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12 Nov 2007 : Column 45W—continued
No assessment has been made of the relationship between the two.
However, extensive research published by Professor Stephen Stradling, Napier university, Edinburgh in May 2006 on behalf of the Midlands Partnership Group, found that drivers who have been detected speeding by cameras are almost twice as likely to have had a collision as those who have not, regardless of age or mileage. Three quarters of drivers reporting four or more points on their licence also reported collision involvement, compared with 42 per cent. of drivers with a clean licence.
Furthermore, the four-year independent evaluation report of the National Safety Camera Programme, published in December 2005 and covering the period 2000 to 2004, confirms that there is an association between changes in speed and casualties. This found that there had been a reduction of 6 per cent. in average speeds, a 42 per cent. reduction in killed and serious injuries and a 22 per cent. reduction in personal injury collisions at camera sites.
Roads: Finance
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much capital has been allocated by local authorities to new road projects in Huddersfield since 1997. [162547]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Kirklees Metropolitan borough council is responsible for local transport in Huddersfield. Since 1997, Kirklees has not submitted any requests for funding to this Department for new local major road schemes. However, in September 2007, Ministers agreed to provide £15 million for a scheme to repair nine bridges and 3.5 km of retaining walls on the highway maintained by Kirklees metropolitan borough council.
The following table shows the funding through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) settlement that has been allocated to Kirklees metropolitan borough council since 1997. It is for Kirklees metropolitan borough council to determine how its LTP allocation is spent, in line with the LTP for West Yorkshire and local priorities.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on highway maintenance and improvement in each year since 1997-98. [162184]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Expenditure data on highways in England are provided in table 8.2 of the National Road Maintenance Condition Survey (NRMCS) report for 2006, published in May 2007 and available in the Library of the House. The figures distinguish between structural and routine maintenance rather than between maintenance and improvement.
Speed Cameras: Huddersfield
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras there are in the Huddersfield constituency. [162546]
Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not held by the Department. Since 1 April 2007 the deployment of safety cameras has been the responsibility of individual local partnerships. The number of cameras in place in Huddersfield will therefore be a matter for the West Yorkshire Road safety partnership.
Taxis: Licensing
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress she has made on the publication of draft guidance for local licensing authorities on the impact of the repeal of private hire vehicle contract exemption. [162610]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We are nearing completion of consideration of the views expressed by stakeholders on the draft guidance. We expect to issue the final version of the guidance later this month.
Waterloo Station
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the increased platform capacity will be for Waterloo station when Eurostar services move to St Pancras International. [162173]
Mr. Tom Harris: The Department is working closely with Network Rail and Stagecoach South West Trains (the train operating company) to finalise the design and costs associated with the use of one extra platform—platform 20—at Waterloo International by some domestic passenger services from December 2008.
Options for the medium to long-term use of all of the platforms at Waterloo are being assessed by the Department and Network Rail as part of a wider strategy for the upgrade of the station.
Defence
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role ISAF forces have in securing the Afghanistan-Iran border; and if he will make a statement. [162527]
Des Browne: The role of ISAF forces is to assist the Government of Afghanistan in the maintenance of security, to facilitate the development of government structures, extend government control and assist reconstruction and humanitarian efforts. The force with primary responsibility for border security is the Afghan Border Police.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contact he has had with his Italian counterpart on the security situation on the Afghanistan-Iran border in Herat province. [162648]
Des Browne: I have regular contact with my Italian counterpart on a number of issues, including the security situation in Afghanistan, where Italy is the lead nation in Herat province.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much monetary compensation was paid to service personnel who had personal belongings stolen en route to Afghanistan as referred to in the answer of 29 October 2007, Official Report, column 940W, on Afghanistan peacekeeping operations; to whom the compensation was paid and in respect of which incidents; and what his Department’s policy is on paying compensation in such circumstances. [162815]
Des Browne: All personnel are provided with clear guidance prior to deploying on operations that they should ensure property in transit is adequately insured, as liability is not routinely accepted by the Ministry of Defence and the department does not pay compensation as a matter of course. An insurance allowance is payable towards the cost of insurance.
No compensation was paid by the MOD in relation to the loss of personal belongings in the incidents listed in my answer of 29 October 2007, Official Report, column 940W.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what definition of (a) military equipment and (b) military property was used in the answer of 29 October 2007, Official Report, column 940W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations. [162816]
Des Browne: Military equipment and property refer to items owned by the Ministry of Defence and issued for operational use.
Air Force: Deployment
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF personnel are based in (a) each state of the USA, (b) Ascension Island, (c) the Balkans, (d) Cyprus, (e) Diego Garcia, (f) the Falklands and (g) Gibraltar. [162522]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The strength of RAF personnel posted outside the UK is available in Table 1.1 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 10: UK Regular Forces Stationed Location. TSP 10 is published quarterly. The most recent publication shows figures at 1 April 2007 and can be found at:
Copies of TSP 10 are available in the Library of the House and are also available at:
Due to ongoing validation of data from the new Personnel Administration System, all location data is currently provisional and subject to review.
Figures are not available separately for the individual states of the USA or Ascension Island.
Armed Forces: Deployment
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel were stationed in (a) Gibraltar, (b) the Falklands, (c) Belize, (d) Brunei and (e) Cyprus on 1 October 2007. [162519]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The strength of UK Regular Forces stationed outside the UK is available in Table 1.1 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 10: UK Regular Forces Stationed Location. TSP 10 is published quarterly. The most recent publication shows figures at 1 April 2007 and can be found at:
Copies of TSP 10 are available in the Library of the House and are also available at:
Due to ongoing validation of data from the new Personnel Administration System, all location data are currently provisional and subject to review.
Armed Forces: Gender
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many women are serving in HM Armed Forces in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan. [163467]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Deployment figures are currently provided at aggregate levels based on manual returns which do not record the gender of personnel. The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) women and (b) men were recruited to HM Armed Forces in each of the last five years. [163465]
Derek Twigg: The number of female and male recruits joining the armed forces in the last five years can be found in Table 3 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 1—Strength, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces. TSP 1 is published monthly. The most recent publication shows figures for the 12 months to 1 September 2007 and can be found at http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tspl/intake.html. Copies of TSP 1 are available in the Library of the House and are also available at:
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the total number of women who have served, including those currently serving, in HM Armed Forces. [163466]
Derek Twigg: No estimates have been made for the total number of women to have served in HM Armed Forces.
Figures for the number of women currently serving in the armed forces can be found in Table 1 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 1—Strength, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces. TSP 1 is published monthly. The most recent publication shows figures for the 12 months to 1 September 2007 and can be found at http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tspl/gender.html. Copies of TSP 1 are available in the Library of the House and are also available at:
Armed Forces: Housing
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many units of (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation are in each standard for condition grade. [162643]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Service Families Accommodation (SFA) and Single Living Accommodation (SLA) is assessed by Grade for Charge, while some SFA is also assessed by standard for Condition. Grade for Charge is an assessment of the physical condition of the accommodation and other factors such as location and closeness to amenities.
As at 30 June 2007, our worldwide SLA stock of some 165,500 bed spaces was at the following Grade for Charge.
| Number | |
At 1 April 2007, the worldwide SFA stock of some 71,193 properties is at the following Grade for Charge:
| Number | |
Of the 71,193, some 55,548 have also been assessed by Standard for Condition (SfC). These are broken down as follows:
| Number | |
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