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11 Feb 2004 : Column 1450W—continued
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of international trends in the use of liquefied petroleum gas for road vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [153672]
Mr. Jamieson: There is limited information on international trends in the use of LPG for road vehicles. There were an estimated 107,000 LPG vehicles in the UK in 2003. In contrast, there are estimated to be over one million LPG vehicles in Italy which has the largest European market.
The European Commission Alternative Fuels contact Group recently presented their report on The Market Development of Alternative Fuels. The report argued that a combination of alternative fuels had the potential to achieve a 20 per cent. market share by 2020 and identified LPG as having the scope to achieve a 5 per cent. market share by 2010.
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Globally, significant markets for LPG also exist in South Korea, Japan, Australia and North America.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed in the UK in the road vehicle liquefied petroleum gas industry. [153673]
Mr. Jamieson: The latest estimate of the Liquid Petroleum Gas Association is that there are 2,500 people employed in the industry in the UK.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles in the UK have been converted to run on liquefied petroleum gas; and how many have been converted with the aid of a PowerShift grant. [153674]
Mr. Jamieson: According to the Liquid Petroleum Gas Association, approximately 107,000 vehicles had been converted to run on LPG by the end of 2003.
Since 1997, 17,383 vehicles have been converted to run on LPG with the aid of a Powershift grant.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Chancellor about the impact of fuel taxation measures on (a) liquefied petroleum gas conversions, (b) environmental damage and (c) public health. [153675]
Mr. Jamieson: The Government issued a joint DfT/HMT/HMCE consultation document in June 2003, which sought views on the future structure of the Government's support for road fuel gases and natural gas in the short to medium term. The consultation is available on the DfT website. The consultation summarised the growth of the LPG sector incentivised by fuel duty differentials, reduced vehicle excise duty and the availability of grants under the Transport Energy programmes. Further, the consultation made an illustrative comparison of the environmental performance of LPG vehicles in comparison with conventionally fuelled vehicles.
The Government are currently considering the responses to this consultation and will announce their decisions in Budget 2004.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many re-fuelling sites are available in the UK for (a) liquefied petroleum gas and (b) compressed natural gas. [153670]
Mr. Jamieson: According to the Liquid Petroleum Gas Association and the Natural Gas Vehicle Association, there are approximately 1,300 LPG re-fuelling sites in and 18 compressed natural gas re-fuelling sites in the UK.
M5
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the cost of upgrading Junction 10 of the M5 to allow northbound and southbound traffic to join and leave the motorway. [153783]
Mr. Jamieson: The cost of upgrading Junction 10 of the M5 to a full movement junction would be in the region of £15 to £30 million at current prices, depending on the design and the cost of land required.
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Motorways
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what works are being carried out adjacent to the southbound carriageway of the M1 motorway between junctions 14 and 13 in Buckinghamshire which relate to alleviating motorway noise; when this work was authorised; and what estimate he has made of the cost. [153248]
Dr. Howells: These noise mitigation works are being constructed outside of the highway boundary by a private landowner and are not publicly funded.
Planning consent for a 6 metre high, 150 metre long screening bund was granted by Milton Keynes Council in May 2003.
Rail Freight
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail freight miles were travelled in each year since 2003; and if he will make a statement. [150011]
Mr. McNulty: Rail freight moved in Great Britain is published by the Strategic Rail Authority each quarter in "National Rail Trends". In 2002–03, rail freight moved was 18.7 billion tonne-kilometres.
