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21 Oct 2008 : Column 280W—continued
Paul Clark:
Most of the funding for concessionary travel is part of a block within the Revenue Support Grant (RSG), so it is not possible to disaggregate information for concessionary fares. The latest available figures show that local authorities spent, in total, £735.2 million on concessionary travel in 2006-07. We
would expect a slightly higher figure for 2007-08 and a more significant increase for 2008-09 with the advent of all-England travel but it is too early to fully establish the impact of the new concession.
The Government are paying a special grant directly to Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) to meet the extra cost of the England-wide bus concession from 1 April 2008. Unlike RSG funding this is identifiable at £212 million in 2008-09, rising to £217m in 2009-10. The new funding is in addition to existing concessionary fares funding through RSG. The Government remain confident that funding for statutory concessionary fares is sufficient to meet the cost to TCAs.
Buses: Fuels
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on developing alternative fuels for buses. [225621]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has not spent anything developing alternative fuels specifically for buses. The Government support the research and development of alternative fuel technologies for diesel engine vehicles which could be used for buses. More than £90 million has been committed in this area over the next five years.
Bypasses: Construction
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bypasses have been built in south east Manchester since 2000. [227089]
Paul Clark: Final funding approval was granted to the A34 Alderley Edge and Nether Alderley bypass scheme earlier this year on which advanced works have started.
The South East Manchester Multi Modal Study (SEMMMS) relief road falls within the relevant area, but discussions are still continuing on this scheme.
Departmental Recruitment
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies spent on (i) recruitment consultants and (ii) external recruitment advertising to recruit staff in each of the last five financial years; which recruitment consultants were employed for those purposes in each of those years; and if he will make a statement. [226805]
Mr. Hoon: The figures in the following table have been sourced from the Central Department and its agencies and show expenditure on recruitment consultancies and external advertising combined. These figures could not be split due to reporting variances across the Department.
| Expenditure (£) | |
The larger figure in 2005-06 represents a major campaign by the Highways Agency to recruit Traffic Officers.
The table showing Recruitment Consultancies used has been placed in the Libraries of the House. This represents recruitment consultancies used throughout the past five financial years however, some agencies could provide these data only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what proportion of written Questions for answer on a named day his Department has answered on the due date in the current session of Parliament to date. [226889]
Mr. Hoon: In the current session the Department has received 880 named day parliamentary questions. Of these 532 (60.45 per cent.) were answered on the due date.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 7 May 2008, Official Report, columns 888-89W, on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, what progress the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency has made with the review; and if he will make a statement. [226730]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I can confirm that the review of the effectiveness of the new measures introduced following the 2006 consultation has been completed. The report is currently being finalised and will be available shortly.
Driving: Licenses
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many drivers have lost their licences under the six-point novice driver rule since it was introduced; and how many of these have (a) subsequently retaken their test and (i) passed and (ii) failed it and (b) been prosecuted for driving without a licence. [226748]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 came into force in 1997. To September 2008, 160,756 driving licences have been revoked under the provisions of the Act; 87,250 drivers have subsequently passed a driving test to regain their full licence.
Information is not held on the number of drivers who have failed a test following revocation. Statistics on driving offences, held by the Ministry of Justice, do not specify the individual circumstances of prosecutions for
“driving other than in accordance with a licence”.
Driving: Licensing
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent estimate is of the number of people driving on UK roads without (a) insurance, (b) a valid MOT certificate and (c) a valid provisional or full driving licence. [227076]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Our latest estimate (2005) for uninsured driving is based on a comparison of the vehicle register, maintained by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
(DVLA) and the motor insurance database. The estimate is about 2.1 million licensed vehicles (about 6.5 per cent. of the UK total) are being driven by uninsured drivers. Measures introduced to tackle uninsured driving include police powers to seize vehicles used on the road uninsured, and improved police powers to access information contained in the insurance industry's database. The Road Safety Act 2006 introduced a new offence of being a registered keeper for which there is no valid motor insurance. Further regulations are required to bring the provisions into force and the detail of this scheme for continuous insurance enforcement will be subject to consultation later this year.
