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Silverstone Bypass
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 28 June 2002 to the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster), Official Report, column 880W, on the Silverstone Bypass, if he will (a) place his letter of direction in the Library, (b) state the component reasons of the wider national interest that justified his decision and (c) state the category of direction; and if he will make a statement. [70237]
Mr. Jamieson: A copy of the letter of direction from the then Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions my right hon. Friend the
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Member for Tyneside, North (Mr. Byers) to the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency has been deposited in the Library.
The British Grand Prix is an important global showcase for the UK motorsport industry, which is estimated to contribute approximately £5 billion annually to the national economy. In addition it brings about £30 million to the local economy over the Grand Prix weekend. In the light of doubts expressed by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) about retaining the British Grand Prix at Silverstone because of access problems in previous years, Ministers felt that the wider national interest would be best served by speeding up the Silverstone project and thereby providing the best available road access for this year's event.
The direction was sought for reasons of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
Public Highway Closures
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 7 February 2002, Official Report, column 1094W, on public highway closures, when and by which magistrates court Downing street was closed under section 116 of the Highways Act 1980. [69973]
Mr. Spellar: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 538W.
Road Accidents
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average incidence of people (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in road accidents in Great Britain was for 1994 to 1998; and what the average incidence was in disadvantaged communities. [71624]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 19 July 2002]: The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit has designated, for Neighbourhood Renewal Funding, 88 local authorities which include the majority of the most deprived wards in England. Casualty figures are available for these authorities. However, these figures relate to the whole of the authority areas, which may include relatively advantaged areas as well as deprived wards. The averages for these authorities therefore, as shown in the table, do not fully represent the position in the most disadvantaged areas.
The table provides the average number of people, and the average number of pedestrians, (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in road accidents for 1994 to 1998, together with the rate per 100,000 population. Figures are given for Great Britain, and the average for the 88 most deprived local authorities in England as designated for Neighbourhood Renewal funding.
(45) As designated for Neighbourhood Renewal funding
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Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the criteria for assessing whether a road accident in Great Britain takes place in a disadvantaged community for the purposes of the PSA targets for transport set out in the 2002 Spending Review. [71622]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 19 July 2002]: The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit has designated 88 local authorities which include the majority of the most deprived wards in England. The criteria for the purposes of the road casualty PSA target set out in the 2002 Spending Review will be looking to specifically address the child pedestrian problem within these areas.
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average incidence of children (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in road accidents in Great Britain was for 1994 to 1998; and what the average incidence was in disadvantaged communities. [71623]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 19 July 2002]: The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit has designated, for Neighbourhood Renewal Funding, 88 local authorities which include the majority of the most deprived wards in England. Casualty figures are available for these authorities. However, these figures relate to the whole of the authority areas, which may include relatively advantaged areas as well as deprived wards. The averages for these authorities therefore, as shown in the table, do not fully represent the position in the most disadvantaged areas.
The table provides the average number of children under 16, and the average number of child pedestrians, (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in road accidents for 1994 to 1998, together with the rate per 100,000 population under 16. Figures are given for Great Britain, and the average for the 88 most deprived local authorities in England as designated for Neighbourhood Renewal funding.
(46) As designated for Neighbourhood Renewal funding
Note:
Figures relate to children aged 0–15
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Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he plans to take forward his responsibility for delivering the public service agreement to reduce fatalities and serious injuries in traffic accidents in Scotland. [71619]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 19 July 2002]: My Department's public service agreement target for reducing road casualties covers Great Britain as a whole. We will continue to work in partnership with the devolved Administration in Scotland—and likewise the one in Wales—to achieve the casualty reduction targets set out in the national road safety strategy document "Tomorrow's roads—safer for everyone" that we agreed and published in March 2000.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many children were (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in Great Britain in road accidents in each year from 1994; and what the average was for 1994 to 1998. [71504]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 19 July 2002]: The table gives the number of children (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in Great Britain from 1994.
| Year | Killed | Seriously injured |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 299 | 7,226 |
| 1995 | 270 | 6,983 |
| 1996 | 270 | 6,719 |
| 1997 | 255 | 6,197 |
| 1998 | 206 | 5,873 |
| 1999 | 221 | 5,478 |
| 2000 | 191 | 5,011 |
| 2001(47) | 218 | 4,768 |
| 1994–98(48) | 260 | 6,600 |
(47) The figures for 2001 are provisional.
(48) Average
Roads
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total length of HGV lanes is on the strategic network. [71337]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 19 July 2002]: There are no lanes in the Highways Agency's strategic road network dedicated solely to the movement of heavy goods vehicles.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the roads providing drivers with instant access to network conditions; and what the total length of road is providing this information. [71334]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 19 July 2002]: Variable message signs are being installed on the busiest parts of the motorway network as part of a commitment to have automatic hold up warning systems operating on 30 per cent. of motorways (825km) in England by March
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2005. As part of the Traffic Control Centre project, variable message signs are also being installed at strategic points on the English trunk road network to provide drivers with information about major incidents, including, where appropriate, advice on alternative routes. Some local authorities provide similar information on their own roads but those details are not held centrally.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of new (a) motorway and (b) trunk roads have been completed in the last two years; and how many are planned for the next two years; [72893]
Mr. Spellar: 9.4 miles of new motorway and 13.75 miles of new trunk road were completed in the last two years. 30 miles of new motorway and 66.1 miles of new trunk road are planned for completion in the next two years.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is the estimated number of people living within 600m of a trunk road; [71338]
- (2) what length of strategic road network was widened in each of the last three years; [71321]
(3) what the average noise level is (a) 100m, (b) 300m and (c) 600m away from a trunk road in each of the last three years; [71339]
(4) what length of the trunk road network has been given lower-noise surfaces (a) since July 2000 and (b) in each of the last three years. [71335]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 19 July 2002]: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Tim Matthews to Mrs. Theresa May dated 24 July 2002:
I have been asked by the Transport Minister to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the estimated number of people living within 600m of a trunk road; the length of trunk road that has been given lower-noise surfaces; the average noise level at 100m, 300m and 600m away from a trunk road; and the length of strategic road network widened in each of the last three years.
The Highways Agency estimates that there are over 2.1 million households located within 600m of the trunk road network. In the National Office of Statistics 'Living In Britain' publication (published 2000) the average number of people per household was 2.3. it is therefore estimated that approximately 4.83 million people live within 600 metres of the trunk road network.
Since July 2000, 3,257 of the 34,000 trunk road lane kilometres have been laid with lower noise surfacing. Between April 2001 and March 2002 lower noise surfacing was laid on 1,611 lane kilometres and between April 2000 and March 2001 this figure was 1431 lane kilometres. Prior to April 2000 this information was not collated by the Agency.
It is not possible to provide average noise levels at given distances from a trunk road because the noise level arising from any major road is determined by the characteristics of the traffic it carries, principally the amount of traffic and the percentage of heavy goods vehicles. The type of road surface and other noise mitigation measures will also affect the noise level. Provided that other factors remain the same, the effect of traffic growth year on year is minimal.
A number of important widening schemes are currently under construction, but none have been completed in the last three years. The M1 to A1 Lofthouse—Bramham Link Road DBFO was completed in May 1999 and this contained within it some stretches
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of widening of the A1, the M1 and the M62 totalling 9.9km. These stretches were completed by February 1999, just prior to the three-year period in question.
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