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28 Oct 2002 : Column 590W—continued
Regional Eurostar Rail Services
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the Government's assessment of the viability of regional Eurostar rail services following the responses received to his consultation on future aviation policy. [77255]
Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has a duty under S206(4) of the Transport Act 2000 to consider the introduction of regional Eurostar services. The SRA have said that they will soon publish a strategy relating to services in various parts of Great Britain for facilitating the carriage of passengers or goods by rail by way of the channel tunnel.
Road Safety
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he proposes to take to improve road safety in buses and coaches before 2004. [76951]
Mr. Jamieson: Buses and coaches have consistently been one of the safest forms of passenger transport. Since 2001 we have introduced requirements to improve their very good safety record such as the fitment of anti lock braking systems, seat belts in coaches and improved designs of buses to cater for disabled passengers. In the longer term we are working with others to improve the European standard for the protection of coach passengers in the event of a roll over accident. The revised standard is not expected to be applied to new coaches until after 2004.
Road Schemes
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the new road schemes under consideration by his Department; [75664]
- (2) if he will list the new road schemes which the Highways Agency has (a) agreed and (b) under consideration. [75665]
Mr. Jamieson: The Highways Agency is progressing the 61 schemes in the Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI) which are either under construction or proceeding through their remaining statutory procedures. A full list of schemes in the TPI has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Following decisions taken by Secretary of State on multi-modal or road-based studies, the Highways Agency has been tasked with taking forward further
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work on the following schemes, with a view to adding them to the TPI once a more detailed design has been agreed:
- A21 Tonbridge to Pembury online dualling;
- A21 Pembury—Hastings (selected improvements);
- Widening and partial realignment of the A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge;
- M60/M67/A57 Denton Interchange Improvement;
- Dualling of the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith;
- A419 Commonhead Roundabout.
I will place in the Libraries of the House a list of improvements currently under consideration that have been either formally recommended to us by multi modal studies or for which local authorities have made formal bids under the Local Transport Plan process.
South Coast Corridor Multi-modal Study
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason the Isle of Wight was excluded from the terms of reference of the south coast corridor multi-modal study. [76745]
Mr. Jamieson: While not included in the study corridor identified in the 1998 White Paper XA New Deal for Trunk Roads in England" the Isle of Wight was included in the area of influence agreed by the study Steering Group for the south coast multi-modal study. Throughout the study steps were taken to ensure consultation with the wider reference group, this included representatives from the Isle of Wight.
Traffic Calming
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to issue guidance on the forms of traffic calming. [77073]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department has issued and will continue to issue guidance in the form of Traffic Advisory Leaflets. These provide information on the design of traffic calming measures and their impact, including public attitudes to calming schemes.
The Department intends to publish a Local Transport Note on traffic calming in 2003. This will draw together existing information and assist local authorities in the
comparison of available measures.
Transport and Traffic Studies
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) national and (b) regional transport and traffic studies have been undertaken since 1997 which include the Isle of Wight. [76746]
Mr. Jamieson . There have been a number of national and regional surveys and studies since 1997 which have included consideration of transport and traffic on or to the Isle of Wight. These include:
- South Coast Multi Modal Study
- M27 Corridor Integrated Transport Study
- Survey of bus passenger satisfaction
- International Road Haulage Survey
- PSV Annual Inquiry (bus and coach operators)
- Continuing Survey of Road Goods Vehicles
- National Road Maintenance Condition Survey (NRMCS)
- National Travel Survey
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- The National Census
- Survey of taxis and private hire vehicles
- Ports Survey
- Traffic Census
- Review of UK Trust Ports
Trinity House and Strategic Rail Authority
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what recent assessment he has made of the performance of (a) Trinity House Lighthouse Service and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority, including details of performance targets; what reports are published on their performance ; and if he will place copies of such reports in the Library; [76473]
- (2) how many people are employed by (a) the Trinity House Lighthouse Service and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority; what their role and terms of reference are; what their annual budget was for each year since 1997–98; and what their projected budget is for 2002–03. [76196]
Mr. Jamieson: The information is as follows:
| Average number of employees (inc. part-time) | Part-time | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 545 | 55 |
| 1998–99 | 527 | 63 |
| 1999–2000 | 466 | 13 |
| 2000–01 | 450 | 15 |
| 2001–02 | 439 | 16 |
| 2002–03 | (10) 436 | (10) 16 |
(10) Average for the year to 30 September 2002
The role of Trinity House Lighthouse Service is to provide and maintain aids to navigation around the coastline of England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar and to deliver a reliable and economical service that enable all classes of mariner to navigate safely within its area of responsibility.
The annual budget figures are given in the table:
| # million | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 29,187 |
| 1998–99 | 29,362 |
| 1999–2000 | 28,587 |
| 2000–01 | 30,364 |
| 2001–02 | 30,203 |
| 2002–03 | 31,998 |
Trinity House Lighthouse Service (THLS) measures the availability of the aids to navigation against the service standards set by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). These performance indicators are set out in the Report and Accounts of the General Lighthouse Fund 2000–2001, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. They indicate that most aids to navigation provided by THLS exceed the IALA standards for availability for use.
28 Oct 2002 : Column 593W
On 31 March 2002, the Strategic Rail Authority employed 463 staff (including BRB (Residuary) Limited and Rail Passengers' Council staff, but excluding the British Transport Police). The Authority's purposes and strategies are set out in sections 205–209 of the Transport Act 2000, together with the manner in which the Authority is to exercise its functions. Directions and guidance under sections 206(3) and 207(5) of the 2000 Act were issued to the Authority on 26 September 2002.
The Authority was established on 1 February 2001 with a budget of #329,555,000 for the last two months of 2000–01. Its budgets for 2001–02 and 2002–03 were, respectively, #1,796,749,000 and #2,149,998,000. The Authority's main predecessor body was the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF). The table shows OPRAFs annual budgets from 1997–98 onwards.
| Cash prices (#) | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,516,385,000 |
| 1998–99 | 1,254,889,000 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,110,889,000 |
| 2000–01 | (11) 1,032,889,000 |
(11) Of the #1,032,889,000 total, #321,555,000 was used to help fund the SRA in February(March 2001.
Details of the expenditure funded from those budgets are set out in OPRAF's and the Authority's annual reports and accounts.
The Authority reports on progress against its objectives in its annual reports. Its most recent report, for 2001–02, was published and placed in the House Library in July 2002.
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