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29 Oct 2007 : Column 869W—continued
Heathrow Airport: Departmental Cooperation
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements are in place between Ministers and officials of her Department and the Home Department to co-ordinate activities at Heathrow Airport, with particular reference to improving conditions for users of the airport. [160490]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Ministers and officials of the Department for Transport and the Home Office and airport representatives regularly meet to consider and improve passenger facilitation at Heathrow and other UK airports.
Level Crossings: Death
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were killed at (a) pedestrian and (b) vehicular rail level crossings in each of the last three years. [161128]
Mr. Tom Harris: The information requested is shown in the table as follows:
| Level crossing fatalities 2004-06( 1) (excluding suicides and trespassers) | |||
| (a) Pedestrian crossings | (b) Vehicular crossings | Total | |
| (1) Rail safety statistics are published on a calendar year basis. (2) Data are provisional because Coroner’s Inquests into incidents involving level crossings have yet to be concluded. | |||
Level Crossings: Public Footpaths
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make it her policy to close rail level crossing footpaths where they are (a) redundant and (b) assessed as a safety risk and nuisance; and if she will make a statement. [158489]
Mr. Tom Harris: This is a matter for local authorities and rail infrastructure managers. Section 118A and 119A of the Highways Act 1980 provides for the stopping up by a local authority of a footpath which crosses a railway on the grounds of expedience in the interests of safety of members of the public using or likely to use the footpath. It is for rail infrastructure managers to manage the safety risk at level crossings.
Military Aircraft: Air Conditioning
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department has taken in response to symptoms of tunnel vision, loss of balance and loss of feeling in hands and lower arms reported by the pilots of a BAe 146 on 19 February 2007; and what assessment she has made of the health and safety implications of those symptoms. [161276]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) conducted an investigation into an incident involving a German registered Boeing 146 D-AEWB, departing from Birmingham on 19 February 2007. Following the incident, the engine, serial number LF05407AC, was replaced. German authorities received a copy of the report which is published in the July 2007 edition of the AAIB Bulletin and can be found on their website at:
The independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) recently completed its evidence review of cabin air fume events. Its report, which was published on 20 September, can be found on its website. The COT considered that it was not possible to conclude whether cabin air exposures (either general or following incidents) cause ill-health in commercial aircraft crews. It recommended further work, in particular and as a priority, to ascertain whether substances in the cabin environment during fume events could potentially be harmful to health. COT considered that this work should be designed to detect ‘any’ potentially harmful substances, rather than focus on named substances.
In keeping with its commitment to promoting healthy flying, the Department accepts this priority. We have recently been testing equipment which may be capable of capturing substances released during fume incidents. Subject to the results of this testing, the Department hopes to begin a study later this year or early next year.
Motor Vehicles: Accidents
Mr. David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment her Department has made of the comparative impact 4x4 and other vehicles have on (a) other vehicles and (b) pedestrians when involved in a collision; [161559]
(2) what assessment her Department has made of the (a) accident rates and (b) severity of accidents of 4x4 vehicles in comparison to other vehicles. [161560]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department’s research shows that occupants of smaller and lighter vehicles may be at more risk of injury than those of larger and heavier ones. The Department has no evidence to differentiate the risk associated between 4x4 vehicles and vehicles of a similar weight or size. The Department is currently working with international partners in developing new tests to reduce the injury risk to occupants of more vulnerable vehicles.
From October 2005 all light vehicles up to 2.5 tonnes mass have been required to provide pedestrian protection in their design. A second phase of measures is planned for 2010 but the European Commission has recently proposed increasing the scope to vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes mass.
The Department does not have information on accident rates requested. However, the number of reported personal injury road accidents by accident severity and the involvement of different car sizes in Great Britain in 2005 are shown in the following table.
| Number of accidents | ||||
| Accident severity | ||||
| Vehicle size | Fatal | Serious | Slight | Total |
Motor Vehicles: Registration
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what percentage of passenger vehicles in England and Wales are estimated to be foreign registered; [160101]
(2) what estimate she has made of the number of foreign registered passenger vehicles not registered in the UK by migrant workers within six months of arrival; and if she will make a statement; [160102]
(3) what estimate she has made of the proportion of foreign registered passenger vehicles that belong to (a) immigrants, (b) migrant workers and (c) tourists and other short term visitors; and if she will make a statement; [160104]
(4) what measures she plans to take to improve the collection of data on foreign registered passenger vehicles entering the UK; [160105]
(5) what estimate her Department has made of the number of foreign registered passenger vehicles entering the UK in each of the last 10 years. [160106]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Data about foreign registered passenger vehicles entering the UK, or on UK roads, are not collected. However, a roadside survey is undertaken each year to produce estimates of vehicle excise duty evasion. Data from the survey in June this
year will be analysed in the new year to see if a robust estimate of foreign registered vehicles on UK roads can be produced.
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the number of foreign registered passenger vehicles that have incurred (a) 0 to 10, (b) 11 to 50 and (c) 51 and over unpaid penalty charges for decriminalised traffic contraventions; and if she will make a statement. [160103]
Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held centrally.
Motor Vehicles: Testing
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date she plans to open a consultation on proposals to improve the MOT fee-setting process and the possible deregulation of MOT fees. [160502]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department is intending to launch a consultation on MOT testing policy including the process for setting test fees in the next few months.
Network Rail: Cost Effectiveness
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she plans to meet any of the saving which the 2007 pre-Budget report requires from her Department through efficiency improvements in Network Rail’s management processes and cost control and robust and effective franchise agreements by means of increased franchise premia payments from train operating companies. [160075]
Mr. Tom Harris: The White Paper ‘Delivering a Sustainable Railway’ of July 2007 (Cmnd 7176) sets out the improvements in safety, reliability and capacity which the Secretary of State wants to secure and the funds available for the railway over the period 2009-14.
Network Rail is on course to deliver cost efficiencies of 31 per cent. by 2009. Further targets will be set by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in the forthcoming Periodic Review 2008. It is for the ORR to determine what further efficiency improvements Network Rail should make.
The White Paper’s statement of funds available shows franchise subsidy falling over the period 2009-10 to 2013-14. This reflects a decrease in the proportion of railway support which is borne by taxpayers rather than passengers. Premium payments are decided through an open market competitive process and the structure of such payments throughout the period of the franchise is agreed at the time of the franchise award.
Private Roads
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many properties in England are on unadopted roads. [161211]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We have no record of how many properties in England are on unadopted roads as this information is not held centrally.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of unadopted road in England there are. [161212]
Ms Rosie Winterton: DfT does not hold information on unadopted roads.
Public Transport: Elderly
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make changes to the draft Local Transport Bill in order to include provision to improve the access of older people to public transport in line with the memorandum submitted to her by Help the Aged. [158494]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I welcome the support that Help the Aged have given to the aims of the Bill and have noted the points made in their submission to the draft Local Transport Bill consultation. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and revising our proposals accordingly. We will be making an announcement in due course.
Railways: Basingstoke
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the projected change in passenger numbers using the rail network between (a) Basingstoke and London and (b) Basingstoke and Reading is in each of the next five years. [161666]
Mr. Tom Harris: Forecasts of future passenger demand were made as part of the preparation for the rail high level output specification. These forecasts used the standard rail industry methodology, and looked at peak flows into major cities and across strategic routes. They were not made on a station to station basis.
The forecasts are published in the Schedule to Appendix A of the July 2007 rail White Paper ‘Delivering a Sustainable Railway'.
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the change in passenger capacity on the rail network between (a) Basingstoke and London and (b) Basingstoke and Reading in each of the next five years. [161667]
Mr. Tom Harris: The passenger capacity between Basingstoke and London forms part of the requirement for the 9,200 extra peak passengers the Government have specified to be accommodated at London Waterloo by 2014. The passenger capacity between Basingstoke and Reading is part of the 706m extra passenger km the Government have specified to be accommodated on the South West Main Line routes by 2014.
Railways: Finance
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reasons are for increased premia payments for train operating companies under franchise agreements; and if she will make a statement. [159192]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Department does not specify the size of the premium offered by bidders as part of the bids for a franchise. It is up to each of the bidders to propose what level of premium to offer as part of their bid. Bidders are first assessed on the robustness of their proposals to deliver the franchise specification to the passenger and subsequently the value for money that their bid offers to the taxpayer.
If a bidder is unable to demonstrate satisfactorily how it will deliver the franchise service the DFT will not award the franchise to that bidder even if the bidder offers the largest premium.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how she plans to achieve the £1,238 million per year saving at her Department through efficiency improvements in Network Rail’s management processes and cost control and robust and effective franchise agreements, as stated in the pre-Budget report and Comprehensive Spending Review. [159201]
Mr. Tom Harris: The White Paper ‘Delivering a Sustainable Railway’ of July 2007 (Cmnd 7176) sets out the improvements in safety, reliability and capacity which the Secretary of State wants to secure and the funds available for the railway over the period 2009-14.
Network Rail is on course to deliver cost efficiencies of 31 per cent. by 2009. Further targets will be set by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in the forthcoming Periodic Review 2008. It is for the ORR to determine what further efficiency improvements Network Rail should make.
The White Paper’s statement of funds available shows franchise support falling over the period 2009-10 to 2013-14. This reflects a decrease in the proportion of railway support which is borne by taxpayers rather than passengers.
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