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9 Oct 2006 : Column 262W—continued
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) which county had the (a) highest, (b) lowest number of road traffic accidents per registered vehicle in 2005-06; [91743]
(2) how many road traffic accidents per registered vehicle there were in (a) Surrey and (b) England in 2005-06. [91744]
Dr. Ladyman: The number of personal injury road accidents per 1,000 registered vehicles was 9.0 in London (highest), 6.6 in Surrey, 2.6 in Western Isles (lowest) and 6.3 in England.
It should be noted that an accident may not occur in the same county as the one in which the vehicle is registered.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential for (a) speed cameras and (b) speed camera warning signs to cause drivers to reduce speed recklessly when seen. [91745]
Dr. Ladyman:
The Department's objective is to encourage and assist people to drive within the posted
speed limit at all times. The purpose of deploying speed cameras is to further encourage them to do so at locations where excessive speed is a known danger. Consistent with this aim, cameras operating within the National Safety Camera Programme are required to meet strict visibility and conspicuity rules in order to enhance their deterrent effect.
No assessment has been made of the potential for speed cameras and speed camera warning signs to cause drivers to reduce speed recklessly when seen. We are aware that some speeding drivers check or reduce their speed on the approach to camera sites. However there is no evidence that this is done recklessly. Neither is there evidence that this is a cause of accidents. In any case, drivers who comply with the posted speed limit should not need to reduce their speed when they see a speed camera or camera warning sign.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for changes to (a) the way in which speed limits apply and (b) the limits that apply. [91746]
Dr. Ladyman: The Government have no current plans to change the national speed limits for which we are responsible.
New guidance to traffic authorities on setting local speed limits was published by the Department on 8 August 2006. This requested authorities to review speed limits and implement any changes on their A and B roads by 2011.
This process is designed to improve speed limit consistency across the road network and as a result some speed limits may increase or decrease dependent on the local evidence and needs.
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether records are kept on the number of road traffic accidents per year involving ambulances; and if he will make a statement. [92418]
Dr. Ladyman: In 2005, there were 291 personal injury road accidents involving an ambulance that were reported to the police.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on advertising warning of the dangers of (a) drink driving, (b) driving after consuming illegal drugs, (c) driving whilst using a mobile telephone and (d) driving over the speed limit in each year since 1997. [92639]
Dr. Ladyman: The dangers of drink driving, drug driving, speeding and driving while using a mobile telephone form part of the Government's THINK! road safety campaign. The Government are investing around £15 million in the THINK! campaign in this fiscal year.
The campaign advertising costs for the above campaigns since 2002-2003 fiscal year are as follows:
| Campaign | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 |
Following departmental reorganisations, provision of total expenditure figures for the period prior to 2002 would involve disproportionate costs.
Roads (East Yorkshire)
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received for funding (a) to widen and (b) to improve the (i) A166 and (ii) A165 in East Yorkshire. [91838]
Dr. Ladyman: Both the A166 and A165 roads in East Yorkshire are the responsibility of East Riding of Yorkshire council, as the local highway authority. The Department has received no representations to (a) widen or (b) improve the (i) A166 and (ii) A165 in East Yorkshire. The council’s second local transport plan (LTP2) does not include any future scheme for improving or widening these routes within East Yorkshire up to 2011.
Shipping Guidance (Oil Transfers)
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency guidance on consultation on ship-to-ship oil transfer planning applications. [89618]
Dr. Ladyman: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) document “Contingency Planning for Marine Pollution Preparedness and Response: Guidelines for Ports (March 2002)”, which includes consultation guidance for ports, including ship-to-ship oil transfer operations, can be located on the MCA website:
http://www.mcqa.gov.uk/c4mca/mcqa-oprc guidelines.pdf
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's environmental protection guidelines are in relation to ship-to-ship oil transfers. [89619]
Dr. Ladyman: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) document “Contingency Planning for Marine Pollution Preparedness and Response: Guidelines for Ports (March 2002)” includes environmental protection guidance for ports, which includes ship-to-ship oil transfer operations.
This document can be located on the MCA website:
http://www.mcqa.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-oprc_guidelines.pdf
Thameslink
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much it cost to build the Thameslink tunnels under St. Pancras station. [90375]
Mr. Tom Harris: The cost of building the Thameslink tunnels including the station box beneath St. Pancras was £155 million. This includes compensation to the train operating companies during the period of the works.
Transport (Seating)
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has undertaken on the extent to which people of above-average height have adequate seating on (a) trains, (b) aeroplanes and (c) buses. [91651]
Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport has undertaken no specific research on the extent to which people of above-average height have adequate seating on trains, aeroplanes and buses.
However, a range of regulations covering these modes set minimum requirements for seat spacing, which should enable the majority of passengers to travel safely and in reasonable comfort.
Unadopted Roads
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to each local authority of adopting all the unadopted roads in its authority area. [89514]
Gillian Merron: There has been no recent estimate of the cost of bringing unadopted roads (roads not currently maintained at public expense), to the standard required that would allow them to be adopted by the local highway authority.
There are no estimates by individual authority. However, based on a 1972 survey (there are no more up-to-date statistics), it is thought that there are around 40,000 unadopted roads in the UK and that it would cost in the region of £3 billion at today's prices to make them up to an adoptable standard.
Vehicle Excise Duty
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the value of the vehicle excise duty rebate was in 2005-06, broken down by (a) bus company, (b) region, (c) passenger transport executive area and (d) local authority area. [89852]
Dr. Ladyman: This information is not held in the format requested.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many online applications for vehicle excise duty have been made in each quarter since the introduction of the facility. [91707]
Dr. Ladyman: DVLA introduced its electronic vehicle licensing service in February 2004, which was nationally launched in January 2006. The following table provides a breakdown of re-licensing transactions made online in each quarter since its introduction.
| Quarter | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
Treasury
Absence Rates
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days were lost through absence in (a) private sector businesses and (b) public sector organisations in the last 12 months. [91871]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 9 October 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about days lost through absence in the private and public sectors. I am replying in her absence. (91871)
The number of days lost through sickness absence in a specific year is not available. However the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a continuous survey throughout the year, asks employed respondents for the number of working days lost due to sickness or injury during the week before the LFS interview. The attached table shows these estimates for interviews carried out between April and June 2005 and 2006. It is not possible to scale this data, which reflects specific points in time, to represent an annual period. In addition, different employment and working patterns affect whether the question is actually asked and the actual responses to the question.
These estimates from the LFS are, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
| Number of days lost due to sickness absence( 1 ) by public or private sector, 2005 and 2006 United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted | ||
| Thousand | ||
| LFS survey period April-June | Private sector | Public sector |
| (1) Employees scheduled to work in the reference week for the survey period April-June. (2) Quarterly and annual estimates constructed by multiplying these data by 13 or 52 would not be representative of these periods because sickness absence over the period of a specific week is not representative of a longer period and different employment and working patterns affect the responses to the question. (3) Employees absent for at least one day in the LFS interview week due to sickness absence as a percentage of all employees in each sector. Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS) | ||
Access to Work Scheme
Danny Alexander: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid to his Department from the Access to Work Scheme for adjustments for disabled staff in the last year for which figures are available; from what budget he plans to meet the costs of reasonable adjustments for disabled staff following withdrawal of Access to Work funding for central Government departments; and if he will make a statement. [89018]
John Healey: In the last year for which figures are available (2005) the Treasury received £650 funding from the Access to Work Scheme.
The Treasury, as an employer, has a central budget to ensure reasonable adjustments are put in place for disabled people joining, or in, the Department. This budget will meet the costs of reasonable adjustments for disabled staff.
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