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12 Jun 2003 : Column 1005W—continued
Post Offices
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) rural and (b) urban (i) post offices and (ii) sub-post offices have closed in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region. [119148]
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Mr. Timms: I understand from Post Office Ltd. that details of the total number of post office closures in the United Kingdom, recorded both by region/country and urban/rural classification are only available from March 2000 and are as follows:
| 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Urban | Rural | Urban | Rural | Urban | Rural | ||
| North East | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 1 | ||
| North West | 11 | 28 | 9 | 4 | 25 | 12 | ||
| Yorkshire and Humber | 10 | 40 | 4 | 17 | 14 | 12 | ||
| West Midlands | 5 | 31 | 8 | 16 | 22 | 13 | ||
| South West | 11 | 48 | 7 | 26 | 31 | 8 | ||
| South East | 26 | 52 | 7 | 29 | 18 | 23 | ||
| London | 9 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 43 | 1 | ||
| East of England | 10 | 60 | 1 | 22 | 17 | 16 | ||
| East Midlands | 3 | 42 | 5 | 33 | 24 | 7 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 4 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 8 | ||
| Scotland | 7 | 57 | 5 | 21 | 13 | 7 | ||
| Wales | 9 | 61 | 3 | 23 | 11 | 7 | ||
| Total | 106 | 441 | 68 | 194 | 230(1) | 115 | ||
(1) Includes 102 closures under Post Office Ltd's urban reinvention programme
| DSA area | Government officeregions | Number of examiners |
|---|---|---|
| London and South East | London, South East | 324 |
| Midlands and Eastern | Eastern, East Midlands, West Midlands | 417 |
| Wales and Western | South West, Wales | 271 |
| Northern | North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber | 371 |
| Scotland | Scotland | 130 |
| Total | 1,513 |
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the average time taken for a follow-up driving test following an initial failure to pass a test; and if he will make a statement. [118804]
Mr. Spellar: Demand for driving tests has increased from some 1,637,000 in 2002–03 to an estimated 1,746,000 in 2003–04. As a result, the national average waiting time for a practical car driving test has risen to nine weeks, compared with the published target of six weeks. The waiting time applies to all applications for test appointments, irrespective of whether for a first or a subsequent test.
To meet the rising demand for driving tests and to reduce waiting times the Driving Standards Agency has recently recruited over 130 driving examiners and plans to recruit 330 more in the coming year.
Parking Penalties
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when changes were last made to the penalties for parking on a single yellow line; and if he will make a statement. [118908]
Mr. Jamieson: Responsibility for enforcement of illegal parking on yellow lines rests with the police or, where enforcement has been decriminalised, the relevant local authority.
Fixed penalties issued by the police for illegal parking were last changed in November 2000 when the penalty was increased from £30 to £40 in London and £20 to £30 outside London.
Penalty charge levels for decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) in England outside London are prescribed by the Secretary of State for Transport and were last changed in May 2001 when he prescribed that authorities may select either £40, £50 or £60 as the penalty charge. The penalty is discounted by 50 per cent. if paid within 14 days of issue of the penalty charge notice.
Penalty charges for DPE in London are set by the Association of London Government Transport and Environment Committee and subject to approval by the Mayor. The London penalty charge bands were increased on 1 April this year to £60, £80 and £100. Again the penalty is discounted by 50 per cent. if paid within 14 days of issue of the penalty charge notice.
12 Jun 2003 : Column 1008W
Rail Safety (Potters Bar)
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he plans to respond to the conclusions and recommendations of the May Progress Report by the Health and Safety Executive Board concerning the Potters Bar derailment; what plans he has for a public inquiry into the derailment; and if he will make a statement. [118064]
Mr. Jamieson: The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Secretary of State for Transport will need to consider the implications of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Investigation Board report of 29 May, the response of the rail industry to the recommendations and the continuing British Transport Police investigation before deciding whether the issues raised by the Potters Bar derailment would benefit from investigation by a public inquiry.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Coffee
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures her Department has established to manage better the international supply of coffee. [117076]
Mr. Morley: Coffee is traded on a free market. Any attempt to intervene in the international coffee market to manage supply is unlikely to work. However, the Government share the concern for the way that coffee growers have been hit by low prices and deteriorating quality, largely as a result of global over supply and structural imbalances in the industry.
We support action to improve the sustainability of the coffee supply chain and to improve co-operation between all market participants. The UK is a member, through the EU, of the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), a United Nations body established to, amongst other things,
- "achieve a reasonable balance between world supply and demand on a basis which will assure adequate supplies of coffee at fair prices to consumers and markets for coffee at remunerative prices to producers . . . to facilitate the expansion and transparency of international trade in coffee".
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