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Imported Cars

Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government are taking to deal with imported cars licensed in EU countries displaying out of date number plates and thereby avoiding enforcement action after road traffic offences. [62744]

 
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Dr. Ladyman: Overseas registered vehicles that are temporarily brought into the United Kingdom are usually exempt from registration and licensing rules for six months, provided they remain properly registered and taxed in their home state.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is aware that some drivers of overseas registered vehicles may not be aware of their obligations and that some are deliberately breaking the rules.

The DVLA has established agreements with several EU partner organisations to obtain information about the licensing and registration status of vehicles registered abroad. DVLA is also conducting a programme of education to raise awareness of the requirements among the users of foreign registered vehicles and to encourage their licensing and registration in the UK where appropriate.

Those that continue to flout the law will be subject to enforcement action including the wheel clamping and impounding of the vehicle.

Long-distance Trains

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government have taken to increase speeds on long-distance rail trips in order to reduce travel time. [62993]

Derek Twigg: Travel time on long-distance rail services have been improved through a variety of infrastructure and timetable initiatives including the West Coast Route Modernisation programme, which has upgraded much of the infrastructure to 125 mph and introduced modern trains with a significant reduction in journey times for travellers between Scotland and London.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government have taken to increase the proportion of long-distance trains that run on time. [62968]

Derek Twigg: Long-distance operator's punctuality has improved to 82.2 per cent. in February 2006, an increase of 9.2 percentage points in the last two years.

Under the Future of Rail White Paper 2004, Network Rail is accountable for performance and for co-ordinating rail industry planning and operational management. As a result of this change, they and the train operators now work more closely.

In addition, the Department holds regular meetings with Network Rail, and industry representatives to discuss further performance improvement.

LPG Vehicles

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport why vehicles converted to run on liquefied petroleum gas prior to 2001 are not eligible to be classified as low emissions vehicles by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. [62431]

Dr. Ladyman: Only cars registered on or after 1 March 2001 can be licensed under the graduated vehicle excise duty scheme.
 
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M1

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average number of vehicles using the M1 each day was in the last period for which figures are available; and how many vehicles the M1 was originally designed to carry. [63000]

Dr. Ladyman: Average daily traffic flows during the twelve months to the end of December 2005 are available at several locations on the M1.

Flows on the M1 vary according to the location along the motorway. Between junctions 1 and 2, within the M25, there are 50,000 vehicles per day (vpd) rising to 155,000 vpd between junctions 8–9 near St Albans and Luton and reducing again to 65,000 vpd between junctions 43 and 44 in Leeds.

The original predicted flows for the first section of M1, between Watford and Rugby, were forecast to be between 11,000 and 26,000 vpd in 1960. There were no predictions for flows in other future years.

M6

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when a decision will be reached on (a) widening the existing carriageway on the M6 and (b) building a new adjacent expressway. [61284]

Dr. Ladyman: In December 2002 the Highways Agency was instructed to evaluate widening concepts for the M6. This was followed in July 2005 by instruction to consider the additional concept of an expressway. The findings are due to be reported this summer following which a decision will be made regarding both concepts.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) widening the existing carriageway on the M6 and (b) building a new adjacent expressway. [61285]

Dr. Ladyman: The Highways Agency are currently considering widening and expressway concepts for the M6. Costs are being considered as part of that study which I expect to receive this summer.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work (a) to begin and (b) to be completed on improving capacity on the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester. [61286]

Dr. Ladyman: The Highways Agency are currently considering widening and expressway concepts for the M6. Programming is being considered as part of that study which I expect to receive this summer.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department began consulting on improving capacity on the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester. [61287]

Dr. Ladyman: The public were first consulted on proposals to widen this section of the M6 in the early 1990's.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent (a) on planning, (b) on consulting and (c) in total on
 
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(i)improving capacity on the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester and (ii) the Midlands to Manchester multi-modal study. [61289]

Dr. Ladyman: In the period since our response to the west midlands to north west conurbations multi-modal study in December 2002, approximately £4.5 million has been spent on preliminary design work, stakeholder engagement and other planning activities on improving capacity on the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester. It is not possible to provide a detailed breakdown of the total at the present time.

The total cost of the west midlands to north west conurbations multi-modal study was £2 million. This figure includes costs relating to public consultation exercises that were undertaken as part of the study.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations his Department has received on improving capacity on the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester. [61290]

Dr. Ladyman: In the summer and autumn of 2004 the Department undertook a consultation, 'M6: Giving motorists a choice', on the concept of building a new tolled expressway to run parallel with the M6, as an alternative to widening the existing M6 between Birmingham and Manchester (junction 11A to junction 19).

The consultation sought views on whether the Government should ask the Highways Agency to carry out more detailed development work and a feasibility study on the option of an expressway. Approximately 9,500 responses were received from a range of stakeholders. The responses were carefully analysed and a breakdown was placed in the Library of the House on 19 July 2005, when I announced the outcome of the initial consultation and the Secretary of State's decision to ask the Highways Agency to undertake further work in parallel on both the expressway and widening options.

As part of the option evaluation work currently in progress, the Highways Agency has been engaging with a wide range of representative stakeholder bodies, including the statutory environmental agencies. The Agency has organised eight meetings with stakeholders since the beginning of the year, including three well attended seminars, and two further meetings are currently planned for April. The discussions and written feedback will form part of the data to be used to inform a ministerial decision on the option to be taken forward. Formal public consultation would form part of the next stage of scheme development.

In addition to comments made during discussions, a total of 141 representations in the form of feedback sheets, letters and e-mails have been received from stakeholders to date.

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