The most recent results of the “on the road” compliance survey, published in 2006, showed that around 4.2 per cent. of vehicles in use on the road did not have a valid MoT. When applied to the whole vehicle fleet this would amount to around 1.2 million vehicles. The exercise was repeated this year but the results are not yet available. To improve compliance with these requirements the police have access to the computerised record of MoT test results so that officers can identify vehicles without a valid MoT, when using for example ANPR cameras, and then take action. The ‘newstyle' MoT certificates come with a peel off and display sticker setting out the MoT expiry date as an aid to motorists.
The most recent estimate of the number of drivers using a vehicle on the road without a valid driving licence is 1.6 per cent. Full details are available in the report on the National Driver and Vehicle Compliance Check 2006. The report was published on 8 September 2006, and placed in the House of Commons Library. It is also available at:
Provision to the Police of 24 hour access to accurate and up to date driver licensing information (including a photograph where appropriate) at the roadside has assisted detection and enforcement. There are also good IT links between the DVLA and the courts to assist in effective prosecution of offenders.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people passed advanced driving tests in each region of England and Wales in (a) each of the last 10 years and (b) 2008 to date. [227153]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Advanced driving assessments are offered on a voluntary basis by some private organisations.
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) does not collect statistics on how many drivers have undertaken or passed such assessments.
Lorries: Safety Measures
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and (b) the European Commission in the last 12 months on rules to require retro-reflective tape to be placed on the side of heavy goods vehicles around the outer edge to aid night time visibility. [227134]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Following European and wider negotiations undertaken some time ago, we agreed to introduce new retro-reflective markings requirements
for new trucks exceeding 7.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight (GVW) and new trailers exceeding 3.5 tonnes GVW by 10 October 2009. Our research shows that marking these vehicle types is the most cost effective approach. Implementation will be via our national lighting regulations and no further discussions with UN-ECE and European counterparts are planned.
Official Cars: Carbon Emissions
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what opportunities are provided to Ministers to use UK-built cars that comply with carbon dioxide emission guidelines. [224615]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 26 June 2008, Official Report, column 427W.
The Government remain committed to reducing the average emissions of the Government fleet to 130g/km by 2010. The range of vehicles commercially available which produce low carbon emissions is increasing and a number of new or improved models are expected to be released over the next year. GCDA is therefore reviewing the low carbon vehicles which may be suitable for use by Ministers as remaining older cars are replaced.
Railways: Contracts
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which train operators have made late premia payments in the last 12 months. [227128]
Paul Clark [holding answer 14 October 2008]: In the last 12 months, the following train operators have made payments which were not received in the Department for Transport’s bank on the correct day:
National Express (Gatwick Express Franchise)—three instances of late receipt of payments (13 working days, one working day and 10 working days late). This franchise ended in June 2008.
Midland Mainline—one instance of late receipt (one working day late).
Arriva Trains Wales—one instance of late receipt (one working day late).
First Capital Connect—one instance of late receipt (four working days late).
For those payments where funds were received one working day late it is possible that this was due to deadlines at the Office of the Paymaster General that may have meant the funds were not shown in the Department’s account on the same day as receipt.
The late receipt of payment made by First Capital Connect was the result of an error on the bank sort code that meant that the initial payment made on the correct date was rejected. This payment was immediately resubmitted.
Road Traffic: Costs
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated cost to the economy is of projected road congestion increase of (a) eight per cent. by 2010, (b) 22 per cent. by 2015 and (c) 28 per cent. by 2025. [226695]
Paul Clark: The congestion costs associated with these particular projections have not been estimated.
However, previous work using the Department's National Transport Model for the Eddington Study (2006) did provide relevant analysis. The study estimates that for a 30 per cent. increase in congestion between 2003-25 in England, the time lost to all road users would be worth £24 billion at 2002 prices.
The full study is available at:
Roads: Accidents
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the baseline average is for the number killed or seriously injured by traffic collisions from 1994 to 1998 against which his Department assesses its progress on reducing the number killed or seriously injured on the roads. [227098]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The 1994-98 baseline average for the number of killed or seriously injured casualties resulting from reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain is 47,656.
These data are available in table 1b of article 1 in ‘Road Casualties Great Britain’ at
Copies of this publication have been deposited in the Libraries of the House.
Roads: Police
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many police officers were engaged in patrolling roads to enforce traffic rules in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region. [227105]
Mr. Alan Campbell: I have been asked to reply.
The available data are given in the table.
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