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19 Jan 2006 : Column 1473W—continued
Bus Services (Lincolnshire)
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Government financial assistance has been provided to (a) North East Lincolnshire and (b) North Lincolnshire for the provision of bus services in each of the five most recent years for which figures are available. [42587]
Ms Buck: Local transport authorities make their own decisions on the level of support for bus services in their area. The Government's Revenue Support Grant is a major element in the resources available to them for this purpose. The following tables show expenditure by the two local authorities concerned on bus support and concessionary fares on local bus services:
Bus support | Concessionary fare reimbursement | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 128 | 452 |
| 2001–02 | 75 | 497 |
| 2002–03 | 76 | 710 |
| 2003–04 | 334 | 786 |
| 2004–05 | 350 | 647 |
Bus support | Concessionary fare reimbursement | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 705 | 403 |
| 2001–02 | 789 | 556 |
| 2002–03 | 725 | 579 |
| 2003–04 | 783 | 478 |
| 2004–05 | 616 | 588 |
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Included in the figures for bus support is funding provided by this Department's bus grant schemes. The following table shows the total bus grant scheme funding allocated to both authorities since the introduction of the schemes in 1998:
| North Lincolnshire | North East Lincolnshire | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural Bus Subsidy Grant | 2,669 | 459 |
| Rural Bus Challenge | 686 | 345 |
| Urban Bus Challenge | — | 376 |
| Kickstart | — | 523 |
In addition, all bus operators receive Bus Service Operators Grant, reimbursing the major part (currently 80 per cent.) of the fuel duty paid in operating local services.
Child Seats
Ms Barlow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conclusions have been drawn from his Department's consultation on child seats in cars; and when the European Directive 2003/20/EC3 on child seats will be implemented. [43125]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department expects to be able to announce the conclusions of the consultation soon. The directive requires implementation by 8 May 2006, and regulations are in preparation.
Cycling England
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding Cycling England plans to allocate to improving the cycling network in (a) the Tees Valley and (b) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency area; and what measures will be funded in each case. [43295]
Derek Twigg: Cycling England has allocated £2.5 million to Darlington borough council in the Tees Valley as one of the six successful bidders in the Cycle Demonstration Towns project. £2 million is for capital investment to improve cycle facilities, including new and improved cycle routes. A further £35,000 and £40,000 has been allocated respectively to Darlington BC and Stockton-on-Tees BC as part of the 'Links to Schools' programme which Cycling England fund through Sustrans, the promoters of the National Cycle Network.
Cycling England have made no specific allocation of funding to Middlesbrough, South or East Cleveland, though they will be able to bid for a share of the £1 million Cycling England investment in cycle training. Authorities in those areas can also receive free expert advice on cycling from the advisory services funded by Cycling England.
Drink Driving
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) fatal and (b) serious road accidents there were in each of the past five years for which figures are available; and how many in each year involved drivers with blood alcohol levels (i) above the legal limit, (ii) below the legal limit but above 50mg per 100ml and (iii) below 50mg per 100ml. [42980]
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Dr. Ladyman: The number of fatal and serious personal injury road accidents between 2000 and 2004 (the last five years for which figures are available) are shown in table A.
| Fatal accidents | Serious accidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3,108 | 32,499 |
| 2001 | 3,176 | 31,588 |
| 2002 | 3,124 | 30,521 |
| 2003 | 3,247 | 28,913 |
| 2004 | 2,978 | 26,748 |
Information on the blood alcohol level of drivers involved in personal injury road accidents is not collected.
The estimated number of fatal and serious personal injury road accidents involving illegal alcohol levels between 2000 and 2004 are shown in table B.
(7)Provisional estimate
European Aviation Safety Agency
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how the quality and consistency of advice provided by the European Aviation Safety Agency is monitored; [42738]
(2) how he plans to keep under review the effectiveness of the European Aviation Safety Agency's methods of regulation. [42746]
Ms Buck: The European Aviation Safety Agency provides a range of advice to various parties. It issues opinions to the Commission, which will be concerned with the quality and consistency of the advice it receives from the Agency.
The Agency also issues specifications and guidance material to be used in the certification process. There is no specific process for monitoring the quality and consistency of this advice. However there is an appeal process against the decisions of the Agency and it is possible that appellants could refer to any weaknesses in the advice. In addition an advisory body of interested parties has been set up which may monitor matters of this kind.
The Management Board has a key role. It is empowered to advise the executive director at any time on any matter related to the strategic development of aviation safety, such as the quality and consistency of advice provided by the Agency or the effectiveness of its methods of regulation. The board may consult the advisory body of interested parties before raising such concerns with the director.
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Also, by September 2006 the board must commission an independent evaluation of the implementation of the regulation which established the Agency. The evaluation will include an examination of how effectively the Agency fulfils its mission, and will thus need to examine both the quality and consistency of its advice and the effectiveness of its methods of regulation.
The Civil Aviation Authority is keeping under review all aspects of the performance of the Agency and reporting its findings to the Secretary of State. This advice also informs the positions taken in the Management Board by the UK representative, who is the deputy chairman of the board.
The Secretary of State has written to Jacques Barrot, vice-president of the European Commission to stress the Government's concern about the Agency's performance in the areas covered by this and the hon. Member's related parliamentary questions on the subject. The Secretary of State has sought the commissioner's proposals for resolving these problems as soon as possible and an early meeting at the highest official level.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the European Aviation Safety Agency has published a corporate plan strategy for achieving its objectives. [42749]
Ms Buck: Regulation (EC) No. 1592/2002 assigns the Agency various functions for the purposes of the proper functioning and development of civil aviation safety. The Agency is required to publish annually a programme of work for the coming year setting out how it intends to achieve this objective, which contains some of the elements normally expected in a corporate plan.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are in place to improve working relationships between the European Aviation Safety Agency and national aviation authorities in EU member states. [42751]
Ms Buck: The European Aviation Safety Agency's Management Board has placed considerable emphasis on the importance of developing better working relationships between the Agency and national aviation authorities. The board has agreed that the joint Agency/national aviation authority group it set up to monitor the Agencies manpower planning should also address other issues affecting the Agency/national aviation authority interface as they arise.
One of the recommendations of this group is that the Agency should hold discussions with each national authority on certain aspects of manpower planning and it is hoped that these discussions will provide an opportunity to build up working relationships more generally. Initial discussions have already been held with the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what formal contractual arrangements are in place between the European Aviation Safety Agency and national aviation authorities in EU member states to plan and manage technical resources. [42752]
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Ms Buck: The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have established framework contracts under a common format with the majority of national aviation authorities, the object of which is, for a period of three years following signature, to:
assist the European Aviation Safety Agency in the execution of its tasks in the fields of certification, as specified in article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002."
The framework goes on to make clear that:
Signature of the contract imposes no obligation on the parties to purchase or provide services. Only implementation of the contract through order forms and specific contracts is binding on the parties."
The framework contract between EASA and the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was signed on 1 June 2005. Subsequently EASA have issued order forms for the provision of technical assistance for limited periods of up to three months. The CAA currently has an order covering January and February 2006.
The framework contract does not provide for the planning or management of technical resources, other than to meet regularly in a review capacity. In practice EASA and the CAA meet monthly to exchange information pertaining to these issues.
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