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Buses

20. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress with improving bus transport in urban areas. [152290]

Mr. McNulty: The Government are working to improve bus services in urban areas in a number of ways. This includes the recent award of £19.6 million from the Urban Bus Challenge, full or provisional funding of £250 million for major bus schemes under the local transport settlement for 2004–05 and £20 million towards implementing real-time passenger information.

A21

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a further announcement in respect of the A21 between Flimwell and Robertsbridge. [151297]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 27 January 2004]: This is a particularly sensitive section of the A21 and it is important to find a solution to the traffic problems, which minimises any damage to the environment and to local communities. My officials now need to discuss the

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way forward with DEFRA colleagues to identify the right solution. I expect to make an announcement on the way forward when the discussions are completed.

Driving Tests

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the implications of re-testing drivers after (a) 10 and (b) 15 years;. [151638]

(2) what estimate he has made of the cost to public funds of requiring drivers to pass a refresher test to retain their driving licence after (a) 10 and (b) 15 years. [151639]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 29 January 2004]: We do not consider that the regular retesting of drivers would be a proportionate measure to deliver road safety benefits. We have made no estimate of the cost to public funds, but requiring all driving licence holders to undergo a periodic retest would be an onerous and expensive obligation, particularly since there is no evidence to suggest that road safety would be improved as a result. Most road accidents are caused by careless or inconsiderate driving, rather than a lack of skill.

Courts already have powers to require those drivers who offend to undergo a driving test. Where a driver is guilty of a serious motoring offence, this involves an extended length driving test.

Regional Assemblies

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of his powers will be transferred to elected regional assemblies where they are introduced; and which body holds each of those powers. [152104]

Mr. McNulty: The transport powers of elected regional assemblies were set out in the White Paper "Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions" (Cm5511).

Elected regional assemblies will be given powers to make Rail Passenger Partnership grants, which is currently the responsibility of the Strategic Rail Authority. They will also be responsible for advising government on funding allocations for local transport, taking over functions currently exercised by regional government offices. In addition, elected regional assemblies will be responsible for a regional transport strategy, which is currently prepared by regional planning bodies and issued by the Secretary of State for planning as part of regional planning guidance.

Speed Cameras

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money was raised in fines from speed cameras in the last year for which records are available in (a) Essex and (b) the West Chelmsford constituency. [151354]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 28 January 2004]: In 2001–02 £3,524,120 in conditional offer fixed penalties was collected by the Essex Safety Camera Partnership which includes West Chelmsford, for which separate figures are not available.

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Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money raised in fines from speed cameras during the last year for which records are available, was spent in (a) Essex and (b) the West Chelmsford constituency. [151355]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 28 January 2004]: In 2001–02 £3,003,763 from conditional offer fixed penalties was passed to the Essex Safety Camera Partnership for the operation and administration of their safety cameras. The Essex Partnership includes West Chelmsford, for which separate figures are not available.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

European Convention on Contact

Tim Loughton: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Government intend to become a signatory to the European Convention on Contact. [152229]

Mr. Leslie: The Government are at present considering the results of their expert consultation on the Council of Europe Convention on Contact. Public consultation will take place in due course. A decision on signature will be made in the light of the consultation responses.

Family Law Act

Tim Loughton: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the Government will implement section 11(4) of the Family Law Act 1996. [152228]

Mr. Leslie: On 16 January 2001 the Government announced that they had decided not to implement the provisions of Part II of the Family Law Act 1996, including section 11(4), and that the provisions would be repealed when a suitable legislative opportunity arose.

Land Registration

Paul Flynn: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the conclusion of the Law Commission's report, "Land Registration for the Twenty-First Century: A Conveyancing Revolution", concerning the remnants of feudalism in England and Wales. [152344]

Mr. Lammy: The joint Law Commission and Land Registry report, "Land Registration for the Twenty-First Century: A Conveyancing Revolution", concluded that there was a strong case for creating a clear and comprehensive legislative framework for the holding of land by the Crown and the Royal Duchies, and in relation to their role when land is ownerless. The report also stated that the Commission and Land Registry could not see any good reason for the retention of the remaining aspects of feudalism in England and Wales.

The Law Commission are now considering whether a proposed review of the remnants of feudalism in land law in England and Wales should form part of the Commission's 9th programme of law reform. The programme is expected to be published later this year.

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Under Sheriffs

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what the implications of the Courts Act 2003 are for the remuneration of Under Sheriffs; [151133]

(2) what steps he has taken to make up shortfalls in Under Sheriffs' remuneration arising from changes introduced in the Courts Act 2003. [151134]

Mr. Lammy: The Courts Act 2003 removes the link between responsibility for High Court Enforcement work and the ceremonial functions of the Shrievalty. The latter attracts no remuneration. The arrangements for remuneration for High Court Enforcement work are unchanged. Where Under Sheriffs do not seek or receive authorisation as High Court Enforcement Officers, they will no longer be obliged to undertake High Court Enforcement work, so the issues of remuneration, or any shortfall in remuneration do not arise.

TREASURY

Respiratory Diseases (Children)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children between five and 15 years died of respiratory-related diseases in each year since 2000. [152555]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Tim Loughton, dated 3 February 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many children aged between 5 and 15 years died of respiratory-related diseases in each year since 2000. (152555)

The latest available data are for 2002. Figures for children aged 5 to 15 in England and Wales in the three years 2000 to 2002 are given in the table below.

Deaths from diseases of the respiratory system,⁽¹⁸⁾England and Wales, 2000 to 2002⁽¹⁹⁾

	Children aged between 5 and 15 years of age
2000	62
2001(20)	53
2002(20)	67

⁽¹⁸⁾ Selected using codes 460 to 519 from the International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision for 2000 and codes J00-J99 from the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision for 2001 and 2002.

⁽¹⁹⁾ Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.

⁽²⁰⁾ The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in 2001 means that data for respiratory diseases from this year onwards are not completely comparable with data for earlier years. The data should therefore be interpreted with caution. For respiratory diseases the effect of the change in classification in 2001 is described in a report published in May 2002.*

* Office for National Statistics. Results of the ICD-10 bridge coding study, England and Wales, 1999. Health Statistics Quarterly 14 (2002), 75–83.

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