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TRANSPORT

Council of Ministers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department's vote in the Council of Ministers against a legislative proposal (a) was sufficient and (b) was not sufficient to achieve with other member states a blocking minority. [117210]

Mr. Jamieson: Since March 1999, (a) none, and (b) on one occasion. Information for the earlier years is available only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department abstained in the Council of Ministers on a legislative proposal which was passed by qualified majority voting. [117228]

Mr. Jamieson: Since March 1999, twice. Information for the earlier years is available only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department has been outvoted by qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers; and if he will list the legislation by year. [117244]

Mr. Jamieson: Since March 1999, on three occasions. These were as follows:

In 2001:

Common Position adopted by the Council with a view to adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the organisation of working time for mobile workers performing road transport activities. (Written procedure completed 23 March 2001, UK abstaining.)

In 2002:

Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the level of pollutant emissions from two and three-wheel motor vehicles and amending Directive 97/24/EC. (Fisheries Council, 11 June 2002, UK abstaining.)

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Common Position adopted by the Council with a view to adoption of a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 92/6/EEC on installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of motor vehicles in the Community. (Environment Council, 25 June 2002, UK voting against.)

Information for the earlier years is available only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department indicated dissent from a proposal in the Council of Ministers but did not register a vote or abstention. [117258]

Mr. Jamieson: Since March 1999, none. Information for the earlier years is only available at disproportionate cost.

Cycling

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cyclists died on the road in (a) the UK and (b) Sefton in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2002. [122276]

Mr. Jamieson: The table below shows the numbers of fatalities suffered by cyclists on the road in the UK and Sefton in 2001 and in 2002:

Year	UK	Sefton
2001	140	0
2002	133	1

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of changes in the (a) rate and (b) severity of cyclist casualties in areas where cycling with helmets is legally required. [122277]

Mr. Jamieson: The Department commissioned an independent review of the effectiveness of cycle helmets which was published in 2002. This report included an assessment of the evidence of the impact of bicycle helmet legislation on helmet wearing rates, injuries and levels of bicycling. The report concludes that bicycle helmet legislation has been associated with head injury reductions. A case study of Victoria in Australia found evidence that post legislation there was a marked decrease in casualty rates per head of population. Reductions in levels of cycling and other road safety activities were recorded which may account for some of the casualty reductions.

Results of this review are available on the Department for Transport website.

EU Legislation

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many regulations originating from the EU have been implemented by his Department over each of the last five years. [120757]

Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 30 June 2003, Official Report, columns 64–65 W.

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Freight Companies

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason traffic commissioners are referring to public inquiry those freight companies who contract their transport manager function to Trans Consult Ltd. [122292]

Mr. Jamieson: Traffic Commissioners are independent of the Secretary of State and decisions to refer cases to public inquiry are for them.

Graffiti

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the statutory undertakers about graffiti on their street furniture or other property; and if he will make a statement. [118088]

Mr. Jamieson: My Department has not held any discussions with statutory undertakers about graffiti on their street furniture or other property. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Home Department (Ms Blears) on 1 July 2003, Official Report, columns 248W–49W].

Green Car Fuels

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the promotion of (a) bioethanol, (b) liquefied petroleum gas and (c) hydrogen as automotive fuels. [122337]

Mr. Jamieson: The Government supports the development and use of transport fuels which offer proven environmental benefits. We do this primarily by means of fuel duty incentives, and, as appropriate, grants to offset the additional cost of alternatively fuelled vehicles. Many alternatively fuelled vehicles also qualify for reduced rates of Vehicle Excise Duty and company car tax.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer takes decisions on fuel duty levels and other transport tax issues on a Budget by Budget basis. In doing so, he takes account of a range of environmental, economic and social considerations, building on the principles set out in the HM Treasury publication "Tax and the environment: using economic instruments" (November 2002).

Budget 2003 announced that a duty incentive of 20 pence per litre for bioethanol would be introduced from 1 January 2005. It also said that the Government was considering how best to give further support to bioethanol produced from ligno-cellulosic feedstocks, and would welcome views on how any such support might be structured.

Budget 2003 also announced that the Government would consult on how best to ensure that future support for road fuel gases (including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)) continued to reflect environmental and other policy objectives. This consultation was launched on 18 June 2003, and copies of the consultation document have been placed in the House Library. In the light of this, decisions on future duty rates and other forms of support for LPG are due to be announced in the 2003 Pre-Budget Report.

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The Government has granted a duty exemption for hydrogen for the purposes of a Green Fuels Challenge pilot project, due to commence later this year. Subject to the outcome of this pilot project, the Government intends to exempt hydrogen from fuel duty for a limited period in the future to encourage further development and early take-up. The taxation of hydrogen as a road fuel raises some complex issues, however, and the Government intends to discuss these issues with stakeholders with a view to taking decisions on the fiscal framework for hydrogen in the future.

Rail Freight

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the levels of freight carried by rail since 1997; what plans he has to increase it; and if he will make a statement. [123052]

Mr. McNulty: The amount of freight moved by rail has grown by 24 per cent. since 1997. The Strategic Rail Authority published in May 2003 its first "Freight Progress Report", explaining the achievements to date in increasing rail's share of freight traffic and the Authority's plans for achieving the growth envisaged by the Government's 10 Year Plan for Transport. Copies of the SRA report are available in the Library of the House.

Road Haulage

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to ensure that foreign operators in the road haulage industry in the UK are abiding by the relevant rules and regulations. [122885]

Mr. Jamieson: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) check foreign road haulage operators, using UK roads, in the same manner as they do domestic hauliers to ensure compliance with traffic and roadworthiness regulations. VOSA use intelligence data to target those operators, whether foreign or domestic, who consistently breach regulations. They also carry out occasional random checks. Those operators and drivers who are caught offending are treated to the same sanctions, whatever their country of origin.

VOSA report all offences, committed by foreign operators and drivers, to the licensing authorities in the countries of origin of the offenders.

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