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20 July 2006 : Column 686W—continued
(2) how much public money Network Rail has spent in Dawlish Warren on capital work to bolster up the sea defences since 1997; and what the annual cost has been of ongoing repairs in each of the last nine years. [87079]
Derek Twigg: These are operational matters for Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail’s Chief Executive at the following address for a response to his questions:
John Armitt
Chief Executive
Network Rail
40 Melton Street
London NW1 2EE
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether planned improvements to Central Milton Keynes train station include a lift for disabled access to all platforms. [86748]
Derek Twigg: The station extension at Milton Keynes Central station is being designed to the latest accessibility requirements including the continued provision of lifts to all platforms.
Road Noise
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of road were resurfaced to reduce noise in each year since 2000-01; what the location of each resurfacing project was; what the total cost of resurfacing was in each year; and what work is planned in each year up to 2010-11. [85817]
Dr. Ladyman: The Highways Agency currently resurfaces roads for maintenance reasons only, but has in previous years also resurfaced carriageways for environmental noise reasons, when specific funding was available. The Highways Agency does not separately record these two categories of carriageway resurfacing and it is therefore not possible to confirm the carriageway length resurfaced purely for noise reasons.
Since 2000-01 it has been Highways Agency policy to resurface carriageways with quieter surfacing materials, when maintenance is required. The following table shows the total quieter surfacing delivered in each year (data are only recorded in lane kms):
| Lane kms quieter surfacing | |
The Highways Agency anticipates that it will deliver at least 1,000 lane kms in 2006-07. With respect to future forecasts, the forward maintenance programme is currently being updated, therefore it is not possible to accurately confirm the anticipated delivery for 2007-08. Delivery for years beyond 2007-08 will be subject to confirmation within the comprehensive spending review 2007.
The Highways Agency annually resurfaces a large number of routes, many of very short length; it is therefore not possible to identify every individual location.
Funding for carriageway resurfacing is from the Highways Agency’s Renewal of Roads budget, which covers many different maintenance elements including carriageway resurfacing, street lighting, traffic signs and signals, drainage and geotechnical earthworks. Expenditure for carriageway resurfacing alone is not explicitly recorded and it is therefore not possible to identify this separately.
Road/Rail Bridges
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) road bridges and (b) rail bridges in (i) Southend-on-Sea, (ii) Essex, (iii) Hertfordshire and (iv) the Metropolitan Police area of London have been (A) rebuilt and (b) renewed in each of the last five years. [85162]
Gillian Merron: This information is not collated centrally.
Queries on road bridges should be addressed to the relevant highway authorities.
Network Rail, the owner and operator of the national rail network, advise that the information concerning railway bridges is not held in this form.
Rural Transport
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much was spent on the Rural Transport Fund in each year since 1998; [85551]
(2) how many bus services have been extended to rural areas under the Rural Transport Fund since 1998. [85552]
Gillian Merron: Since 1998 the Department has provided specific funding for rural transport through the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG) and, up to 2003, awards under the Rural Bus Challenge (RBC). RBSG supports over 2000 services nationally in England. RBC has provided funding for over 300 local authority schemes. Annual allocations for each of these schemes are shown in the following table:
| £ million | ||
| RBSG | RBC | |
The Department also awarded funding for 11 schemes in rural areas through the Kickstart scheme in 2005.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has also provided funding through the Countryside Agency for Rural Transport Partnership schemes.
Sheffield Airport
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on Sheffield Airport. [86268]
Gillian Merron: The Secretary of State for Transport has not received any recent representations concerning Sheffield Airport.
Smoking Ban
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the ban on smoking in public places to be introduced in the Health Bill will be applied to cruise ships. [86413]
Dr. Ladyman: The intention is that the smoke-free provisions of the Health Bill will apply to all cruise ships when they are arriving or departing from a UK port while within UK territorial waters. The smoke-free provisions would not apply therefore to UK-flagged cruise ships operating outside of UK territorial waters or while transiting UK waters.
A consultation paper on the Government’s proposals will be issued later this summer and the smoke-free provisions are due to come into effect next year.
