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Roads: Congestion
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the increase or decrease in traffic congestion (a) on outer-urban roads, and (b) in urban areas, since 1997. [HL3812]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Information on trends in congestion is available for England for (a) the strategic road network (inter-urban roads) and for (b) the 10 largest urban areas.
Provisional figures for the PSA1 target year ending March 2008 show that average vehicle delay on the slowest 10 per cent of journeys on motorways and trunk roads in England has risen from 3.78 to 3.95 minutes per 10 miles since the baseline year ending July 2005, an increase of 4.4 per cent. This covers a period of 32 months and represents an annual increase of 1.6 per cent.
These figures represent average daytime delays (6 am to 8 pm) on the 91 routes currently used for monitoring performance on the strategic road network. Figures are presented on a rolling year basis. Delay is calculated as the difference between observed journey time and a reference journey time (the time that could theoretically be achieved when the traffic is free flowing).
Traffic congestion in urban areas is measured by “person journey time per mile” for the 10 largest urban areas in England: London, the six metropolitan areas (Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire) and Bristol, Leicester and Nottingham. The table “person journey times (minutes per mile)” shows the increase or decrease in traffic congestion.
| Person Journey Times (Minutes Per Mile) | |||||||||||
| Year | LO | GM | ME | SY | TW | WM4 | WY | BR | LE | NO | ALL |
- LO London, GM Greater Manchester, ME Merseyside, SY South Yorkshire, TW Tyne & Wear, WM West Midlands, WY West Yorkshire, BR Bristol, LE Leicester, NO Nottingham, ALL weighted average of the 10 largest urban areas.
Data are not available for inter-urban roads or urban areas for years earlier than those shown. All these data were published on 8 May 2008 in Road Traffic and Congestion in Great Britain: Quarter 1 2008 at www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatables publications/roadstraffic/traffic/qbtrafficgb /2008/q108.
Tote
Lord Smith of Leigh asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether their objectives in selling the Tote include retaining support for the racing industry and jobs in Tote headquarters in Wigan as well as getting value for the taxpayer. [HL3711]
Lord Davies of Oldham: As announced in the Written Statement to the House on 5 March, the overriding criterion for the Tote's privatisation will be to maximise value for the taxpayer while remaining sensitive to the interests of racing and employment.
Waste Management: Brofiscin Quarry
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 8 May (WA 100), whether the Environment Agency Wales has a list of the original documents it indicates have been returned to Mr Douglas Gowan; and, if it has, whether they will place a copy in the Library of the House. [HL3593]
4 Jun 2008 : Column WA67
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): I am informed by the Environment Agency Wales that the documents returned to Mr Douglas Gowan by the Environment Agency were listed in the covering letter dated 13 December 2007 which accompanied those documents.
The covering letter will be placed in the Library of the House shortly.
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 8 May (WA 101), what was the relevant information
4 Jun 2008 : Column WA68
Lord Rooker: I am informed by the Environment Agency Wales that the Environment Agency fully instructed Lovells LLP and provided all information necessary and germane properly to protect the Environment Agency's interest in the US Bankruptcy Court proceedings.
The information provided was in contemplation of proceedings and subject to legal professional privilege.
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