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19 Oct 2004 : Column 608W—continued
Congestion Charging
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on congestion charging in cities other than London. [191457]
Charlotte Atkins: Local authorities have powers under the Transport Act 2000 to introduce congestion charging in their areas. The Government are committed to work alongside authorities, to help them put in place packages of measures that tackle local congestion problems. Resources from the new Transport Innovation Fund will be available to support packages that tackle congestion through measures such as congestion charging schemes and radically enhanced bus services.
Dartford Crossing
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is regarding (a) the accumulation and (b) uses of an operating surplus from the Dartford Crossing. [192351]
Mr. Jamieson:
All income from charging at the Dartford Crossing is taken into account in the funding for the 10 year plan.
19 Oct 2004 : Column 609W
Driving Tests
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many advanced driving instructors are expected by the Driving Standards Authority to fail the Part 1 Hazard Perception Test when it becomes compulsory. [191025]
Mr. Jamieson: The Driving Standards Agency is confident that Approved Driving Instructors will meet the requirement to successfully complete the Hazard Perception Test by December 2006.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what charge he expects will be made for advance driving instructors taking Hazard Perception Test re-tests. [192174]
Mr. Jamieson: The re-test fee for the Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) Hazard Perception Test is currently being calculated. When it has been quantified, the Agency will advise ADIs of the level of the fee and the arrangements for taking the test.
London Underground
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much central government money will be invested in the London Underground over the next five years. [191486]
Mr. McNulty: The GLA transport grant over the next five years will include the following provision for London Underground that will support its investment programme:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 1,161 |
| 2006–07 | l,281 |
| 2007–08 | l,340 |
| 2008–09 | l,218 |
| 2009–10 | l,308 |
In addition, the costs of work by London Underground in completing the current phase of the redevelopment of King's Cross LUL station will be met by the Department. Ministers are considering a detailed report on the case for proceeding with phase 2 of this project.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much central Government money was invested in the London Underground in each year between 1999 and its transfer to the Mayor of London. [191551]
Mr. McNulty:
London Underground's investment was funded from operational income and the Government grant paid to London Regional Transport. The following table shows the grant paid to London Transport and the levels of London Underground investment in 1999–2000 to 2003–04. Until July 2000, when Transport for London was established, the grant to London Transport also provided funding for Croydon Tramlink, bus and river services.
19 Oct 2004 : Column 610W
| £ million | ||
|---|---|---|
| London Regional Transport grant | London Underground investment | |
| 1999–00 | 816 | 907 |
| 2000–01 | 315 | 293 |
| 2001–02 | 484 | 418 |
| 2002–03 | 767 | 402 |
| 2003–04 | (22)1,218 | 668 |
(22) Grant figure for the whole year, although after July 2003, it was paid as part of the Greater London Authority transport grant.
In addition since 1999, Department for Transport has paid £319 million to LU for the work at King's Cross LUL station in connection with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Motorways
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements he has made for additional road traffic policing to enforce the greater lane discipline on motorways announced on 11 October. [192075]
Mr. Jamieson: No additional road traffic policing arrangements were made to enforce the message trials announced on the 11 October. The purpose of piloting lane discipline messages on the motorway message signs was to gauge their effectiveness in improving driver behaviour to reduce accidents and congestion on England's motorways. Lane occupancy is therefore being monitored by the Highways Agency, before, during and after the trial. The information obtained will be used to take forward the assessment of the potential of using variable message signs in this way.
Railways
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to re-organise the procedures for awarding rail service franchises; and whether he intends to change the number of companies with such franchises. [192006]
Mr. Darling: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement I have made to the House today.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the punctuality of railway service providers. [191462]
Mr. McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority publishes performance figures and commentary in their quarterly National Rail Trends publication, copies of which are placed in the Library of the House. The latest figures show that 84.5 per cent. of services ran on time in the first quarter of 2004, up by 0.2 per cent. on the same period in 2003.
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when Broken Cross railway bridge on the Salisbury to Waterloo line at Ford, east of Salisbury, will be upgraded; and if he will make a statement. [191767]
Mr. McNulty: This is an operational matter for Network Rail. Network Rail will respond directly to the hon. Member.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail freight miles were travelled in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003. [192211]
19 Oct 2004 : Column 611W
Mr. McNulty: Information on rail freight miles is not available in calendar years. However, the following data is available in financial years:
| Financial year | Miles |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 30,315,798 |
| 2002–03 | 29,335,863 |
| 2003–04 | 29,340,524 |
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents of people riding on the outside of moving trains were reported to the British Transport Police in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003; what measures are being taken to prevent train surfing; and if he will make a statement. [192226]
Mr. McNulty: The number of incidents of surfing recorded by the BTP's Command and Control system for the last two years (excluding Scotland) is as follows:
| January to December | Number |
|---|---|
| (a) 2002 | 251 |
| (b) 2003 | 472 |
The BTP are working with other parts of the industry to make young people aware of the dangers of trespass on the railway. This partnership approach is delivered through education, prevention, deterrence, detection, and community involvement. Local campaigns to combat route crime are run, particularly leading up to and in the summer holidays. However, care needs to be taken regarding the issue of surfing as publicity could lead to copycat offences.
Mr. Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent by the Government on capital works on the UK rail network since privatisation; and what the Department's estimate is of the amount to be spent by Government over the next 10 years. [189574]
Mr. McNulty: Between 1997–98 and 2003–04, the Government directly funded £3.52 billion of investment by Railtrack, Network Rail and London and Continental Railways. Total private rail investment during that period amounted to £19.12 billion, of which £3.34 billion was rolling stock investment.
Planned Government expenditure on rail for the next three years will be published in due course. Network Rail plans to invest around £14 billion in rail infrastructure over the next five years.
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