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8 Sept 2004 : Column 1253W—continued
A65
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds he has (a) been asked for and (b) agreed to provide for the A65 bus lane scheme. [186735]
Dr. Howells: Leeds city council initially asked for £20 million for this scheme, and my Department provisionally accepted it for funding at this cost in December 2001. Subsequently, a revised scheme costing £29 million, along with a lower cost alternative for £21 million, has been submitted which is currently being considered by my Department.
Designated Accommodation
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rooms are set aside for (a) the use of smokers, (b) worship, broken down by religion and (c) nursing mothers and pregnant women in each building and set of offices for which his Department is responsible. [187323]
Mr. McNulty: DfT central has a significant presence in nine buildings shown in the following table, which also shows the number of rooms available for smokers, prayer (non-denominational) or for the use of nursing mothers or pregnant women.
| Building | Smoking room | Prayer room | Nursing mothers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Minster House, London | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Southside, London | 0 | 0 | 1 (first aid room) |
| MAVIS Crowthorne | 0 | 0 | 1 (first aid room) |
| Ashdown House Hastings(1) | 3 | 1 | 1 (first aid room) |
| Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Farnborough | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Southampton | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Temple Quay, Bristol(1) | 1 | 0 | 1 (first aid room) |
| Ashdown House Victoria, London | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Portland House, London(1) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
(1) Facilities shared with other Government Departments (OGDs)
8 Sept 2004 : Column 1254W
Highways Agency
Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget of the Highways Agency in the North East of England was in each of the last three years. [186430]
Dr. Howells: The budget of the Highways Agency in the North East of England in the last three years was £49.133 million for 2002–03, £52.323 million for 2003–04 and £49.588 million in 2004–05.
London Gateway Port Harbour Empowerment Order
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will delay his decision on the London Gateway Port Harbour Empowerment Order until he is satisfied that a reasonable compensation package has been offered to local fishermen; and if he will make a statement. [187591]
Mr. Jamieson: The inspector's report of the Public Inquiry held into the London Gateway proposals is with this Department for consideration as part of the statutory process. I understand that fisheries issues were raised at the inquiry and the Secretary of State will of course take into account all relevant considerations in reaching his decision.
Rail Services (London)
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport over what length beyond the boundaries of the current Greater London Authority area he expects the Mayor of London to have jurisdiction for the railways. [186790]
Mr. Darling: "The Future of Rail" White Paper said that we will look at whether it is feasible to give the Mayor the right to specify and pay for services that provide additional capacity in London, and acknowledges that some of these services start or end their journeys outside London. However, the White Paper also made it clear that it would be essential to ensure that the rights and interests of rail passengers outside of London are protected, and will consult fully with the GLA and neighbouring regional and local bodies before reaching a conclusion on this proposal.
Road Maintenance/Schemes
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road maintenance schemes requiring completion are outstanding; and when he expects they will be completed. [186734]
Mr. Darling: Road maintenance is an ongoing activity for highway authorities, with new schemes starting or completing on time. The Department does not keep central records of what works are planned or are in progress other than for the Highways Agency. Other maintenance is a matter for individual highway authorities.
John Thurso:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the eight major schemes listed in the Highways Agency's business plan for 2004–05
8 Sept 2004 : Column 1255W
scheduled to start in this financial year will proceed according to timetable following publication of The Future of Transport. [187540]
Mr. Jamieson: Five of the schemes listed in the Highways Agency's business plan—A14 Rookery Crossroads grade separated junction, A249 Iwade-Queenborough Improvement, A47 Thorney Bypass, A5 Weeford-Fazeley Improvement and A63 Melton Grade Separated Junction—have already been given approval to start works in the current financial year. Decisions on the other three schemes will be taken shortly.
Road Safety
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the use of speed limiters in lorries has been assessed to determine efficiency in preventing traffic accidents. [187404]
Mr. Jamieson: The accident involvement rate on motorways (per hundred million vehicle kms) fell from 6.4 for all HGVs in 1991 (before the mandatory fitting of speed limiters was introduced) to 4.3 in 2002—which is a 34 per cent. decrease. This is significant, particularly as traffic volume increased by 33 per cent. over the same period.
The above figures include accidents involving currently non-speed limited HGVs between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes. However, the reduction in accidents for exclusively speed limited vehicles may be even more significant. Almost all articulated HGVs are speed limited and the accident involvement rate for that class of vehicle fell from 6.7 in 1991 to 3.9 in 2002—a 42 per cent. decrease.
Other contributing factors may also have influenced that decline but speed limiters have clearly played a part.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many lorries are fitted with speed limiters. [187405]
Mr. Jamieson: All goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes are required to have speed limiters fitted. As at 31 December 2003 there were 276,000 such vehicles licensed.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving lorries occurred during overtaking manoeuvres in each of the last 10 years; and how many of these involved lorries fitted with speed limiters. [187406]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of accidents occurring during overtaking manoeuvres involving HGVs on motorways for the last 10 years is set out as follows:
| Fatal | Serious | Slight | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 6 | 34 | 236 | 276 |
| 1995 | 9 | 25 | 214 | 248 |
| 1996 | 7 | 38 | 233 | 278 |
| 1997 | 7 | 37 | 255 | 299 |
| 1998 | 9 | 29 | 259 | 297 |
| 1999 | 7 | 40 | 280 | 327 |
| 2000 | 11 | 38 | 338 | 387 |
| 2001 | 7 | 28 | 291 | 326 |
| 2002 | 5 | 35 | 298 | 338 |
| 2003 | 8 | 42 | 305 | 355 |
8 Sept 2004 : Column 1256W
Although it has been a requirement to fit speed limiters to vehicles over 7.5 tonnes since 1992, we have only been recording HGVs over 7.5 tonnes on our database as a separate category of vehicles since 1999. All of the accidents from 1999 onwards quoted above involved HGVs fitted with a speed limiter.
The rise in the number of accidents involving HGVs can largely be attributed to the increase in traffic—indeed, the number of accidents involving all categories of vehicle has increased over the last 10 years. However, the accident rate per vehicle kilometres has changed little during the same time period and, in the case of HGVs, the accident rate per vehicle kilometres has actually fallen quite substantially since the introduction of speed limiters (a decrease of 34 per cent. between 1991 and 2002).
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed by the Humberside Safety Camera Partnership. [186205]
Mr. Jamieson: The Humberside Safety Camera Partnership employs a complement of 49.6 full time equivalent posts. Eight of these posts are filled by police officers, the rest civilians.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he proposes to take to raise public awareness of the guidelines that are in place for Safety Camera Partnerships. [186206]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport website contains information on the rules of the safety camera programme on the deployment, signing and visibility of safety cameras, as does the website of the National Safety Camera Liaison, which provides information on Safety Camera Partnerships' activities. The Handbook of Rules and Guidelines for the next year's operation of the programme is currently being prepared. When it is issued, we will publicise it, and make it available through the Department's website.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he intends to implement to make Safety Camera Partnerships more responsive to complaints received from members of the public. [186207]
Mr. Jamieson: Members of the public who have a complaint about an alleged offence caught on a safety camera can challenge it in a Magistrates Court. Partnerships are made up of police, local and magistrates courts authorities, each of which will have a complaint procedure. Partnerships consider, investigate and respond to complaints in line with those. Partnerships also provide extensive information on their activities, including information on camera sites, through their websites and local media.
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