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17 Sep 2007 : Column 2193W—continued
Foreign vehicles issued with an immediate prohibition were:
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 (to date) | |
VOSA does not record the nationality of drivers. There were no prosecutions for these specific offences because it is not possible—either for VOSA or the police—to require non-UK residents to return to the UK to attend court on such matters. The introduction of graduated fixed penalties and deposits next year will, however, ensure that they do pay the relevant penalty.
The police do have the power of arrest and use it to deal with serious offences. We do not have any statistics relating to enforcement action taken by the police. Such statistics as may be available relating to the prosecution of foreign nationals would be held by the Ministry of Justice.
M25
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on the M25 widening project at the most recent date. [155154]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 12 September 2007]: A total of £57 million has been spent on the M25 widening project up to and including 31 July 2007.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of the M25 widening projects are (a) on schedule and (b) late. [155157]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 12 September 2007]: Construction of M25 junction 1b-3 (section 3) started in June 2007 and is currently expected to complete ahead of schedule in summer 2008.
The remaining four sections were included in the Design Build Finance and Operate contract which is on schedule to be awarded at the end of 2008.
The actual dates for the improvements will be determined by the successful contractor and all four sections are expected to complete by 2016 subject to the satisfactory completion of the necessary statutory processes.
Railways: Death
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of the public lost their lives on the railway in the last three years; and how many deaths (a) occurred on Network Rail’s Western Route and (b) are (i) suspected to be and (ii) confirmed as the result of suicide. [155455]
Mr. Tom Harris: This information is not held by the Department for Transport but by the British Transport Police who can be contacted at:
British Transport Police
25 Camden Road
London
NW1 9LN
E-mail: general.enquiries@btp.pnn.police.uk
Road Traffic
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) motor vehicles, (b) cars and taxis, (c) motorcycles, (d) buses and coaches, (e) light vans, (f) other goods vehicles and (g) pedal cycles there were on the roads in each region of the UK in each of the last five years. [155498]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The data available from the DVLA vehicle register (which does not include pedal cycles) are shown in the tables which have been placed in the Libraries of the House. The tables show the number of licensed vehicles, registered to keepers residing in each Government Office Region in Great Britain, over the last five years.
The totals include vehicles where the region of residence of the registered keeper cannot be identified.
Roads: Accidents
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many traffic accidents there were involving (a) buses, (b) pedestrians and (c) cyclists in (i) Cheltenham constituency and (ii) other Gloucestershire constituencies in each of the last five years. [155497]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one (a) bus, (b) pedestrian casualty and (c) pedal cyclist in the Cheltenham constituency and the other five constituencies in Gloucestershire from 2002 to 2006 are shown in the table.
| Number of accidents | ||||||
| Accidents involving | Cheltenham | Cotswold | Forest of Dean | Gloucester | Stroud | Tewkesbury |
Roads: Construction
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations she has held since taking office on motorway widening schemes. [155156]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 12 September 2007]: Since June the Highways Agency has undertaken public consultation on two motorway widening schemes, M25 widening junction 16-23, and A453 widening (M1 junction 24 to A52 Nottingham).
Taxis: Licensing
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the effect on costs to local authorities of the abolition by the Road Safety Act 2006 of the exemption from the private hire taxi licensing regime for vehicles hired on a long-term basis. [155428]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The inclusion in the Road Safety Act 2006 of the repeal of the exemption from private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing requirements of contracts lasting for a period of not less than seven days was motivated by the paramount need to ensure the safety of those being carried under contracts for the hire of a PHV.
PHV licence fees are set by local licensing authorities and vary widely from area to area. Making reasonable assumptions about the total numbers of currently unlicensed drivers, vehicles and operators likely to be involved, and about average licence fees, we estimate that the total cost across all those sectors using PHV contracts will be about £1 million. We have not made a separate estimate of costs likely to be borne by local authorities.
It should be noted that many contracts will already be carried out by drivers, vehicles and operators that are already licensed or to whom the contact exemption did not apply. Furthermore, the proportion of licensing costs which will be passed on to those awarding contracts will depend on contracts terms in each case.
Transport: Hazardous Substances
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to replace vehicle signage compliant with the United Kingdom Hazard Information System with vehicle signage compliant with the European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road and rail. [155486]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The emergency services expressed clear views of the advantages given by the Emergency Action Codes (EACs) over Hazard Identification Numbers (HINs) in the first few minutes of responding to an incident involving dangerous goods when HSE consulted on this issue for the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004. It is proposed to consult on the continued use of EACs in the development of the 2011 revision of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods regulations. We are not required to replace the EAC codes as EC Directives permit member states to maintain existing national provisions.
Transport: Wellingborough
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to improve transport infrastructure in Wellingborough under the South Midlands and Milton Keynes spatial strategy; and if she will list the projects to be undertaken and their (a) start and (b) completion dates. [155127]
Ms Rosie Winterton
[holding answer 12 September 2007]: The principles of infrastructure delivery, as set out in the North Northamptonshire core spatial
strategy, will be considered at the independent public examination which is due to commence on 23 October.
During the next few months, Wellingborough will benefit from improvements to the A45 Wilby Way Roundabout and the commencement of the new East Midlands Rail franchise timetable, which will introduce a new hourly service between Kettering, Wellingborough and London.
In the longer term, both the work that Northamptonshire county council is doing in preparing its transport strategy for growth, and with the Department and other partners to resolve the particular issues associated with the A14 trunk road, will highlight potential scheme priorities but more detailed appraisal is required before any firm indication on specific target dates can be given.
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