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20 Jul 2004 : Column 129W—continued

Community Transport

15. Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport support he has given to community transport in South Derbyshire. [184929]

Mr. McNulty: Most of the capital funding for local transport provided by the Department is allocated through Local Transport Plans, and so it is for the Local Transport Authorities to determine how these resources are best used to serve local priorities. This year we have, however, made £465,750 available through the Rural Bus Challenge Programme to support the Southern Derbyshire Rural Access Initiative

National Railcard

16. Lawrie Quinn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the proposed introduction of a national railcard. [184930]

Mr. McNulty: My right hon. Friend has asked the Strategic Rail Authority and the industry to work up proposals for a national railcard. The SRA is currently taking this forward and I expect to receive advice later this year.
 
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Road Safety

17. Bob Russell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many crashes involving vehicles on the hard shoulder of motorways occurred in the last year for which figures are available. [184931]

Mr. Jamieson: The number of personal injury accidents that occurred on hard shoulders of English trunk motorways in 2002, the latest year for which validated data is available, was 104.

The provisional number of personal injury accidents that occurred on these motorway hard shoulders in 2003 was 73.

No records are kept of non-injury accidents.

Seafaring Ratings

18. Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to make a decision on whether to introduce an employment and training link for UK seafaring ratings and officers as part of the tonnage tax regime. [184932]

Mr. Jamieson: The tonnage tax regime is under review and representations have been invited by the end of September. The possibility of an employment link is one of the issues that has already been raised. We will announce our conclusions when all of the representations have been carefully considered.

Airport Noise

19. David Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received about the need for noise controls near regional airports. [184933]

Mr. McNulty: Although from time to time the Department receives representations about noise control measures at various regional airports, recent representations have mostly been about Nottingham East Midlands Airport. The Government's conclusions on proposals to tackle operational aircraft noise from civil aircraft were published in December 2003.

Camera Safety Partnerships

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to publicise his Department's guidelines for the operation of camera safety partnerships. [184613]

Mr. Jamieson: The current handbook of rules and guidelines for the operation of the safety camera cost recovery programme was placed in the Library of the House on 5 December 2003. The handbook is currently being updated for 2005–06. The new handbook will be placed in the House Library and published on the DfT website.

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what monitoring processes are in place to ensure that his Department's guidelines for the operation of camera safety partnerships are observed. [184614]

Dr. Howells: The programme rules require the safety camera partnerships' accounts to be audited annually by the audit commission. Partnerships must also provide regular data to the Department on numbers of
 
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collisions and casualties. An independent report on the first three years of the operation of the safety camera programme by University College London and PA Consulting Group was published on 15 June, confirming the major reduction in collisions, deaths and casualties achieved at camera sites.

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of public awareness of the guidelines that are in force for the operation of camera safety partnerships. [184615]

Mr. Jamieson: The criteria for the deployment of safety camera and the rules on camera conspicuity and visibility rules have been placed on the DfT website. The University College London and PA Consulting Group report on the first three years of the safety camera programme, published on 15 June, includes a description of the programme and the key rules and guidelines, and this is also available on the DfT website.

Mr. Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money was received by central Government in 2003 in fines paid by motorists who were prosecuted for speeding as a result of the evidence of fixed cameras. [179818]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 21 June 2004]: During the financial year 2002–03, the latest year for which figures are available, the amount of conditional offer fixed penalty fines relating to speed and red light safety cameras within the safety camera programme was £68,872,320. From this amount, £54,256,502 was returned to the Safety Camera Partnerships to cover their costs. We do not hold information centrally for camera operations other than those operated within the Safety Camera Partnerships. Neither is information held centrally on the amount of fines raised as a result of court proceedings.

Figures for fixed cameras alone are not separately available.

Commercial Vehicles (Safety)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the Highways Agency to publish its report on safety of commercial vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [184301]

Mr. Jamieson: The Highways Agency intends to publish a report on its Study of Trunk Road Accidents Involving Goods Vehicles early in 2005.

The Highways Agency is currently undertaking research into accidents involving Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs). The work is not yet complete but the initial findings suggest that there are a number of complex and interrelated issues involved with HGV accidents.

Diesel Deposits (Prosecutions)

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prosecutions there have been in each of the last five years as a direct result of a vehicle depositing diesel on the road. [185552]

Mr. Jamieson: The information requested is not collected by my Department in this format.
 
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In 2002–03 the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency tested 466,000 heavy goods vehicles, 4,673 of which failed due to faults with the fuel system and also with oil leaks. During the same period 2,031 HGVs were given a prohibition for faults to the fuel system or for oil leaks at the roadside.

Harwich

Mr. Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding has been spent in the Harwich constituency from the Local Transport Plan. [184998]

Mr. McNulty: The constituency of Harwich falls within the Essex Local Transport Plan area. Essex has been allocated £109 million of local transport plan funding since 2000.

Decisions on how much of this funding is spent in Harwich are a matter for the authorities concerned.

Infrastructure/Services (Storm Damage)

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has commissioned on preventative measures to restrict damage to transport (a) infrastructure and (b) services caused by adverse weather conditions. [184037]

Mr. Jamieson: The Department has commissioned a number of projects addressing the impact of adverse weather conditions on transport infrastructure and services. This includes the following recent projects:

(a) Infrastructure

(b) Services

The majority of the projects are funded by the Highways Agency and further information can be obtained from their website www.highways.gov.uk. The remaining projects are funded by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and DfT(C) with further information available at www.mcga.gov.uk and www.dft.gov.uk respectively.


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