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16 Jun 2005 : Column 538W—continued
Race Relations
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of staff in his Department have received training on the general and specific duties of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, broken down by (a) ethnicity and (b) grade. [3535]
Ms Buck: All staff within the Department for Transport and its Executive agencies who are responsible for conducting Race Impact Assessments have attended training or are due to attend. This includes both the general and the specific duty. Further impact assessment training will be delivered as and when there is a need to train more assessors.
Information about the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the General and Specific Duty, and the Race Equality Scheme 2005–08 has been communicated to all staff via internal bulletins, intranet sites, induction training and included within diversity and equality training.
Note:
Total staff=194
Future training planned for 2005–06
Further training for impact assessments is scheduled within in some Executive agencies for 2005 to increase the number of staff trained in this area.
The central Department is also reviewing how to train all staff in the general and specific duty in 2005–06. This would increase the number of staff trained in the centre by a further 1,500 which is being considered to be mandatory training.
In addition, DVLA is also currently reviewing the training options available to include general and specific duty training to all staff, and expects to start this training later in 2005. This would involve training a further 7,000 members of staff.
Rail Passengers Council
Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the consultants Odgers, Ray and Berndtson conducting the selection process for the members of the Rail Passengers Council were chosen. [3928]
Derek Twigg: The Department for Transport selected Odgers, Ray and Berndtson from the list of 16 firms included in the Cabinet Office executive search call off contract to assist in the appointment of members of the Rail Passengers Council.
Railways
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Department's plans are for the East Coast Main Line. [4382]
Derek Twigg:
The new East Coast Inter City franchise commenced on 1 May 2005. Among the obligations within the new franchise are additional services to Leeds and the development of a study into the electrification of the rail network between Neville Hill and Hambleton South Junction. Later this month the SRA plans to publish a review summarising the work to date on the supply and demand for ECML train services and the options that can be considered for the future. It is planned that Network Rail, who have the responsibility for route utilisation, will consult further on the requirements for the line.
16 Jun 2005 : Column 539W
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many instances of trespass there were on railways in the UK in each of the last five years. [4705]
Derek Twigg: According to the rail industry's Safety Management Information System (SMIS) data, the total numbers of trespass cases recorded on the national rail network in Great Britain for each of the last five years are as follows:
| Trespass cases recorded | |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 11,147 |
| 2001 | 11,487 |
| 2002 | 12,034 |
| 2003 | 11,933 |
| 2004 | 11,196 |
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities arising from trespass there were on railways in the UK in each of the last five years. [4706]
Derek Twigg: According to the rail industry's Safety Management Information System (SMIS), fatalities due to trespass in the Great Britain in each of the last five years are as follows:
| Suicides and suspected suicides | Other trespasser fatalities | Total fatalities | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 205 | 63 | 268 |
| 2001 | 190 | 52 | 242 |
| 2002 | 207 | 48 | 255 |
| 2003 | 183 | 49 | 232 |
| 2004 | 196 | 37 | 233 |
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average fine for trespass on railways in the UK was in each of the last five years. [4708]
Derek Twigg: This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the maximum fine available for trespass on UK railways was in each of the last five years. [4709]
Derek Twigg: In each of the last five years, the maximum fine for trespassing on the railways in contravention of section 55(1) of the British Transport Commission Act 1949 has been £1,000.
Road Charging
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what account will be taken in drawing up further proposals for road charging of the effects of the London congestion charge on (a) numbers of people travelling and (b) methods of transport used; [3824]
(2) what estimate the Department has made of the cost of gantry construction and installation in connection with a road pricing system in the whole of the United Kingdom. [4556]
Dr. Ladyman:
I refer the hon. Member to my answer given today to the hon. Members for Dundee, East (Stewart Hosie) and for Romford (Andrew Rosindell).
16 Jun 2005 : Column 540W
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what account will be taken of (a) engine size, (b) emissions and (c) fuel efficiency when calculating road charging prices; [2880]
(2) what assessment he has made of the likely effects on tourism of a road charging scheme; [2881]
(3) if he will make a statement on plans for a pay-as-you-go drive system. [2949]
Dr. Ladyman: In line with its manifesto commitments, the Government will examine the potential of moving away from the current system of motoring taxation towards a national system of road pricing.
The Feasibility Study of Road Pricing in the UK, published by the Department for Transport in July 2004, concluded that a scheme could reduce congestion by some 40 per cent. and achieve benefits of up to £12 billion a year in time savings and increased reliability. This would bring benefits for the economy as a whole and individuals using the road network for business and leisure.
The Feasibility Study recognised that before road pricing could be implemented much more work would need to be done. It is too early to specify all the details of a scheme, or to determine precisely its impacts. It will be important to learn from the experiences of charging schemes already in place, such as the London Congestion Charge. We need to design a system that works at a reasonable cost, with clear benefits to road users as well as the country as a whole. Key considerations include the need to safeguard our environmental objectives, respect privacy and the setting of prices.
More detailed work is now being taken forward to allow a decision to be made about whether national road pricing should be introduced and what form it should take.
Safety Cameras
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many safety cameras are operated by each safety camera partnership in England, broken down by (a) fixed cameras and (b) mobile cameras. [4915]
Dr. Ladyman: For information on the number of fixed and mobile speed camera sites broken down by partnership, I refer to my answer of 9 June 2005, Official Report, columns 617–19W. Further detailed information is available from partnerships.
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