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17 Jan 2005 : Column 674W—continued
Motorway Crashes
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people died as a result of crashes that occurred on hard shoulders of English motorways in 2004. [208214]
Mr. Jamieson: The information requested is not available. Final figures for road accidents and casualties in Great Britain in 2004 will become available in June 2005. However, in 2003 there were 10 fatalities in crashes on hard shoulders on English motorways.
Rail Services
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many passengers departed from London Paddington on (a) First Great Western and (b) First Great Western Link services in the latest month for which figures are available, broken down by (i) morning peak time, (ii) afternoon peak time and (iii) off-peak time; [208497]
(2) how many passengers arrived at London Paddington on (a) First Great Western and (b) First Great Western Link services in the latest month for which figures are available, broken down by (i) morning peak time, (ii) afternoon peak time and (iii) off-peak time. [208499]
Mr. McNulty: The available daily passenger figures are shown as follows.
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Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of First Great Western Link's latest passenger survey conducted on the route from London Paddington to (a) Maidenhead and (b) Twyford; [208498]
(2) when First Great Western last conducted a passenger survey of the number of commuters and rail passengers on the route from London Paddington to (a) Maidenhead and (b) Twyford. [208501]
Mr. McNulty: A copy of First Great Western (FGW) and First Great Western Link (FGWL) survey results for November/December 2004 has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Roads
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been allocated for road improvement schemes in the East of England for (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07 and (c) 2007–08. [208046]
Mr. Jamieson: The Highways Agency plans to spend £143 million on major road improvements in the region in 2005–06. Funding allocations of £35 million for 2005–06 have been made to local authorities to progress major road improvement schemes. In addition allocations totalling £65 million for 2005–06 have been made for local authorities to progress lesser transport (including road improvement) capital schemes. It is up to the local authorities to decide how much of this £65 million is spent on road improvements. Allocations have not yet been made for 2006–07 and 2007–08.
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the projected cost is for the proposed scheme to upgrade the section of the A11 between the Fiveways Roundabout at Barton Mills in Suffolk and Thetford. [208047]
Mr. Jamieson: The scheme budget costs for the A11 Fiveways to Thetford Improvement is currently £60 million. This scheme has been remitted for regional priority setting and that the Highways Agency will be continuing to progress the preparation of the scheme to proceed to construction in 2008–09. The Agency will review the scheme costs as part of that process.
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he held with his predecessor with regard to the proposed A3 tunnel at Hindhead. [208220]
Shipping
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers exist to regulate shipping movements within UK territorial waters; and who may exercise these powers. [208159]
Mr. Jamieson
[holding answer 13 January 2005]: The Secretary of State's statutory powers of intervention to regulate shipping in UK territorial waters can be found
17 Jan 2005 : Column 676W
in Schedule 3A of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, the Marine Safety Act 2003 which amends the 1995 Act and extends his powers, and the Dangerous Vessels Act 1985.
This gives the Secretary of State for Transport the function of giving direction for, or co-ordinating, measures to reduce risks to life or safety of a ship or ships or prevent, reduce and minimise the effects of marine pollution. The Secretary of State's Representative (SOSREP), or an officer of the Department's Maritime and Coastguard Agency acting on SOSREP's behalf, may exercise these functions, including the Secretary of State's intervention powers.
The UK implements the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, which, among other things, obliges ships to comply with Traffic Separation Schemes, as exists in the English Channel, which have been adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Enforcement of these requirements is carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Other recommendatory routeing measures, for example Areas to be Avoided and Precautionary Areas, are in place to assist safe navigation around the shores of the UK.
Any action taken by the UK to regulate shipping movements must necessarily be consistent with international law, most particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Trams
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to develop a tram network that would cover the Greater London area in co-operation with London local authorities and the Greater London assembly; and if he will make a statement. [208654]
Mr. McNulty: Following the creation of the Greater London authority, Transport for London (TfL), under the Mayor, is responsible for drawing up London's transport strategy and the development of tram schemes in London.
Waterways
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of waterways and canals have been lost for transportation purposes each year since 1997. [208172]
Mr. Jamieson: Information is available for Great Britain for 1995 and 2002. Between these years commercial waterway track reduced by 88 km.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many tonnes of freight have been transported on waterways and canals in each year since 1997. [208173]
Mr. Jamieson:
The annual tonnage of freight transported on UK inland waters, including canals, from 1997 to 2003, the latest year for which information is available, was as follows.
17 Jan 2005 : Column 677W
| UK inland waters freight traffic (million tonnes) | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 58.5 |
| 1998 | 57.3 |
| 1999 | 53.8 |
| 2000 | 49.0 |
| 2001 | 53.5 |
| 2002 | 49.0 |
| 2003 | 47.4 |
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of how many additional tonnes of freight have been transported by road rather than on waterways and canals as a result of development of waterways and canals for non-transportation purposes in each year since 1997. [208174]
Mr. Jamieson: No information is available.
LEADER OF THE HOUSE
Divisions
John Mann: To ask the Leader of the House what the average number of hon. Members taking part in Divisions at sittings on Fridays has been since June 2001. [207876]
Mr. Hain: The average number of hon. Members voting in Divisions on a Friday since June 2001 is 68.
European Union
Mr. Brady: To ask the Leader of the House by what procedure he intends that the UK Parliament should arrive at a reasoned opinion (1) as to whether a draft European legislative act fails to comply with the principle of subsidiarity, within six weeks of the receipt of the draft as proposed in article 6 of the second protocol to the proposed EU Constitution; [208253]
(2) on compliance of a European draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity within six weeks of its transmission to the UK Parliament where that transmission occurs either during or immediately prior to a parliamentary recess. [208254]
Mr. Hain: It is for the two Houses of Parliament to decide what parliamentary procedures would be most effective to implement the subsidiarity early warning mechanism. The matter is currently under consideration by the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons, and by the House of Lords European Union Committee. Evidence submitted by the European Scrutiny Committee to the Modernisation Committee's inquiry on this point has been published on the Parliament website. The Committees are addressing the question of how the mechanism would operate when Parliament is in recess. The Government awaits the two Committees' recommendations with interest.
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