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11 Mar 2004 : Column 1640W—continued
Motorcycle Training
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will amend the regulations which enable (a) a motorcycle rider to complete compulsory basic training on an automatic machine and progress to ride a geared bike with no further training, (b) a novice rider to obtain a motorcycle restricted licence allowing him to ride a more powerful motorbike on the roads without providing proof that he has undertaken training or riding in the previous two years and (c) newly qualified motorcycle instructors to train others as instructors; and if he will make a statement. [159470]
Mr. Jamieson: We have no plans to make such amendments to the regulations at this time. We shall, however, keep under review the training arrangements for novice riders, and the persons authorised to instruct them, in the light of recommendations made to Government by the Advisory Group on Motorcycling, forthcoming changes to the practical motorcycling test and European proposals to amend motorcycle categories.
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on post-test training qualifications for motorcyclists. [159471]
Mr. Jamieson: The Driving Standards Agency is working in partnership with trainer and industry interests to create a voluntary rider development scheme to improve safety for motorcyclists who hold a full licence. Consultation with all interested parties is planned for later this year.
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Permanent Equipment (Highways)
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will require (a) the privatised former public utilities and (b) other companies providing similar services to pay a site rent to local authorities for permanent equipment located on the public highway. [157559]
Mr. Jamieson: We have no plans to require such bodies to pay a rent for locating permanent apparatus on the public highway.
Resurfacing
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason no regulations have been introduced under section 78 of the New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991 to require statutory undertakings to contribute to resurfacing costs. [159731]
Mr. Jamieson: Over recent years research has been undertaken by the Transport Research Laboratory, on behalf of my Department, examining the effect of utility trenching on the long-term performance of roads. Any decision on whether to make regulations under section 78 of the 1991 Act will be taken in the light of this and other evidence collected into the effect on the quality of roads of works carried out by statutory undertakers.
The Traffic Management Bill contains more explicit provision supplementing the general powers in section 78, so that, should a decision be taken that it would be appropriate for utilities and others to
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contribute towards the cost of putting right any damage caused to roads by works, then these costs can be fairly shared between the relevant parties.
Road Deaths and Injuries (Crosby)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the percentage change in (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries on roads in Crosby has been since 1997. [160544]
Mr. Jamieson: The available information relates to the numbers of killed and seriously injured road casualties in the local authority district of Sefton, which includes the constituency of Crosby, and is given in the following table.
| 1997 | 2002 | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Killed | 10 | 10 | — |
| Seriously injured | 100 | 88 | -12.0 |
Roads (Funding)
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been spent on road building projects in each of the last five years; and if he will use funds allocated to future schemes to encourage rail travel instead. [155887]
Mr. Jamieson: The expenditure on road building projects in England in the last five years is set out in the following table:
| Outturn | Forecast outturn | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | |
| Highways agency(3) | 318 | 300 | 427 | 491 | 413 |
| Local authorities outside London(4) | — | — | 94 | 118 | 104 |
| London (TfL)(5) | — | — | 23 | 17 | 10 |
| Total | 318 | 300 | 544 | 626 | 527 |
(3) Highways Agency expenditure is that on major road schemes costing over £5 million. It also includes spend on trunk roads in London until July 2000.
(4) Local Authority spend is the value of Credit Approvals issued to support major local road schemes over £5 million. The Department does not hold figures for road building projects prior to the year 2001 when its database was set up.
(5) London spend is Transport for London's expenditure on major road schemes over £5 million. TfL has been responsible for road improvements in London since July 2000
Notes:
1. Road building projects outside of England are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.
2. All figures are rounded to the nearest million.
The 10 Year Plan for Transport provided for a balance of investment between roads, public transport and railways. Future spending is being reviewed as part of Spending Review 2004. In respect of switching funds from road to rail, we would consider this following the outcome of SR2004 and the rail review.
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been spent by the Highways Agency on non-motorway roads in (a) Somerset, (b) Dorset, (c) Devon, (d) Cornwall, (e) North Somerset, (f) Wiltshire, (g) Bristol, (h) Bath and North East Somerset, (i) South Gloucestershire and (j) Gloucestershire in each year since 1990. [160499]
Mr. Jamieson: The Highways Agency started to collect information on expenditure on a county-by-county basis in 2001. Expenditure totals for the years 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 are therefore shown in the following table. Equivalent figures for earlier years are not available.
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The Highways Agency has no roads in North Somerset that are not motorways.
Transport Spending (Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much public money was spent on transport in the constituency of Sittingbourne and Sheppey between (a) 1992 and 1997, (b) 1997 and 2001 and (c) 2001 to 2004. [159490]
Mr. McNulty: Information on transport spending is not collected in the format requested.
Weight Limits (Lorries)
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what plans he has to increase the penalties for lorry drivers breaching weight limits set on smaller bridges for second and subsequent offences; [161008]
- (2) what plans he has to increase the penalty for lorry drivers breaching weight limits set on smaller bridges. [161009]
Mr. Jamieson: We have no plans to increase the penalties for lorry drivers breaching weight limits on smaller bridges for first or subsequent offences. Weight limits on bridges are notified by traffic signs, and failure to comply with such signs is an offence under section 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The maximum penalty for this offence is a fine not exceeding £1,000 plus a three point endorsement.
TREASURY
Unemployment (Jarrow)
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the change in the level of unemployment has been in the Jarrow constituency in each year since 1997; [159508]
- (2) what the level of youth unemployment was in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [159524]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Stephen Hepburn, dated 11 March 2004:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about unemployment in the Jarrow constituency. I am replying in his absence. (159508, 159524)
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- The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Jarrow Parliamentary Constituency.
- The ONS also publishes data on the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (ISA). Table 1 gives information on the change in the number of JSA claimants in the Jarrow Constituency for each year since 1997. Table 2 gives information, also for each year since 1997, on the number of the JSA claimants aged between 18 and 24 years in the Jarrow Constituency, the South Tyneside Unitary Authority, the Metropolitan County of Tyne and Wear and in the UK as a whole.
| Number of claimants | Difference from previous year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3,119 | — |
| 1998 | 2,766 | -353 |
| 1999 | 2,820 | 54 |
| 2000 | 2,625 | -195 |
| 2001 | 2,377 | -248 |
| 2002 | 2,273 | -104 |
| 2003 | 1,986 | -287 |
(6) Annual average.
Source:
Jobcentre plus administrative system.
| Jarrow Parliamentary Constituency | South Tyneside Unitary Authority | Metropolitan County of Tyne and Wear | United Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 802 | 1,800 | 11,563 | 406,417 |
| 1998 | 665 | 1,500 | 9,780 | 339,001 |
| 1999 | 654 | 1,458 | 8,903 | 294,124 |
| 2000 | 583 | 1,300 | 8,223 | 261,472 |
| 2001 | 557 | 1,234 | 7,637 | 241,222 |
| 2002 | 523 | 1,169 | 7,466 | 242,930 |
| 2003 | 512 | 1,158 | 7,267 | 249,054 |
(7) Annual average.
Source:
Jobcentre plus administrative system.
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