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15 Oct 2007 : Column 769W—continued
Lorries: Accidents
Dr. Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of all collisions involving large goods vehicles involved foreign-registered vehicles in the latest period for which figures are available. [158360]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested for reported personal injury road accidents involving foreign registered vehicles is available from table 53 of ‘Road Casualties Great Britain: 2006 annual report’. Copies of the report have been deposited in the Libraries of the House. This table can also be found on the Department’s website at the following web address:
M1: Castle Donington
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 2 July 2007, Official Report, column 906W, on the M1: Castle Donington, if, following the traffic management pilot project on the M42 south east of Birmingham, she plans to allow the use of hard shoulders on motorways at times of severe congestion. [157546]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Highways Agency is still evaluating the Active Traffic Management pilot project on the M42 and hopes to be in a position to make the results of its findings available shortly.
My hon. Friend, the then Minister of State for Transport, the hon. Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman) announced in December 2006 that we will work with the Highways Agency to develop the case for productivity Transport Innovation Fund funding for an Active Traffic Management Scheme on the Birmingham Motorway Box. Beyond this, there are no plans at the present time to allow traffic to use the hard shoulder in response to severe congestion.
M1: Dunstable
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to build junction 11a of the M1 during the widening of this stretch of the M1; and if she will make a statement. [157543]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Secretary of State accepted the regional assembly’s advice that the scheme should be funded in the period 2011-12 to 2015-16 but that it should be considered for an earlier start if there is slippage on other schemes in the East of England region.
In the meantime, the Highways Agency has been instructed to progress the scheme through the statutory process, including a public inquiry if necessary, to allow construction of the whole scheme, or junction 11a only, concurrently with M1 widening junction 10-13 in 2010-11 if funding can be made available.
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the latest estimate is of the additional cost of building junction 11a of the M1 after the M1 has been widened between junctions 10 and 13, over and above the previous estimate of £14.6 million given by the Highways Agency. [157545]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The latest estimate of the additional cost of construction of the proposed M1 junction 11a (part of A5-M1 link (Dunstable Northern bypass)) in 2013-14, compared to construction concurrently with M1 widening junction 10-13 in 2010-11, is £11.5 million (including the effect of inflation).
Motor Vehicles: Navigation
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make a statement on her Department's consultation on in-vehicle information systems. [157602]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has conducted an informal consultation on in-vehicle information systems and intends to publish a summary of the results by the end of the year.
It will be published on the departmental website, and copies will be sent to the Libraries of both Houses.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the expected timescale is for the publication of the proposals on in-vehicle information systems. [157603]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has conducted an informal consultation on in-vehicle information systems and intends to publish a summary of the results by the end of the year. The responses to this consultation, together with other information, will inform any proposals on how to move forward.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of the likely impact of Galileo on the In-Vehicle Information System; and if she will make a statement. [157604]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has made no formal assessment of the likely impact of Galileo on In-Vehicle Information Systems. It is not expected to have any significant effect.
Motor Vehicles: Testing
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many heavy goods vehicles (HGV) and public service vehicles (PSV) were tested in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07; how many such vehicles were not tested; how many such vehicles were fitted with speed limiters; how many centres in fitting limiters were approved by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency in the relevant period; and how many HGVs and PSVs failed a test in (i) 2005-06 and (ii) 2006-07. [157159]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 11 October 2007]: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is responsible for heavy goods vehicles (HGV) and public service vehicles (PSV) annual tests. Data on the number of vehicles tested, how many failed and the number of approved speed limiter sealer centres is published annually in its Effectiveness Report which is available online at www.vosa.gov.uk or from the House of Commons Library, Business and Transport Section.
VOSA does not hold data on the number of HGVs and PSVs that were not tested or how many vehicles were fitted with speed limiters.
Railway Network: St. Pancras Railway Station
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will take steps to build a network of high speed rail lines radiating from St. Pancras; and if she will make a statement. [157583]
Mr. Tom Harris:
A high speed line from St. Pancras will open for revenue earning service on 14 November 2007, serving both Brussels and Paris. The White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, discussed the
merits of further high speed rail lines but concluded that decisions on building such lines need not be made until 2012.
Roads: Accidents
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the extent to which STATS 19 returns underestimate the actual number of road traffic accident casualties; and when her Department became aware of the issue. [157158]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 11 October 2007]: Very few, if any, fatal accidents do not become known to the police. However, research conducted on behalf of the Department for Transport has shown that an appreciable proportion of non-fatal injury accidents are not reported to the police. There is no legal duty in Great Britain to report personal injury road accidents to the police provided the participants exchange details at the scene.
One of the earliest attempts to quantify the level of reporting in STATS 19 was published in 1979 in the report “Classification of injury severity by length of stay in hospital”.
Further studies have been undertaken which also provide estimates of this shortfall and the most recent work on reporting levels was drawn together in the report “Road Safety Research Report 69: Under-reporting of Road Casualties - Phase 1” commissioned by the Department and published in June 2006:
A note on levels of reporting on STATS 19 can be found on the Department’s website at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/roadaccidentstatisticsgrea1835
Speed Limits: Cameras
Mr. Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will assess the merits of replacing existing speed cameras with vehicle-activated speed signs; and if she will make a statement. [157512]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Traffic authorities have a wide range of measures at their disposal to achieve appropriate vehicle speeds and they are best placed to decide the most suitable approach at a particular location. Vehicle activated signs and safety cameras are used to tackle different speeding problems. Vehicle activated signs are generally used to tackle inappropriate speed and have proven particularly effective when used to warn drivers of approaching hazards on rural roads. Safety cameras are effective in tackling excessive speed (i.e. over the posted speed limit).
