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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 15 March 2005
TRANSPORT
Crossrail
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the building work on the Crossrail scheme to start. [221657]
Mr. Darling: Main construction of Crossrail could not start until the necessary powers are in place.
London Underground (Assaults)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers on the London Underground have been assaulted in the last 12 months. [221454]
Mr. McNulty: The total number of assaults recorded by the British Transport Police for their London Underground Area for the period from 1 March 2004 to 28 February 2005 was 2,022. A breakdown of the offence categories is provided in the table:
Operation Stack
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance the Department has issued on Operation Stack in Kent. [221589]
Mr. Jamieson: The Highways Agency, on behalf of the Department, provides information and advice to motorists about Operation Stack, using road signs, leaflets and on their website.
Kent Police has the sole authority for implementing Operation Stack but work closely with the Highways Agency to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum.
Regional Offices
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regional (a) bodies, (b) institutions, (c) taskforces, (d) panels, (e) offices and (f) organisations the Government have established since May 1997 which his Department is responsible for. [220261]
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Charlotte Atkins: Information on taskforces attached to central Government Departments and in existence between May 1997 and October 2000 was made available in three reports published in January, July and December 2000 on "Task Forces, Ad Hoc Advisory Groups and Reviews". For the years 2001–02 and 2003–03, this information has been included in the publications "Public Bodies 2002" and "Public Bodies 2003" respectively. Copies of these reports are available in the Library of the House. For 2003–04, this information can be found on the Cabinet Office's Public Bodies database.
The GLA Act 1999 established Transport for London (TfL) under the direction of the Mayor of London to implement policies that promote and encourage safe, integrated, efficient, and economic transport facilities and services to, from and within London. TfL was established on 3 July 2000. The British Transport Police Authority was established on 1 June 2004 and is modelled on Home Office local police authorities.
Snow Ploughs
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) snow ploughs and (b) gritting vehicles were deployed on the (i) M1, (b) M18 and (c) M62 on 21 February. [221722]
Mr. Jamieson: On 21 February, the Highways Agency deployed in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region:
Targets
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what recent assessment he has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to secure improvements to the accessibility, punctuality and reliability for local public transport will be met by 2010; [219089]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to increase the use of local public transport by 12 per cent. from 2000 levels will be met by 2010. [219090]
Charlotte Atkins: Increases in bus patronage in England since 2000–01 have been consistent with achieving the PSA target to increase the use of local public transport (bus and light rail) by 12 per cent. from 2000 levels by 2010. Bus and light rail patronage in England increased by 6.3 per cent. between the baseline year of 2000–01 and 2003–04, the latest period for which data are available, covering the first three years of the 10-year target period.
The version of the target specified for SR2002 also included the requirement to secure improvements to the accessibility, punctuality and reliability of local public transport.
The percentage of the GB local bus fleet that is wheelchair accessible has increased from 22 per cent. in 2000–01 to 39 per cent. in 2003–04.
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There is no national target for improvements in accessibility. However, local authorities will need to include at least one local accessibility target in their second round Local Transport Plans and the Department will monitor progress against these targets. The Department has developed a range of core indicators, which will be used to build up a national picture of accessibility. Local targets may be based on these core indicators, or on other factors relevant in the local area.
The reliability of bus services in England (percentage of scheduled mileage run, excluding loses outside operators' control) has increased from 98.2 per cent. in 2000–01 to 98.5 per cent. in 2003–04.
A pilot national survey of bus punctuality in England was carried out in March 2004. The first main survey is planned for March/April 2005. We are not yet in a position to assess whether punctuality is improving. Local authorities will need to include a bus punctuality indicator in their second round Local Transport Plans and monitor progress in their areas. Local authorities and bus operators are encouraged to work together in Punctuality Improvement Partnerships to overcome problems which lead to poor punctuality.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Public Service Agreement target to achieve annual efficiency savings across the Department of 2.5 per cent. was met in 2004. [219097]
Charlotte Atkins: As outlined in the Department's 2004 Autumn Performance Report, the Department achieved efficiencies of £11.1 million in 2003–04 against a target of £8.9 million.
Transport (Women Workers)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of how many women work in the UK transport sector. [221288]
Charlotte Atkins: Estimates are available, based on Office for National Statistics surveys of employers, about the number of employee jobs in the transport sector in Great Britain.
The table shows the number of employee jobs in the transport sector in Great Britain that are held by women. The statistics are for March 2004, the latest available period, and are classified according to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1992.
(1) Estimates exclude the self-employed
(2) Estimates are classified according to the Standard Industrial Classification 1992
Source:
Employment surveys, Office for National Statistics (ONS)
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In March 2004, 29 per cent. of employee jobs in the transport sector were occupied by women, compared with 17 per cent. in March 1995.
Road Safety
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what educational material is provided by his Department to local education authorities to teach children about road safety. [221453]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport provides a range of educational materials for local education authorities and schools to teach children of all ages about road safety.
On the safe side—local responsibility on road safety education in schools: good practice and teaching ideas for primary schools, secondary schools and local authorities. http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafety/documents/divisionhomepage/032504.hcsp
Road safety lesson plans in a range of curriculum subjects for pupils from key stage 1 to AS/A2 level. http://www.databases.dft.gov.uk/lessonplans/
A database of road safety educational resources, launched in March 2005 http://www.databases.dft.gov.uk/roadsafety
Hard-copy teaching materials available from DfTs Free Literature Service include:
Making Choices—moving on to secondary school: teacher's manual, parent's booklet and child's magazine
A rural road safety teaching resource for Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils, prepared with RoSPA, will be launched this spring.
The Driving Standards Agency runs the Arrive Alive education programme, aimed at pre-drivers and newly-qualified drivers aged 16–19. The presentation is delivered free of charge to a range of organisations including schools and colleges, armed forces, youth football teams and Young Offenders' Units.
Road safety education and training is often delivered through local authority road safety officers. They can also deliver training schemes such as DfT's Kerbcraft roadside child pedestrian training scheme, the Crossroads pc-based pedestrian training scheme and cycle training.
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