Road Accidents
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries there have been on the (i) A12, (ii) A134, (iii) A120 west of Colchester, (iv) A120 east of Colchester, (v) A137 and (vi) A133 in Essex in the past 12 months. [152079]
Mr. Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Fatal | Serious | |
|---|---|---|
| A12 | 15 | 125 |
| A133 | 2 | 21 |
| A134 | 4 | 24 |
| A137 | 2 | 16 |
| A120(4) | 4 | 6 |
| A120(5) | 4 | 29 |
(3) Last full year for which figures are available
(4) East of Colchester
(5) West of Colchester
Road Improvement Projects
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate real terms cost inflation for road improvement projects for each year since 1997. [153782]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) monitors prices for new road construction and publishes indices. The DTI's Road Construction Tender Price Index (RCTPI and also known as the ROADCON Index) is based on priced rates contained in accepted tenders for road construction, motorway widening and major maintenance schemes costing over £0.25 million obtained from the Highways Agency and local
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authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. The indices are published every quarter and the first two columns of the table are abstracted from the latest available ROADCON Index figures (December 2003). The third column has been calculated for this answer.
| ROADCON Index | Year on year "inflation rate" (in ROADCON Index terms) since 1997 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 100 | — |
| 1998 | 99 | -1.0 |
| 1999 | 100 | 1.0 |
| 2000 | 114 | 14.0 |
| 2001 | 117 | 2.6 |
| 2002 | 121 | 3.4 |
| 2003 | (6)122 | 0.8 |
(6) The figure for the year 2003 is an interim figure as (i) the year is not yet complete (the last quarter is January to March 2004), and (ii) the indices for the last two published quarters are provisional and subject to adjustment (when delayed data are received by DTI).
Roadworks (A1)
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) for what reasons advance warning was not given of the closure of the exit from the A1 at Newark to the A17 and A46; [153243]
- (2) for what reasons 24-hour working is not taking place on the southbound carriageway of the A1 near Newark; [153244]
(3) for what reasons and for how long the junction between the A1, A17 and A46 at Newark will be closed; and for what reasons the exit from the A1 at this point is closed; [153245]
(4) for how long he expects the southbound carriageway of the A1 to be closed at Newark. [153246]
Dr. Howells: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Archie Robertson to write to the right hon. Member.
Letter from Archie Robertson to Mr. Greg Knight, dated 11 February 2004:
- I have been asked by the Transport Minister, Kim Howells, to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about road closures as a result of work being carried out on the A1 Trunk Road at Newark.
- The major resurfacing scheme on both carriageways of the A1 at Newark is taking place on a heavily trafficked section of road, which includes a busy interchange (with A46/A17) and is situated close to built-up areas. As such, the work is inevitably subject to certain constraints.
- There are two sets of warning signs informing drivers of the closure of the slip roads at Newark, on both the north and southbound carriageways of the A1, together with signs to follow the appropriate diversion routes. Advance signs are also situated on all approach roads to the slip roads, again with diversion signs in place giving instructions on how to access the A1. Additional signs, over and above those required to meet statutory requirements, were erected on the diversion routes on 16 January to give greater clarity for users of the diversions.
- In order to maintain traffic flow, both north and southbound, contraflow working is being used. For safety reasons, and to allow a smooth flow of traffic through the contraflow lengths, the slip roads to the A46/A17 need to be closed. Some resurfacing is also being carried out on the slip roads themselves. Although the
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- southbound carriageway was reopened on 1 February, it is now subject to contraflow working whilst the northbound carriageway is dealt with.
- Unfortunately, it is not possible to undertake this work on a 24-hour basis due to the close proximity of residential property. For environmental reasons Newark and Sherwood District Council have placed restrictions on working after 10pm so that local people do not suffer undue noise nuisance overnight.
- I am pleased to say that good progress is being made with the resurfacing and all work is on target to be completed by the 16 March. The Agency regrets any disruption that these essential maintenance works may have caused. Wherever possible, we do try to keep this to a minimum and give advance publicity locally. I note, from these and previous questions you have asked, that you frequently use the north—south route, either via the A1 or M1.
- If you would like any further information the Agency's Route Manager, Graham Littlechild, will be more than happy to assist you. Please let him know if you would like to be included on a circulation list for advance publicity when works of this kind are proposed on these routes in the future. He can be contacted at our offices at Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1BL, or by telephone on 0121 678 8034.
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