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12 Jun 2009 : Column 1050W—continued
Railways: Bus Services
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment he has made of the decision by South West Trains to cancel the Bordon-Liphook rail link bus; and if he will make a statement. [278651]
Chris Mole: The Rail Link bus service between Liphook and Bordon is not a commitment within the South West Trains Franchise Agreement and Stagecoach South West Trains are therefore under no obligation to continue to provide this facility.
As such, no assessment has been made due to this being a commercial decision to be managed by Stagecoach South West Trains.
Road Signs and Markings
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of installing overhead line warning signs on roads for which the Highways Agency is responsible in each of the last three years; and how many such signs have been installed; [278813]
(2) how many (a) accidents and (b) other incidents involving vehicles hitting overhead lines on roads for which the Highways Agency is responsible have been reported in each of the last 10 years; and how many such incidents have involved the emergency services; [278814]
(3) on what date the decision was taken to install overhead line warning signs on roads for which the Highways Agency is responsible; who took the decision; and what cost-benefit analysis of installing overhead line warning signs was undertaken. [278815]
Chris Mole [holding answer 9 June 2009]: The estimate of cost to the public purse of installing overhead line warning signs on roads for which the Highways Agency is responsible is shown in Table 1.
| Table 1 | ||
| Cost estimate (£) | Number of signs installed | |
The number of accidents and other incidents involving vehicles hitting overhead lines on Highways Agency roads over the last 10 years is shown in Table 2.
| Table 2 | |||
| Number of accidents | Number of other incidents | Emergency services involved? | |
| (1) Data not available from all regions and cited figure denotes value derived from incomplete or unavailable data | |||
There was no decision of general policy taken to install overhead line warning signs on Highways Agency roads.
Overhead line warning signs were first installed in the north-east region in two stages. The first phase on the southern part of that area of the Highways Agency network was approved in 2005-06 and the second phase for the remainder of the north-east network in 2007-08. Approval was given by the Highways Agency's regional director.
Decisions to install overhead line warning signs are made regionally, based on technical assessment and need.
The initiative in the north-east was introduced in response to a fatal accident that occurred on a construction site on the A66 in 2002 when two construction operatives were killed, having come into contact with an overhead power cable while working on a lighting gantry.
A detailed cost benefit analysis for the installation of overhead warning signs has not been undertaken.
Roads: Accidents
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many victims of hit-and-run incidents have (a) claimed and (b) obtained compensation from the Motor Insurers Bureau in each year since 1997. [278572]
Paul Clark: No official statistics are gathered which address this question directly.
Claims made to the Motor Insurers Bureau under the Untraced Drivers Agreement are not restricted to hit and run incidents but can be made in respect of any incident where the identity of the driver is not known.
The Motor Insurers Bureau estimates that the number of claims made in the past four years under the Untraced Drivers Agreement is as follows:
| Number | |
The number of claims that have been settled in the past four years is as follows:
| Number | |
These figures relate to the year in which the claim was finally settled, not to the date of the claim. Claims are not necessarily settled in the calendar year in which the claim is made.
Transport: Coventry
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps his Department has taken to improve (a) rail transport links and (b) other elements of transport infrastructure in Coventry. [278610]
Mr. Khan: The Government have invested in long-term public transport improvements in and around Coventry. Funding provided to local authorities in the West Midlands conurbation, including Coventry, for local transport capital projects has increased from £22 million in 2000-01 to over £51 million in 2009-10.
Coventry has benefited from the £8.8 billion investment in the West Coast Main Line upgrade. Since December 2008, Coventry rail users have seen an improved frequency of intercity services from Birmingham to London from two to three per hour and an increase in rail services from Birmingham to Northampton from one to two trains per hour. Coventry is now served by seven trains per hour to Birmingham.
With regard to other transport infrastructure in and around Coventry, we have invested over £28 million in the Coventry Primelines Bus Network scheme, a package of improvements aimed at improving bus travel in Coventry. Coventry is also benefiting from over £50 million of investment across the West Midlands conurbation in upgrading the Urban Traffic Control Centre and the first phase of the Red Routes network.
Transport: East of England
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much funding his Department has allocated to encourage bicycle usage in (a) Mid Bedfordshire and (b) the East of England in each year since 1997; [278583]
(2) how much funding his Department has allocated for the development of environmentally-friendly means of transportation in (a) Mid Bedfordshire and (b) the East of England in each year since 1997; [278584]
(3) how much funding his Department allocated to transport networks used primarily for tourism in (a) Mid Bedfordshire and (b) the East of England in each year since 1997; [278586]
(4) how much funding his Department allocated for transport connections with nature parks in (a) Mid Bedfordshire and (b) the East of England region in each year since 1997. [278587]
Mr. Khan: Funding provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) to local transport authorities is not generally ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities. Figures are not available at constituency level.
The Department provides integrated transport block and highways maintenance funding to local transport authorities to support capital investment in transport, which may be used for a range of purposes as the authorities see fit. Allocations provided to Bedfordshire county council and the eastern region, since 1997, are shown in the following table.
Revenue expenditure on transport is generally supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government's Formula Grant.
In addition to this funding, DfT has made some funding available specifically to support cycling. In 2007-08 and 2008-09, DfT provided £6,720 and £32,000 respectively to Bedfordshire county council to fund cycling training. In 2009-10, following the local authority boundary changes, Bedford borough are due to receive £28,000, and central Bedfordshire £35,240 to fund 700 and 881 training places respectively.
Transport: Merseyside
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) how much funding his Department has allocated to encourage bicycle usage in (a) Crosby and (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997; [278898]
(2) how much funding his Department allocated for transport connections with nature parks in (a) Crosby and (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997; [278899]
(3) how much funding his Department allocated to transport networks used primarily for tourism in (a) Crosby and (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997; [278900]
(4) how much funding his Department allocated for the development of environmentally-friendly means of transportation in (a) Crosby and (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997. [278902]
Mr. Khan: Funding provided by the Department for Transport (DFT) to local transport authorities is not generally ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities. Figures are not available at constituency level.
The Department provides integrated transport block and highways maintenance funding to local transport authorities to support capital investment in transport, which may be used for a range of purposes as the authorities see fit. Crosby falls into the transport authority of Sefton metropolitan borough council. The allocations provided to Sefton metropolitan borough council and Merseyside as a whole, since 1997, are shown in the table.
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