5 | 76 |
| 1991–92 | 17 | 278 |
| 1992–93 | 11 | 284 |
| 1993–94 | 8 | 262 |
| 1994–95 | 9 | 252 |
| 1995–96 | 5 | 225 |
| 1996–97 | 2 | 310 |
| 1997–98 | 3 | 351 |
| 1998–99 | 4 | 376 |
| 1999–2000 | 5 | 340 |
| 2000–01 | 8 | 300 |
(13) The figures for 1991 cover 1 January 1991–31 March 1991.
Passenger Fatalities
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the average number of people per 100 million passenger journeys who were (a) killed and (b) seriously injured by each major mode of transport was in each of the last three years. [37725]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of passengers (a) killed and (b) seriously injured per 100 million passenger journeys by each major mode of transport in each of the last three years in Great Britain are given in the tables.
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rail(15) | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Water(16) | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Air(17) | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| Car | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Van | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bus and coach | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Two-wheeled motor vehicle | 180 | 174 | 194 |
| Pedal cycle | 15 | 16 | 12 |
| Pedestrian | 4 | 4 | 4 |
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| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rail(15),(18) | n/a | n/a | NA |
| Water(16) | 201 | 150 | 232 |
| Air(17) | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Car | 45 | 42 | 41 |
| Van | 18 | 16 | 15 |
| Bus and coach | 11 | 11 | 10 |
| Two-wheeled motor vehicle | 2,151 | 2,026 | 2,172 |
| Pedal cycle | 301 | 274 | 247 |
| Pedestrian | 44 | 40 | 39 |
(14) Staff and crew are not included for rail, water and air. Drivers are not included for bus and coach but are included for car, van, two-wheeled motor vehicle and pedal cycle.
(15) Financial years.
(16) World passenger services of UK registered vehicles.
(17) World passenger services of UK airlines.
(18) Since 1996, rail passenger injury figures have been collected under different definitions.
Empty Properties (Departmental Estate)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the total area in square feet of all empty properties owned by (a) his Department, (b) his agencies and (c) other public bodies for which he has had responsibility was in each year since May 1997. [37810]
Dr. Whitehead: We do not hold this information centrally, and obtaining this data, covering a period of four years, from approaching a hundred different property centres which manage the Department's administrative and operational estate, would involve disproportionate cost.
Cycle Safety
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to set requirements for (a) the level of brightness and (b) the size of cycle lamps. [38089]
Mr. Jamieson: The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 require cycle lamps to comply with the British Standard BS 6102 and be marked accordingly. This includes a requirement for minimum intensity at various positions and angles from the lens.
There is no requirement for the size of the illuminated area of cycle lamps. There are currently no plans to introduce such a requirement.
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to make the wearing of cycle helmets by cyclists a statutory requirement. [38090]
Mr. Jamieson: We will continue to monitor wearing rates and review the option of compulsory wearing from time to time.
Asylum Seekers (Housing)
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which housing authority will have responsibility for housing applicants for asylum approved for indefinite leave to remain under the proposals in the White Paper, Asylum Law. [37275]
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Ms Keeble: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Bow (Ms King) on 15 January 2002, Official Report, column 181W. Under the proposals in the White Paper, asylum seekers granted refugee status would, as now, be granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Malicious Fires
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many malicious dwelling fires there were in each region and nation of the United Kingdom in each year since 1997; and how many fires there were per (a) dwelling and (b) capita in each region in each year since 1997. [37832]
Dr. Whitehead: A table showing the number of malicious dwelling fires attended by local authority fire brigades in the UK for the period 1997 to 2000 has today been placed in the Libraries of the House. These figures are also expressed as a rate per million of the population (PMP) and per 10,000 dwellings.
Housing
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what regulations are in place on minimum standards for the size and quality of housing. [37176]
Ms Keeble: There are a number of regulations in place in relation to the size and quality of housing.
Under the housing fitness standard, set out in section 604 in the Housing Act 1985, as amended by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, a dwelling is unfit if, in the opinion of the local authority, it fails to meet one of nine specified requirements and, by reason of that failure, is not reasonably suitable for occupation. The requirements constitute the minimum deemed necessary for a dwelling house to be fit for human habitation. They include that a dwelling house should be free from serious disrepair, that it should be structurally safe, and that it should be free from dampness prejudicial to the health of the occupants.
When parliamentary time allows, the Government intend to replace the housing fitness standard with a new risk-based assessment procedure—the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. This will improve upon the existing standard by covering all the important health and safety risks in the home.
Local authorities have a range of powers to improve standards in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)—primarily through section 352 of the Housing Act 1985, as amended. This power enables a local authority to serve a notice requiring a landlord to carry out works to ensure the physical condition of the property is adequate for the number of occupants. The Government are also committed to introducing a mandatory licensing scheme for HMOs which will operate closely alongside the proposed Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
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In addition, the Government have set a target to bring all social homes up to set standards of decency by 2010, and to reduce the number of social tenants living in non-decent homes by one-third by April 2004, with most of this reduction taking place in deprived areas.
- be above the current statutory minimum standard for housing;
be in a reasonable state of repair;
have reasonably modern facilities and services; and
provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.
The Government have also developed with the Housing Corporation the Housing Quality Indicator (HQI) system, which is a measurement and assessment tool designed to allow housing schemes to be evaluated on the basis of quality rather than simply of cost. The HQI assesses the quality of a housing project using three main categories: location, design and performance. These three categories produce 10 "Quality Indicators", which include an assessment of unit size. An HQI assessment generates separate scores for each indicator, producing a profile of the scheme and an overall HQI score. From April 1 2001 the Housing Corporation Scheme Development Standards require HQIs to be used on all new developments utilising social housing grant. In addition, as part of the process of completing the HQI assessment, potential developers and architects should also be able to make design decisions which result in higher quality housing with minimal cost implications.
Overcrowding standards are set out in Part X of the Housing Act 1985. The room standard is breached if two people of opposite sexes, who are not living together as husband and wife, must sleep in the same room. The space standard specifies the number of people who may sleep in a dwelling according to the number of rooms.
Building work, which includes the erection or extension of a house, is subject to the Building Regulations which set out the requirements to ensure the health and safety of people in and around buildings, energy efficiency, and access and facilities for disabled people. They make no requirements for size, but in respect of quality, it is stipulated that the work shall be carried out with adequate and proper materials and in a workmanlike manner.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many houses were built in each region by housing associations in each of the last five years. [37465]
Ms Keeble: The number of dwellings built by registered social landlords for the last five financial years are given in the table, together with the first nine months data of the latest year. The figures do not include those dwellings bought by registered social landlords, or dwellings provided by converting existing dwellings or other buildings such as offices.
(19) April-December only. Figures for this period are provisional and subject to change.
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Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what measures he plans to put into place to encourage greater co-operation between planning and housing officers of local authorities. [37467]
Ms Keeble: We have set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 3, "Housing", our expectation that planning and housing departments should work together to assess the housing needs of their communities. In the good practice guides we have published to support PPG3 we have underlined the value of close co-operation between planning and housing officers and have highlighted those areas where maximum benefit is to be gained.
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