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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
21 Oct 2008 : Column 281W
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 (£)

2003-04

4,021,132

2004-05

4,220,768

2005-06

8,272,596

2006-07

4,791,412

2007-08

5,610,731


21 Oct 2008 : Column 282W

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: 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
21 Oct 2008 : Column 283W
(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
21 Oct 2008 : Column 284W
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:

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.


21 Oct 2008 : Column 285W

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]


21 Oct 2008 : Column 286W

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.


21 Oct 2008 : Column 287W

21 Oct 2008 : Column 288W
Table 1: Police officers FTE( 1) whose main function is ‘Traffic’ (1998-99 to 2007-08)( 2) by police force( 3)

1998-99( 4) 1999-2000( 4, 5) 2000-01( 4, 5) 2001-02( 4, 5) 2002-03( 6) 2003-04( 6) 2004-05( 6) 2005-06( 6) 2006-07( 6) 2007-08( 6)

Avon and Somerset

207

200

211

214

216

222

228

215

148

160

Bedfordshire

79

73

69

69

75

80

80

81

68

65

Cambridgeshire

96

93

86

78

85

99

101

99

96

90

Cheshire

205

196

187

194

194

200

194

85

91

94

City of London

24

22

24

25

24

24

28

24

23

26

Cleveland

67

68

63

67

64

73

2

61

72

104

Cumbria

117

119

111

108

107

110

108

111

114

99

Derbyshire

147

139

136

140

107

121

116

119

110

109

Devon and Cornwall

212

215

202

187

192

198

211

215

225

232

Dorset

77

83

86

81

91

86

82

81

80

78

Durham

117

116

113

113

111

119

108

105

100

107

Dyfed-Powys

97

93

83

75

136

105

141

143

136

126

Essex

259

245

249

254

241

242

243

243

231

219

Gloucestershire

82

68

69

64

62

66

67

73

67

67

Greater Manchester

434

433

423

421

406

392

359

342

352

338

Gwent

88

90

89

87

93

95

96

102

95

57

Hampshire

278

251

240

240

248

246

244

240

237

214

Hertfordshire

158

155

168

149

150

151

149

149

145

152

Humberside

149

155

145

136

123

119

225

181

100

104

Kent(7)

119

103

104

104

104

122

116

109

122

Lancashire

225

220

217

220

198

187

190

197

184

180

Leicestershire(7)

86

87

95

92

95

85

77

72

74

Lincolnshire

95

93

88

98

90

89

96

102

100

92

Merseyside

200

185

130

126

125

119

115

138

150

152

Metropolitan Police(7)

782

824

686

583

592

1,029

603

611

612

Norfolk

107

109

113

114

120

121

107

112

110

118

North Wales

236

134

146

152

115

114

76

81

98

90

North Yorkshire

128

96

129

140

151

138

101

97

99

105

Northamptonshire

87

52

52

61

70

71

65

63

63

60

Northumbria

162

158

158

178

245

253

165

167

172

165

Nottinghamshire

182

167

175

111

26

121

133

134

139

144

South Wales

220

224

238

244

243

245

243

243

252

233

South Yorkshire

197

196

206

208

180

127

134

141

143

144

Staffordshire

208

188

35

34

50

49

58

28

35

34

Suffolk

74

70

63

68

68

72

76

80

77

81

Surrey

177

173

197

110

108

110

107

99

87

98

Sussex

197

191

190

174

164

163

163

160

169

160

Thames Valley

265

251

251

247

259

259

245

236

237

250

Warwickshire

106

102

96

95

103

103

93

97

93

93

West Mercia

238

278

322

325

292

115

117

116

129

128

West Midlands

405

394

380

385

384

405

393

401

383

352

West Yorkshire

331

323

326

336

320

314

317

343

324

283

Wiltshire

90

93

91

88

91

96

93

13

89

91

England and Wales

7,806

7,522

7,238

6,317

6,902

6,706

7,104

6,511

6,412

6,299

(1 )This and other tables contain full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.
(2 )Data as at 31 March in each of the given years.
(3 )Variations in the proportion of police officers deployed to traffic duties to some extent reflects the presence of motorways and key A roads in certain force areas.
(4 )Data collected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) for the number of officers who are deployed to all traffic duties. It is not possible to segregate officers on speed enforcement duties from other officers deployed to traffic duties. The table therefore provides data for all officers deployed to traffic duties.
(5 )The basis on which HMIC classify police service staff changed in the year 1999-2000 so the figures for 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 are not directly comparable with those for earlier years. Some officers counted as deployed to traffic duties in earlier years may, from 1999-2000 onward, have been recorded as deployed to duties relating to traffic wardens.
(6 )Data collected by Home Office and not by HMIC. Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. The traffic function includes staff who are predominantly employed on motorcycles or in patrol vehicles for the policing of traffic and motorway related duties. This does not include officers employed in accident investigation, vehicle examination and radar duties.
(7 )Data unavailable for in all given years.

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