Speed Limits: Schools
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what difference has been recorded in the number of casualties which have occurred outside schools after the creation of 20 mph zones outside these schools; what percentage change that figure represents; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of 20 mph zones outside schools. [157959]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport does not hold information on how many schools fall within 20 mph zones nor therefore how many casualties have occurred outside schools after the creation of 20 mph zones. Local authorities are responsible for introducing 20 mph speed limits where they deem it appropriate.
No specific assessment has been made of the effectiveness of 20 mph zones outside schools. The Transport Research Laboratory conducted two reviews of 20 mph zones in 1996 and again in 1998. The 1996 review found that 20 mph zones which incorporated traffic calming measures achieved an average 9 mph reduction in vehicle speeds, annual accident frequency fell by 60 per cent. and overall reduction in child accidents of 67 per cent.
The 1998 review looked at wider issues in terms of vehicle speeds and included 20 mph zones and 20 mph limits where there was lesser or no traffic calming. This found reductions in vehicle speeds were minimal when only speed limit signs were used.
Transport Direct: Internet
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the contribution of the Transport Direct portal to journey decisions since December 2005, with particular reference to modal shift. [154752]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The portal service includes a self-completion feedback questionnaire. The responses to the questionnaire suggested that for individuals who had made the journey before (about a third of the 2,034 respondents):
17 per cent. claimed they would change their route;
24 per cent. would change when they intended to travel.
Indicative findings also suggest a predisposition for those travellers who have made a journey before, to change how they might travel:
7.7 per cent. intended as a result of what they found on Transport Direct to use public transport rather than the car, while 2.3 percent. intended to use the car instead of public transport.
This information corrects that given on 18 July 2006, Official Report, column 264W, to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael).
Travel: Concessions
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if she will make a statement on the progress of discussions with her counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the prospects for mutual recognition of concessionary bus passes across the UK; [156237]
(2) whether any assessment has been made of the feasibility and cost of allowing people aged 60 and over, and eligible disabled people, to be provided with free travel on public transport around the UK; and if she will make a statement. [156238]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Concessionary travel is a devolved policy area and the devolved Administrations have their own arrangements in place.
From 1 April 2008, people aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people in England will be entitled to
free off-peak local bus travel anywhere in England, not just within their local area as at present. This is provided for in the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007. The Government announced that up to £250 million of additional funding is to be made available each year for the national bus concession. This equates to £212 million for England after allocations to the devolved Administrations under the Barnett formula.
The Act also contains a power to allow, via future secondary legislation, for the possibility of mutual recognition of bus passes across the UK. The Department for Transport had initial discussions with the devolved Administrations last year about the proposal and all indicated support for inclusion of this power. However, it was also acknowledged that we would need to discuss it further and work together to resolve various technical and resource issues before mutual recognition could be pursued in practice.
At present, the Government's priority is successful implementation of the national concession in England from next April. These arrangements will see the largest number of people benefiting from concessionary travel and will also be the most expensive in the UK. Until we understand the impact of the national bus concession in England it is very difficult to cost the mutual recognition of passes across the UK. Consideration would also have to be given to the possible harmonisation of modes, timings and eligibility in England, with those in the rest of the UK where there are differing arrangements—all of which increase the potential cost of providing UK wide free travel.
Local authorities in England will continue to have the flexibility to offer more than the statutory concession to their residents, for example morning peak bus travel for disabled and/or older people. English local authorities neighbouring Scotland or Wales can also offer concessionary travel that crosses the border. Any such enhancements are discretionary and are based on an authority's own assessment of local need and their overall financial priorities.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Floods
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the cost to farmers in England of the summer floods, broken down by (a) county and (b) region; and if he will make a statement. [157272]
Mr. Woolas: Data on the economic cost to farmers in England of the summer 2007 floods are not yet available due to the nature of the flooding. DEFRA has commissioned work to estimate the value of immediate crop and livestock losses from flooding, and will publish this when it is complete later in the year.
Battery Hens: EU Law
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to support the introduction of the prohibition on battery cages in 2012 contained in the 1999 EU Laying Hens Directive. [157050]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 11 October 2007]: Council Directive 99/74/EC prohibits the use of conventional (battery) cages from 1 January 2012. The Directive has been transposed into domestic legislation and includes the deadline for the ban on these cages.
Circuses
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legislation regulates the use of wild animals in travelling circuses; and if he will make a statement. [157343]
Jonathan Shaw: The Protection of Animals Act 1911 long made it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to a domestic or captive animal. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 (AWA), which became law on 6 April 2007 in England (on 27 March in Wales), repealed and replaced the 1911 Act. Importantly, it introduced a duty of care which allows a prosecution to be brought where an animal, although not currently suffering, is being treated in a way that fails to meet its welfare needs.
In March 2006, my hon. Friend the then Minister for Animal Welfare (Ben Bradshaw) announced that he was minded to introduce regulations under section 12 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to ban the use, in travelling circuses, of certain non-domesticated species whose welfare needs could not be satisfactorily met in that environment. A Circus Working Group was formed to inform our decisions as to what form regulations should take. The Working Group will, shortly, provide a report setting out its findings.
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