Speed Cameras (East Riding of Yorkshire)
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras there were in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each of the last nine years; and if he will make a statement. [86909]
Dr. Ladyman: East Riding of Yorkshire is a partner in the Humberside Safety Camera Partnership, which joined the national safety camera programme on 1 April 2003. The Department does not hold information for this area prior to this date. Since joining the programme the total number of speed camera sites in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each year is shown in the table:
| Total number of mobile sites | |
Speed Limits
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to rural-proof its policies on (a) quiet lanes and (b) the installation of national speed limit signs at the end of lower-speed zones. [84356]
Gillian Merron:
Quiet Lanes is a Countryside Agency initiative that aims to maintain the character of
minor rural roads. Guidance on Quiet Lanes has been developed by the Department in collaboration with the Countryside Agency.
For national consistency, all changes of speed limit are required by law to be clearly signed so that all road users may be aware of potential vehicle speeds and to allow drivers ample time to adjust their speed accordingly. This includes the beginning of national speed limits. However, the signing requirements seek to strike a sensible balance between driver awareness and unnecessary sign clutter and environmental intrusion. For example, repeater national speed limit applies signs are only required on roads where there are street lights.
The Department acknowledges that speed limit signs may not necessarily be in keeping with the aesthetic layout of the countryside. However, they are a vital tool in alerting drivers to a change in road conditions. We continue to work closely with Defra and the Countryside Agency to ensure speed limit signing is appropriate yet not unnecessarily intrusive.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to provide a modified entry sign for Quiet Lanes to incorporate an advisory indication of maximum speed; and if he will make a statement. [84370]
Gillian Merron: The Department has developed new signs in consultation with stakeholders, for use in England, to indicate the entry and exit points of a Quiet Lane. There are no plans to incorporate an advisory maximum speed sign. The Department’s guidance will explain that only minor roads or networks of minor roads which have low flows of motorised vehicles travelling at low speeds are appropriate for designation as Quiet Lanes.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what circumstances a local authority (a) requires permission from his Department to impose a 40 mph speed limit and (b) may impose a 40 mph speed limit on a rural road. [87406]
Dr. Ladyman: A local traffic authority has powers under section 84 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to introduce a 40 mph speed limit on any road for which it has responsibility without permission from the Department.
Stage Cottage, East Sussex
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Highways Agency has spent on refurbishing Stage Cottage, Hurst Green, East Sussex; and if he will make a statement. [86172]
Dr. Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answers of 19 January 2006, Official Report, columns 1470-71W, and 9 February 2006, Official Report, column 1369W.
Statutory Instruments
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by his Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005. [85179]
Gillian Merron: Since October 2005 statutory instruments sponsored by the Department for Transport have been reported as defective by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments on the following occasions.
JCSI’s 7( th) Report of Session 2005-06:
Railways (Accident Investigation and Reporting) Regulations (S.I. 2005/1992)
JCSI’s 8( th) Report of Session 2005-06:
Air Navigation (General) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/1980)
JCSI’s 10( th) Report of Session 2005-06:
Civil Aviation (Investigation of Military Air Accidents at Civil Aerodromes) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2693)
JCSI’s 14( th) Report of Session 2005-06:
Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3165)
Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3170)
JCSI’s 28( th) Report of Session 2005-06:
M6 Toll (Speed Limit) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/1185).
Reports from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments contain full details of the provisions which they have reported.
Transport Innovation Fund
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total estimated cost is of the schemes outlined by his Department as potentially eligible for the first round of Transport Innovation Fund funding; and what total funding is available for projects which receive this funding. [82315]
Gillian Merron: The total funding available within the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) is £9,450 million, of which £290 million is available in 2008-09 and £600 million in 2009-10, the first two years of the TIF. Of this, up to £200 million a year will be available for packages involving demand management aimed to tackle congestion.
The total cost of the schemes which will be taken forward for further consideration and appraisal under Productivity TIF, as listed in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s announcement on 27 June, is currently estimated to be around £1.4 billion. The option of a TIF contribution is also under consideration for Crossrail. I refer the hon. Member to the Parliamentary Estimate of Expense submitted with the Crossrail Bill for the estimated cost of that scheme.
My right hon. Friend’s announcement made it clear that we expect to allocate TIF funds to only a limited number of the schemes listed, and that the availability of other funding contributions would be a consideration in deciding on those allocations.
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