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12 May 2003 : Column 127W—continued
National Minimum Wage
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated cost is in 2003–04 to his Department, agencies and the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible of the increase in the national minimum wage from £4.20 per hour to £4.50 per hour. [110444]
Mr. Jamieson: No additional costs for staff will be incurred by my Department, agencies and the non-departmental public bodies for which I am responsible as a result of the increase in the national minimum wage with the exception of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency where the estimated cost is £120,000, related to voluntary auxilliary coastguards.
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Public Bodies
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who the chief executive officer is of the (a) Driving Standards Agency, (b) Vehicle Certification Agency and (c) Vehicle Inspectorate. [112703]
Mr. Jamieson: The following are Chief Executives of their agencies:
(c) Mr. Maurice R. Newey 1 —>VI
- 1 On 1 April the Vehicle Inspectorate merged with the Traffic Area Network and is now called the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.
Railways
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what plans his Department has to stop train companies adding minutes to their summer timetables in order to reduce the fines paid for late trains; [111406]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the announcement by Thameslink that it will increase the journey times on its routes in order to reduce the fines it pays for late services. [111405]
Mr. Jamieson: The Passenger Service Requirement (PSR) in franchise agreements prescribes permitted journey times on core routes. Operators cannot exceed the prescribed journey times without the approval of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). No extensions of permitted journey times have been approved for Thameslink. For services which are not part of the PSR operators agree both train paths and journey times with the infrastructure manager (Network Rail). However, journey times for similar services are usually close because of the way the timetable is constructed.
Mr. George Osborne To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter of engagement between his Department and Schroders Salomon Smith Barney of 31 August 2001, concerning the future of Railtrack Plc; and if he will make a statement. [111213]
Mr. Jamieson: The letter of engagement referred to is a commercially confidential agreement between the Department and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney (SSSB) and so would not be appropriate to place in the Library. SSSB were engaged by the Department on 31 August 2001 to provide financial advice on matters relating to Railtrack's financial difficulties.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement on the Greater Anglia rail franchise; [110595]
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- (2) what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) First and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority in relation to the Greater Anglia rail franchise; [110596]
(3) what reasons First has been excluded from the bidding process for the Greater Anglia rail franchise. [110597]
Mr. Jamieson: Departmental officials met First Group representatives on 3 April. Departmental officials and Ministers regularly meet the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) to discuss rail issues, including issues relating to franchises. The decision on those selected to bid for the Greater Anglia franchise is a matter for the SRA. The decision followed a detailed qualification process, which is confidential in respect of the commercial propositions put forward. Arriva Trains Ltd., GB Railways plc and National Express Group plc were confirmed as bidders on 1 April 2003, with Invitations To Tender issued on 15 April. Detailed proposals are to be submitted to the SRA by 1 September.
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Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) lorry drivers and (b) haulage firms were convicted in each of the last three years for which figures are available for offences involving the (i) tampering with and (ii) removal of tachographs. [111498]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of lorry drivers and haulage firms (operators) convicted by the Vehicle Inspectorate (now the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) in each of the last three years for offences involving (i) tampering with or (ii) removal of tachographs is set out in the table below. In such cases operators are convicted for causing or permitting these offences, unless they are owner/drivers. The figures for convictions for tampering with tachographs also include offences of tampering with the tachograph chart.
The agency also has powers to prohibit vehicles if the calibration of a tachograph has been tampered with. The prohibition can only be cleared at an approved tachograph calibration centre.
| Drivers | Operators | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | |||
| Tampering with tachograph machine/chart | 459 | 495 | 379 | 98 | 51 | 61 | ||
| Removal of tachograph chart | 21 | 37 | 40 | 7 | 13 | 11 | ||
| Total | 480 | 532 | 419 | 105 | 64 | 72 | ||
Road Haulage Industry
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward measures to monitor and enforce the legislation relating to the misuse of tachographs; if he will undertake more frequent spot-checks in respect of (a) hours of working by lorry drivers, (b) the roadworthiness of vehicles and (c) the legal weight and safety of the cargo; and if he will make a statement. [111499]
Mr. Jamieson: The specification and use of tachographs is laid down in European legislation, principally Regulation (EEC) 3821/85. This regulation has been amended to require the fitting and use of digital tachographs in vehicles put into service after August 2004. This new instrument will address the common misuses associated with the current analogue tachograph. The working time of drivers is not currently subject to limits except to the extent that drivers subject to the drivers' hours rules must meet minimum requirements for daily and weekly rest—in addition to limits on driving time. A minimum level for checks on compliance with the EU drivers' hours rules is set in an EU Directive.
We have already taken steps to increase the levels of enforcement for HGV traffic and roadworthiness regulations. In 2001–02, we introduced an additional HGV enforcement package, funded by the Road Haulage Modernisation Fund. The package includes projects to increase the number of examiners available for roadside checks, provide equipment to increase the scope and mobility of roadside inspections, augment advice and education initiatives to prevent offending, enhance data collection and analysis for targeting purposes, and improve roadside inspection facilities.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many lorry drivers were convicted in each of the last three years for which figures are available for exceeding the number of permitted hours of working. [111500]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of lorry drivers convicted by the Vehicle Inspectorate (now the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) in each of the last three years for breaching drivers' hours regulations is set out in the table below. The agency also has powers to impose a prohibition in such cases to prevent the driver from continuing his journey until the road safety risk has been eliminated.
| 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exceed 45. hours continuous driving | 639 | 559 | 696 |
| Exceed 10 hours driving in a day | 300 | 262 | 243 |
| Exceed 9 hours driving in a day | 51 | 30 | 16 |
| Exceed fortnightly driving (90 hours) | 3 | 7 | 19 |
| Insufficient rest in a 24 hour period | 541 | 464 | 460 |
| Insufficient rest in a 30 hour period (double manned) | 11 | 29 | 19 |
| Failure to take weekly rest | 156 | 1,507 | 1,568 |
| Total | 1,701 | 1,507 | 1,568 |
School Buses
Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to introduce further safety standards for school buses. [112540]
Mr. Jamieson: I have no plans to amend the construction standards of buses used specifically for school transport.
The Department consulted last year on the reform of national regulations and approval schemes for the construction and use of minibuses, buses and coaches. The main purpose of these changes is to simplify the
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current regulatory structure and align our requirements with those common in the rest of Europe. While these proposals do not differentiate between the uses to which buses and coaches are put they will effect all such vehicles including those used for school transport.
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