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31 Oct 2005 : Column 668W—continued
Heathrow (Third Runway)
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a map of the flight paths that would be used by aircraft should the proposed third runway be built at Heathrow airport. [22849]
Ms Buck: The airspace arrangements to support a possible third runway at Heathrow are still being developed as part of the Project for the Sustainable Development of Heathrow. Illustrative work will be carried out to assess the likely impacts of a third runway, including noise impacts. Detailed design of flight paths will only follow if a decision in principle is reached to proceed with a third runway and would then be the subject of consultation.
Minimum Speed Limits
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to introduce minimum speed limits on (a) trunk roads and (b) motorways. [22880]
Dr. Ladyman: The Government have no plans to introduce minimum speed limits on trunk roads or motorways.
Motorway Service Stations
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department last reviewed the regulations relating to motorway service station areas. [22680]
Dr. Ladyman: The regulations relating to motorway service areas were last reviewed in the spring of 1998, culminating in the statement to the House of Lords of July 1998 (HA269), which announced amendments to policy set out in the Department of Transport Roads Circular 1/94, 'Motorway Service Areas'. I have recently instigated a further review of roadside facilities for users of both motorways and all-purpose trunk roads. Discussions with key stakeholders are in progress. I have asked the Highways Agency to prepare a document for consultation early in 2006.
Off-road Cycling
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on off-road cycling; and if he will make a statement. [22274]
Derek Twigg: We encourage safe and responsible cycling, on or—where permitted—off the road network. Cycling is a healthy and environmentally friendly mode of transport which can help deliver a number of key Government objectives including reducing congestion and pollution and improving people's health and fitness.
Parking Offences (Decriminalisation)
Paul Rowen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the
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process by which power was transferred from the police to local authorities following the decriminalisation of parking offences; what steps he took to ensure that this was a smooth transition of authority; and if he will make a statement; [22882]
(2) what guidelines he has provided for local authorities to ensure the validity of penalty charge notices since the decriminalisation of parking offences; [23077]
(3) what assessment he has made of the management of parking offences by local authorities since decriminalisation of parking offences; and if he will make a statement. [23078]
Ms Buck: The Road Traffic Act 1991 provides for the decriminalisation of most non-endorseable on-street parking offences in London and allows similar arrangements to be introduced elsewhere. Research for the Department by the Transport Research Laboratory (Special Parking Areas in London"; The Special Parking Area in the District of Winchester"; and The Special Parking Area in Oxford") showed that decriminalised parking enforcement provides local authorities with greater control over their enforcement activity and an enhanced ability to deliver their parking strategies. The Department partly funded the British Parking Association's recent review of decriminalised parking enforcement, which concluded that the existing system works well but that it would benefit from some modifications.
In 1995, the Secretary of State issued detailed guidance for local authorities in England outside of London on applying for, introducing and operating decriminalised parking enforcement. The guidance—local authority circular 1/95—makes clear that local authorities should liaise with the police to ensure a smooth and orderly transfer of responsibilities and that they should, therefore, continue to liaise with the police so that the two systems can operate effectively side-by-side. When applying for the power to enforce parking regulations, authorities have to submit detailed applications to the Department for Transport which need to confirm, among other things, that the authority will review its existing Traffic Regulation Orders, signs and road markings and use suitable documentation—including an appropriate penalty charge notice (PCN)—when enforcing contraventions. The appropriate police authority is asked whether it supports the application.
Circular 1/95 also makes it clear that the Government expect authorities to have regard to the minimum or common standards set out in that guidance. The information that must appear on a penalty charge notice is set out in the Road Traffic Act 1991. The Secretary of State's 1/95 guidance provides further suggestions about information that should be provided on penalty charge notices.
The Department is considering options for strengthening the existing system for the civil enforcement of parking contraventions while drafting regulations and guidance under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2005. We have established an expert working group to help us take this work forward and aim to carry out public consultation in spring 2006.
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Road Accidents (Lancashire)
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road (a) accidents and (b) fatalities there have been on the (i) A59 and (ii) M6 in Lancashire in each of the last 10 years. [21163]
Dr. Ladyman: The number of personal injury road accidents and the number of resultant fatalities on the A59 and M6 within the borders of Lancashire county council for the years 1995 to 2004 are shown in the following table.
Speed Cameras
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) mobile and (b) fixed speed cameras in reducing speeding in North Shropshire. [22918]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department only holds information for the whole West Mercia area not broken down by district or camera type. Further detailed information will be available from the partnership and I have asked them to respond directly.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what impact (a) mobile and (b) fixed speed cameras have had on road accidents in West Mercia since they were introduced. [22919]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department only holds information for the whole West Mercia area not broken down by camera type. Further detailed information will be available from the partnership and I have asked them to respond directly.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the annual running costs were of the West Mercia Safety Camera Partnership for each year for which figures are available. [22915]
Dr. Ladyman: The Safety Camera Partnership in West Mercia joined the national safety camera programme in April 2003. During 2003–04, their running costs were £2,607,770 and during 2004–05 their running costs were £2,289,700.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what budget the funds raised by speeding fines not spent on running the West Mercia Safety Camera Partnership were applied in each of the years for which figures are available. [22916]
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Dr. Ladyman: The Safety Camera Partnership in West Mercia joined the national safety camera programme in April 2003. Their running costs, amount of fines collected from fixed penalty fines and the resulting surplus were:
| Running costs | Amount collected from fixed penalty fines | Surplus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 2,607,770 | 3,086,160 | 478,390 |
| 2004–05 | 2,289,700 | 3,095,940 | 806,240 |
The surplus goes to the Consolidated Fund.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of the fines imposed by the West Mercia Safety Camera Partnership were for repeat offenders in the years for which figures are available. [22917]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department does not record or keep this information. Further detailed information will be available directly from the partnership and I have asked them to respond directly.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was raised in fines by the West Mercia Safety Camera Partnership by (a) mobile speed cameras, (b) fixed speed cameras and (c) in total in each year for which figures are available. [22920]
Dr. Ladyman: The Safety Camera Partnership in West Mercia joined the national safety camera programme in April 2003. The Department does not hold information broken down by type of camera. During 2003–04, fines collected from fixed penalties were £3,086,160 and during 2004–05 fines collected from fixed penalties were £3,095,940.
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