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19 Jul 2004 : Column 15W—continued

Congestion Charges

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the health impact of the implementation of traffic congestion charges in cities where there is experience of their operation. [184388]

Mr. Jamieson: The Mayor of London introduced a scheme to reduce congestion in central London in February 2003. Early indications suggest that congestion charging has resulted in a significant reduction in road traffic in central London. The First Annual Monitoring Report by Transport for London (TfL) considered the direct effect of the congestion charge on air quality would be relatively modest. TfL's Second Annual Report estimated small decreases in both PM _{1 0} particles and nitrogen oxides in the charging zone. It is too early, however, to assess fully the air quality changes and thus to calculate the implied impact on health. GLA/TfL estimated that congestion charging would result in between 150 and 250 fewer reported accidents, involving injury, per year within Greater London. TfL's Second Annual Report highlighted that the recent pattern of decreasing levels of accidents within the charging zone is continuing, and there is no evidence of detrimental change in road traffic accidents within or around the zone.

Dangerous Goods (Safety)

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures his Department (a) has put in place and (b) plans to put in place regarding the implementation of the Dangerous Goods Safety Advisors scheme throughout the transport industry. [184590]

Mr. Jamieson: The requirement for the appointment of Dangerous Goods Safety Advisers stemmed from EU Directives 96/35/EC (June 1996) and 2000/18/EC (April 2000). Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 257 implemented the requirement into national legislation—The Transport of Dangerous Goods (Safety Advisers) Regulations 1999 (as amended). The 1999 regulations were later subsumed into Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 586—The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004.
 
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This legislation implemented the requirements of the EU Framework Directives for Rail and Road, which required member states to align their national legislation with the international requirements for the transport of dangerous goods by rail and road. Similar legislation is in place in Northern Ireland.

The EU requirement to appoint safety advisers applied only to the transport modes of road, rail and inland waterways.

Diabetic Retinopathy (Driving Licences)

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many diabetic retinopathy sufferers have had their driving licences revoked in each of the past three years; how many appealed against the decision; and how many had their licence subsequently returned. [184633]

Mr. Jamieson: Information on the total number of revocations over the last three years for drivers who have diabetic retinopathy is not available without incurring disproportionate costs. When a licence is revoked, the driver is always offered the opportunity to provide fresh evidence, which in such cases would normally be in the form of further visual field charts. If the new fields satisfy the standard, a licence will be re-issued. No information is readily available on how many drivers have their licences returned on this basis.

Since 2001, 18 drivers revoked because of diabetic retinopathy have formally appealed to a magistrates court in England and Wales or to a Sheriff Court in Scotland. Three went to a full hearing and of these two were dismissed and one was upheld and a new licence was issued. The other 15 appeals were withdrawn and eight have subsequently been issued with licences following the submission of fresh visual fields which met the required standard.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's policy is on driving and visual disorders as they relate to people with diabetes; and if he will make a statement. [184635]

Mr. Jamieson: The visual standards and assessment procedures applied in relation to drivers with diabetes are those to which all drivers are subject, regardless of their medical condition.

Fishermen (Working Time Directive)

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what exemptions or derogations are applicable to fishermen in respect of the Working Time Directive; whether they are (a) temporary and (b) permanent; and when those that are temporary will expire. [184717]

Mr. Jamieson: Under the Fishing Vessels (Working Time: Sea Fishermen) Regulations 2004, which comes into force on 16 August, the Secretary of State may grant exceptions from the limit on the maximum weekly working time and the minimum periods of daily and weekly rest for objective or technical reasons or reasons concerning the organisation of work, provided he has consulted those concerned and the exception is subject to such conditions and limitations as will protect
 
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fishermen's health and safety. He may alter or cancel any exception on reasonable notice and after consultation with those affected.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Working Time Directive is in force in relation to its application to commercial sea fishing activity. [185196]

Mr. Jamieson: The Fishing Vessels (Working Time: Sea Fishermen) Regulations 2004 were laid in Parliament on 13 July 2004 and come into force on 16 August 2004. The Regulations implement the European Directives on working time in respect of workers engaged in sea fishing.

Heavy Goods Vehicles

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles using the UK's roads were heavy goods vehicles in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many road accidents involved
 
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HGVs in each year; how many people were (a) killed and (b) injured in such accidents; and what percentage these figures represent of the total in each case. [184302]

Mr. Jamieson: The latest available figures are for 2001 to 2003 when the number of UK-registered heavy goods vehicles on the roads was:

	Number of heavy goods vehicles
2001	449,000
2002	453,000
2003	456,000

In addition, it is estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 foreign-registered HGVs use roads in Great Britain.

The information requested about road accidents involving HGVs in the UK, and casualties arising from these accidents is shown in the table.

	Road accidents involving HGVs		People killed in road accidents involving HGVs		People injured in road accidents involving HGVs
	Number	Percentage of all road accidents	Number	Percentage of all road fatalities	Number	Percentage of all injured road casualties
2001	14,160	6	578	16	18,738	6
2002	12,894	6	532	15	17,058	5
2003	12,643	6	530	14	16,758	6

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many licensed heavy goods vehicles there were in the UK in each of the last 10 years. [184333]

Mr. Jamieson: The number of heavy goods vehicles licensed at the end of each of the last 10 years in the United Kingdom are as follows:

	Number of heavy goods vehicles
1994	430,500
1995	434,200
1996	438,000
1997	440,600
1998	439,500
1999	439,900
2000	443,300
2001	449,100
2002	453,000
2003	455,600

International Ship and Port Facility Security Code

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the training being given to ship security officers will train them in all 25 of the topics given in Part B of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code. [184598]

Mr. Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency approve training providers against the training specification for ship security officers which covers 23 of the 25 topics identified in Part B of the ISPS Code. Those concerning the layout of the individual ship are covered by the ship security officers' professional knowledge, and those concerning crowd management and control techniques are covered by other professional qualifications.

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