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Railways

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reopen the Sheffield Woodhead to Manchester railway line to freight traffic; what timescale he envisages for making a decision; and if he will make a statement. [65516]

Derek Twigg: We are aware of private sector initiatives to reopen the line but no formal proposal has been put to the Department.

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when (a) he and (b) his officials last met Arriva Trains Wales to discuss (i) capacity and service provision on the South Wales mainline, (ii) improving
 
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connecting services west of Cardiff, (iii) overcrowding on trains and (iv) improvements to station facilities and security. [60824]

Derek Twigg: Ministers meet representatives from the train operating companies from time to time and a wide range of issues are discussed.

There is no specific obligation, within the ATW Franchise Agreement, to enhance station facilities although there is an obligation to enhance security provisions at car parks to railway stations along this route.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next plans to carry out a (a) national and (b) regional survey of railway station usage. [62456]

Derek Twigg: The Department for Transport has been collecting usage data from all stations across Great Britain as part of the National Rail Travel Survey. Results from this survey should be available in autumn 2006, and will build both a national and regional picture of rail travel and station usage.

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 7 March 2006, Official Report, column1280W, on railways, what the levels of overcrowding in peak hours were on train lines on each (a) line and (b) franchise in each year since 1996–97, broken down by passenger transport executive area. [63976]

Derek Twigg: Figures for Passengers in Excess of Capacity (PIXC), a measure which applies to weekday commuter trains arriving in London between 07:00 and 09:59 and those departing London between 16:00 and 18:59 for the train operators, are available in the Libraries of the House.

The PIXC measure does not apply to other services and the additional information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the implications for direct railway services between Leeds and London of the decision to start direct railway services between Sunderland and London; and if he will make a statement. [65517]

Derek Twigg: An assessment of the decision is being carried out by Network Rail on direction from the Office of Rail Regulation. It is expected to be completed by June.

Road Accidents (Essex)

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were (a) killed and (b) injured in road accidents in Essex between 1995 and the latest available date. [64624]

Dr. Ladyman: 832 people were killed and 70,816 were seriously and slightly injured in personal injury road accidents in Essex (excluding the unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock) between the years 1995 and 2004 (the latest for which figures are available).
 
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School Run

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate the Department has made of the total number of miles driven to take children to and from school over the last five years. [65990]

Dr. Ladyman: Data from the National Travel Survey showing the number of miles travelled by car drivers for the purpose of escorting others to education are given in the following table. Data are provided on a single-year basis to 2002. Prior to this, the NTS sample was too small to give reliable single-year estimates. Data have therefore been presented for 1999–2001 as a three-year average.
Million

	Total mileage
1999–2001 average	3,940
2002	3,802
2003	3,947
2004	4,422

Speeding (Motorcyclists)

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to reduce the chances of motorcyclists being charged for speeding on the basis of inaccurate evidence; and if he will make a statement. [65856]

Dr. Ladyman: Evidence of speeding for possible use in court must be provided by equipment that has been type-approved by the Home Secretary. No equipment receives type approval unless it has successfully passed rigorous and comprehensive tests both operationally and in the laboratory. No specific test is prescribed that involves motorcycles, or any other particular sort of vehicle, because they are not considered to present any distinct problems. The operational tests do, however, involve measuring the speed of any passing traffic including motorcycles. The Home Office are wholly satisfied that when used in accordance with their type approval, the manufacturers' instructions and the Code of Practice issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers all type approved devices are accurate and reliable on motorcycles and in the evidence they produce.

Television Sets

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many television sets are in operation in the Department (a) in total, (b) in Ministers' private offices and (c) in each building in the Department; and how many television licences are held by the Department. [62808]

Derek Twigg: The Department for Transport has 218 television sets. There is one television in the office of each Minister and one in the private office of each Minister. The breakdown on the number of television sets in each building has been placed in the Libraries of the House. 69 television licences are held by the Department.
 
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The number of television sets will not in all cases strictly correspond to the number of licences held because of Crown exemption in situations where the equipment is used for official purposes.

Data have not been provided for the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, an Executive Agency of the Department, as the requested information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Football (Role Models)

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what responses she received to her letter of 2004 to football club chairmen on reminding them of the responsibility players have as positive role models. [65819]

Mr. Caborn: The purpose of my letter of 9 August 2004 to the chairmen of the 92 Premier and Football League clubs was to remind them of the huge impact football can have on wider society.

No formal response was required. However, those chairmen who did respond agreed with the sentiments expressed in my letter and assured me that they would take the opportunity to convey my message to both their players and manager.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if she will make a statement on progress with site assembly at the Olympic Park and planned changes to the configuration of the park; [65114]

(2) what recent discussions her Department has had with the Reuben Brothers on site assembly at the Olympic Park; and what assessment she has made of the future options for site assembly. [65115]

Mr. Caborn [holding answer 24 April 2006]: Good progress continues to be made in assembling the land for the Olympic Park. More than 80 per cent. of the land needed is already in public authority control. The London Development Agency (LDA) is responsible for the process of land assembly and its preferred option for acquiring land continues to be through reaching private agreements with landowners. Given the size and complexity of the site, the LDA has decided that it is necessary to exercise its powers of compulsory acquisition so as to be sure of securing possession of the land when required. A Public Inquiry for this Compulsory Purchase Order will begin on 9 May 2006.

The Olympic Delivery Authority are continuing to test and validate their plans to ensure that they can deliver the best Games and legacy facilities. No wholesale changes are being proposed, but there may be some adjustments to the layout of facilities within the existing Olympic Park area. Any such changes are likely to be announced before the summer.

The Department has had no discussions with the Reuben Brothers on the process of land assembly.
 
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