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19 Jan 2006 : Column 1481W—continued
Operator Licensing System
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2005, Official Report, column 226W, on the Transport Commissioners, when he plans to make a statement on the consultation paper on proposals for modernising and streamlining the operator licensing system. [43951]
Dr. Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my writtenstatement on 19 December 2005, Official Report, column 188WS.
Pensioners (Hendon)
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pensioners in Hendon have (a) received discounted driving licences and (b) qualified for free bus travel in 2005; and if he will make a statement. [41616]
Ms Buck: (a) The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency issued 1,020,328 free driving licences to those aged 70 and over during 2005. It is not known how many of these licences were issued to residents of Hendon.
(b) In the parliamentary constituency of Hendon, over 17,000 people aged 60 or over were eligible for concessionary travel on London's buses in 2005 In the whole of the London borough of Barnet, 58,300 older people were eligible. However, the take-up of concessionary travel in the constituency of the borough is not known. In London as a whole the take-up rate of concessionary travel permits in 2004 was 85 per cent.
Railways
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2005, Official Report, column 1150W, on train operating companies, what the criteria are for the evaluation of costs and benefits of propositions from train operating company franchise bidders. [39376]
Derek Twigg: The Department carries out bid evaluation in accordance with HM Treasury-approved standard methodologies for cost benefit analysis.
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of passengers who will be using railways in Great Britain by 2014. [41040]
Derek Twigg:
The Department's published projections for rail use are expressed as passenger kilometres rather than numbers of passengers. Current projections are set out in the paper The Future of Transport: Modelling and Analysis" published on 21 March 2005 which is available on the Department's website. The central projection shows rail passenger kilometres increasing by 33 per cent. between 2000 and 2010 and by 1.3 per cent. a year from 2010 to 2025.
19 Jan 2006 : Column 1482W
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail passenger kilometres were travelled in each of the last five years. [40855]
Derek Twigg: The information is as follows:
| Total passenger kilometres (billion) | |
|---|---|
| April 2000-March 2001 | 38.2 |
| April 2001-March 2002 | 39.1 |
| April 2002-March 2003 | 39.7 |
| April 2003-March 2004 | 40.9 |
| April 2004-March 2005 | 42.4 |
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's target is for an increase in rail use. [40867]
Derek Twigg: The Department does not have a current target for an increase in rail use. It has a public service agreement (PSA) to achieve 85 per cent. reliability by March 2006 as reliability was deemed to be the major limiting factor in increasing rail use.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was of closing the Strategic Rail Authority. [41710]
Derek Twigg: The Strategic Rail Authority has not yet been fully closed. The Authority's 2005 annual report estimated that final cost expected to be incurred is £13.9 million. This relates to staff costs including redundancy.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people previously employed by the Strategic Rail Authority in technical and advisory roles have been retained in similar roles elsewhere within the rail industry. [41712]
Derek Twigg: The Strategic Rail Authority employed seven technical specialists on 1 April 2005. Of these, six have been retained in the rail industry, three of which transferred to the Department for Transport.
Road Deaths (Lancashire)
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road deaths there have been in the Lancashire county council area in each of the last five years. [43145]
Dr. Ladyman: The number of fatalities in personal injury road accidents in Lancashire county council (excluding the unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool) for the last five years for which data is available, are given in table.
| Year of accident | Number of fatalities(15) |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 53 |
| 2001 | 62 |
| 2002 | 53 |
| 2003 | 75 |
| 2004 | 54 |
(15)Deaths within 30 days of the accident. Excludes confirmed suicides, death from natural causes and injuries to pedestrians with no vehicle involvement (e.g. a fall on the pavement).
19 Jan 2006 : Column 1483W
South East Trains
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that all staff are transferred from South East Trains to Govia without any loss of benefits in their terms and conditions of employment and pension rights. [42239]
Derek Twigg: All staff currently employed by South Eastern Trains will be transferred to the new Franchisee on the 1 April 2006. Their transfer to the new employer will be in accordance with the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE).
Stage Cottage (East Sussex)
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what renovation work has been carried out by contractors working for the Highways Agency on Stage Cottage, Hurst Green, East Sussex; and how much they have been paid. [43108]
Dr. Ladyman: Stage Cottage has undergone substantial re-decoration and refurbishment at a cost of £22,000.00 plus vat.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Highways Agency has to rent out Stage Cottage, Hurst Green, East Sussex following its purchase under a compulsory purchase order in 2005. [43109]
Dr. Ladyman: A compulsory purchase order has notyet been published for this scheme. This was a discretionary purchase at the owner's request. The Highways Agency is making arrangements through its managing agent to rent out this property as soon as possible.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Highways Agency has spent on Stage Cottage, Hurst Green, East Sussex since it was purchased under a compulsory purchase order. [43111]
Dr. Ladyman: A compulsory purchase order has not yet been published for this scheme. This was a discretionary purchase at the owner's request. A total of £24,481 plus VAT has been spent on Stage Cottage, which includes the refurbishment and management, maintenance and security costs.
Traffic Accidents (Ribble Valley)
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) fatal and (b) serious road traffic accidents occurred in Ribble Valley constituency in each year since 1997. [43146]
Dr. Ladyman: The number of fatal and serious personal injury accidents that occurred in the parliamentary constituency of Ribble Valley for each year since 1997, is given in table.
| Accident severity | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year of accident | Fatal | Serious |
| 1997 | 11 | 84 |
| 1998 | 16 | 93 |
| 1999 | 8 | 73 |
| 2000 | 6 | 68 |
| 2001 | 10 | 76 |
| 2002 | 7 | 73 |
| 2003 | 7 | 62 |
| 2004 | 3 | 51 |
19 Jan 2006 : Column 1484W
The accidents in the table are those which occurred within the 2004 boundary of Ribble Valley constituency.
Transport Strategy Documents
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the transport strategy documents published by his Department and its agencies since 1997. [43187]
Ms Buck: Since 1997, the Department for Transport, and its predecessors, have published the following documents relating to overarching transport strategy:
'A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone The Government's White Paper on the Future of Transport (July 1998)
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