| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
23 Oct 2003 : Column 682W—continued
Road Safety
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the action being taken to improve road safety on the A414 between Chelmsford and the M11/Harlow junction. [132928]
23 Oct 2003 : Column 683W
Dr. Howells: The section of the A414 between Chelmsford and the M11/Harlow junction is the responsibility of Essex County Council which has identified it as one of the routes to be the subject of a priority route study. Initial analysis has been undertaken and accident measures are being determined for implementation in the next financial year, subject to the availability of funding.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department provides on the siting of speed limit signs on roads. [133356]
Dr. Howells: Guidance exists in the form of traffic advisory leaflet 1/95, "Speed Limit Signs, a Guide to Good Practice", copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House. It is also available via the Department for Transport website.
Traffic Commissioners
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the statutory functions of traffic commissioners; what powers he has to intervene in the decisions made by traffic commissioners; if he will list the public inquiries called by traffic commissioners in the past year and the basis on which these inquiries were called; and if he will publish the guidance issued to traffic commissioners in respect of self-employed traffic managers. [132777]
Mr. McNulty: Traffic commissioners are statutorily responsible for licensing the operators of heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles in their area, including taking disciplinary action against operators who breach the conditions of their licence: the conduct of vocational drivers, and for the registration of local bus services. The traffic commissioner for Scotland is also responsible for taxi fare and parking appeals.
The Secretary of State has no powers to intervene in decisions by traffic commissioners in carrying out their statutory functions.
Details of public inquiries are published by the traffic commissioners in their Annual Report to the Secretary of State. The report for 2002–03 is due to be published shortly and copies will be placed in the library.
No guidance has been issued to traffic commissioners in respect of self-employed transport managers. The requirements for transport managers are set out in the legislation and it is the responsibility of traffic commissioners to interpret whether these requirements are being met in individual cases.
Trans Consult Ltd.
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what action he has taken to investigate claims of discrimination against Trans Consult Ltd. by his Department's traffic commissioners; [132425]
- (2) what his assessment is of the economic impact of the alleged discrimination against Trans Consult Ltd. by his Department's traffic commissioners; [132426]
(3) if he will launch an independent inquiry into the alleged discrimination and conduct of his Department's traffic commissioners against (a) Trans Consult Ltd., (b) its clients and (c) its agents; [132427]
23 Oct 2003 : Column 684W
(4) what the cost has been of bringing (a) small businesses, (b) farmers and (c) transport operators before public inquiries solely because they are connected to Trans Consult Ltd. [132428]
Dr. Howells: Statutorily independent Traffic Commissioners are responsible for deciding applications for the licence required by operators of public service vehicles and heavy goods vehicles and Ministers cannot interfere in their decisions. Commissioners must satisfy themselves that applicants meet statutory conditions about good repute, financial standing and professional competence. They are also responsible for taking action against licence holders who do not comply with the terms of their licence. Traffic Commissioners can call public inquiries to assist their investigations. These inquiries are treated as tribunals. Appeals must be made to the Transport Tribunal.
Widford Bridge
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work to commence on repairing the Widford Bridge, Chelmsford; and how long he expects the work will take to complete. [132930]
Dr. Howells: Widford Bridge is owned by Network Rail and is included in their national load carrying assessment programme. A draft assessment report on the bridge is being prepared by W. S. Atkins on behalf of Essex County Council as part of a Joint Venture Agreement with Network Rail and this is expected to be delivered to Network Rail's consultant by the end of November 2003. If the report concludes that the bridge is weak, a weight restriction would be imposed as an interim measure.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Animal Experiments
Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of animals used for experimentation in the UK. [132230]
Caroline Flint: Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) act 1986 Act the Home Office, and its counterpart in Northern Ireland ( the Department of Health, Social Security and Public Safety), license the use of animals for scientific purposes where there is no non-animal alternative, and then only when both the number of animals and their suffering are minimised. This reflects the principles of the 3Rs—replacement, reduction and refinement.
As the regulator of the use of live animals in scientific procedures the Government is demand-led—it has no control over the number of project licence applications which it receives. While we must seek to minimise the number of animals used in particular programmes of work, we cannot therefore influence the overall amount of animal research and testing which takes place—that is determined by many other factors, including the economic climate and global trends in scientific endeavour. There are current developments—such as
23 Oct 2003 : Column 685W
advances in the use that can be made of genetically modified animals-which may lead in coming years to more rather than fewer animals used overall.
The Government fully supports and encourages development and promotion of the 3Rs in a number of ways, and additional impetus has been given to its efforts to that end by the related recommendations recently put forward by the House of Lords Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures. In the longer term we must rely for any further significant reduction in animal use largely on the scientific community's own continuing efforts to develop, validate and accept non-animal alternative methods.
Drugs
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrestees in (a) Haltemprice and Howden, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (c) the Humberside police authority area tested positive for Category A and B drugs in each of the last two quarters for which figures are available. [133219]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 20 October 2003]: Drug testing of persons in police detention (after charge) is not currently available in Haltemprice and Howden or the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Within the Humberside Police Authority, the following figures relate to the Kingston-upon-Hull Basic Command Unit (BCU):
Out of 121 attempted tests since the drug testing after charge programme began on 8 September 2003, 48 people tested positive for both category A and B drugs. Of those 48 positive results, 52 per cent. tested positive for cocaine, 15 per cent. tested positive for opiates and 33 per cent. tested positive for both opiates and cocaine.
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate how many hits on average per registered heroin addict have been seized by the police in each of the last 10 years. [132732]
Caroline Flint: It is not possible to estimate the number of hits on average per registered heroin addict seized by the police because only broad ranging estimates of the number of heroin addicts are available. The quantity of drug used in a "hit" will also vary. We do have data on the number of seizures of heroin made by the police, and the quantities they seized: these appear in the table.
These data are taken from the annual Home Office Statistical Bulletin, and Finding 202 "Seizures of drugs in the UK 2001". These are available on the RDS website and in the Library (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb402.pdf and http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r202.pdf).
Source:
Home Office Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom—Supplementary Tables and Findings 202
23 Oct 2003 : Column 686W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |