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Motor Vehicles: Testing

Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had on (a) improving the MOT fee-setting process and (b) the possible deregulation of fees for MOTs. [160501]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department is intending to consult on MOT testing policy including on whether or not there should be any changes in how test fees are set. There have been the usual discussions within Government and informally with stakeholders as part of this process.

Motor Vehicles: Travel

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motorists in the (a) London, (b) Surrey county council, (c) Hampshire county council and (d) Isle of Wight council area used their vehicles
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for (i) less than five miles, (ii) between five and 25 miles and (iii) more than 25 miles in each of the last five years. [160764]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The table shows the percentage of car driver trips by residents of London, Surrey and Hampshire which are (a) less than five miles, (b) five to less than 25 miles and (c) 25 miles and over for 2002-06(1), based on data from the National Travel Survey. It is not possible to produce reliable estimates for the Isle of Wight using data from this survey.

Car driver trips per person per year by trip length, 2002-06
Percentage
Under five miles Five to under 25 miles 25 miles and over All lengths

London

2002

59

35

6

100

2003

60

34

6

100

2004

62

33

5

100

2005

62

32

6

100

2006

62

32

6

100

Surrey

2002-03

53

40

7

100

2003-04

56

38

7

100

2004-05

57

37

6

100

2005-06

55

38

7

100

Hampshire

2002-03

52

41

7

100

2003-04

52

41

7

100

2004-05

51

40

8

100

2005-06

52

40

8

100


It is not possible to estimate the number of motorists making trips of different lengths using the data available.

Motorways: Noise

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding was made available for motorway noise reduction schemes in each year since 1997; and what funding will be made available for each of the next three years. [161740]

Mr. Tom Harris: The Highways Agency has a policy of using quieter surfaces as a matter of course whenever a road needs to be resurfaced. Budgets for noise reduction measures on these schemes are not generally separately identifiable.

Since 1999-2000 the agency’s budget has included an annual £5 million ring-fenced allocation to provide noise mitigation measures in the most serious and pressing cases, where practical and cost-effective measures can be provided.

The aforementioned measures apply to the entire strategic road network, not just the motorways element.

The Highways Agency is currently considering the composition of its investment programmes for each of
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the next three years following the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.

Public Transport: Tickets

Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking to encourage the use of smartcards as means of paying for public transport in the UK. [160111]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department sponsored development of the ITSO specifications for interoperable smart card ticketing. This will enable consumers to benefit from a more consistent interface to public transport and the ability to use one card across many different transport operators and schemes in the UK.

Support has been provided for early implementation by local authorities. The NoWcard scheme in the north west has been rolling out over the past year. Existing schemes in Cheshire, Nottinghamshire and Southampton are in the process of introducing ITSO based smartcards.

All new rail franchises now include a requirement to introduce tickets on smartcards to the ITSO specification. The Government believe that the introduction of ITSO smartcards on the railway will make it easier for passengers to buy their tickets at a time and place to suit them and to offer more flexible ticketing. It also opens up the opportunities to better integrate ticketing between transport modes.

From April 2008, the national concessionary bus travel pass for older and disabled people in England will be in a smartcard format and be ITSO compliant.

Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps she is taking to ensure interoperability between the Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation and Oyster smart cards on the public transport network. [160278]

Ms Rosie Winterton: In May 2006 the Secretary of State and Mayor of London announced that they intended to enable the Oyster network in London to accept ITSO smart cards, as well as to enable mainline railway stations in London to accept Oyster Pay As You Go.

A project is under way to deliver interoperability between Oyster and ITSO in London and to meet rail franchise commitments. When it is completed the entire Transport for London transport network should be able to accept ITSO based smartcards.

Railways: Fares

Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reasons are for recent increases in rail fares; and if she will make a statement. [159193]

Mr. Tom Harris: Government regulate rail fares that cover most commuter tickets and saver tickets (long distance, off-peak fares).

More than half of rail journeys are made on a regulated ticket, and around 80 per cent. of passengers buy either a regulated or discounted ticket. Regulated fares are now on average 1.6 per cent. cheaper in real terms than they were in 1995.


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Regulated fares will remain capped at RPI + 1 per cent. as the Government made clear in July’s Rail White Paper.

Unregulated fares are a matter for the train operators, but increases are kept under review by Government.

Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions her officials have had with train operating companies on the effect on fares of increases in franchise premia payments. [160279]

Mr. Tom Harris: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Railways: Fires

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fires there were on trains in each of the last five years for which data is available; how many of these fires (a) were judged to be a risk to human life when they broke out, (b) resulted in loss of life and (c) were connected with train crashes; and how many lives were lost on each occasion. [161735]

Mr. Tom Harris: The information requested is as follows:

Train fires 2002-06
Number of train fires

2002

301

2003

271

2004

298

2005

148

2006

164


The data is for all railways and tramways in Great Britain, and is based on incidents reported to the Office of Rail Regulation's HM Railway Inspectorate, under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR 95).

For the period covered, there was one reportable fatality. A guard was overcome by smoke attempting to extinguish a fire on board a train, which had been started by arsonists. The incident occurred at Purley on the 5 July 2002.

HM Railway Inspectorate classify train accidents as:

In instances where a train is involved in a collision and a subsequent fire results, the accident is categorized as a collision rather than a fire (e.g. the Ladbroke Grove railway accident 5 October 1999). Therefore information is not available to answer part c of the question.

Railways: Franchises

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the criteria are for awarding the East Coast Main Line rail franchise; and how the Grand Central franchise affects the East Coast Main Line franchise. [161477]


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Mr. Tom Harris: The franchise was awarded to the bid which offered the overall best value for money based upon the deliverability of the bid.

The Grand Central Franchise does not have any impact on the level of service to be provided by the InterCity East Coast franchise. Bidders were instructed to take full account of Grand Central rights in constructing their bid.

Railways: Greater London

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she or officials from her Department have had meetings with Transport for London in the last six months to discuss new funding arrangements following the Metronet administration and the approval of Crossrail. [161526]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Ministers and officials from the Department have met with Transport for London over the past six months to discuss Transport for London funding as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. This has included discussions on Crossrail and on Metronet’s administration.

Railways: Inspections

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regular safety inspections and certification procedures are carried out on trains; and whose responsibility it is to ensure that these are carried out so that all rolling stock meets safety standards. [161736]

Mr. Tom Harris: It is the responsibility of every train operator to ensure that their rolling stock meets appropriate safety standards.

Under the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 railway companies must have their safety management systems certified by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). Their safety management systems should include procedures for carrying out risk assessments and selecting and implementing control measures including, where appropriate, inspection and certification.

ORR's Railway Inspectorate carries out inspections to ensure that railway companies reduce risks so far as is reasonably practicable.


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