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9 Jan 2006 : Column 19W—continued
First Aid (Driving Tests)
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce basic first aid education as part of the driving test requirements. [40274]
Dr. Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 27 October 2005, Official Report, column 504W.
Ministerial Meetings
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list meetings held between Ministers and (a) airport authorities and (b) interested groups since June; and if he will place the minutes of the meetings in the Library. [26407]
Ms Buck: Ministers and officials have met with a wide range of aviation stakeholders, including airlines, airports and local and environmental interest groups. The matters discussed at many of them are confidential for commercial or other reasons, therefore it would not be appropriate to summarise the details of these meetings or to place the minutes in the House Library.
Mobile Phones
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to inform motorists of the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving. [40667]
Dr. Ladyman: Messages on the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving are promoted as part of the Department's THINK! road safety campaign, which has a budget of £18 million in this fiscal year.
Mobile phone messages have been included in the THINK! campaign since 2002. Activity this fiscal year includes cinema and radio advertising and leaflets and posters which encourage drivers to switch off their mobile phones before they drive off, using captions such as switch off before you drive off" and missing a call won't kill you".
Provisions in the Road Safety Bill, presently before the House, will make the penalty for the offences of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving, and for not having proper control of a vehicle (used to deal with those who drive poorly while using a hands-free phone), endorseable with three points and a £60 fine. Subject to parliamentary consideration of the Bill, the Department will promote awareness of the increased penalties.
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has held with the Home Office regarding the enforcement of the offence of driving while using a mobile phone. [40668]
9 Jan 2006 : Column 20W
Dr. Ladyman: The Department is in regular discussion with the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers on all aspects of roads policing. In this context, Ministers from the two Departments and the Head of the ACPO Road Policing Business Area issued a joint Roads Policing Strategy Statement on 11 January 2005—available online at www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafety/documents/page/dft_rdsafety_033749.pdf
The day to day enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police. They are best placed to recognise local concerns and to identify and assess the nature and cause of specific local problems. They will then determine how best to deploy their resources to address them in the light of their overall priorities.
Motorbikes
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the value of new motorbikes purchased in each year since 1997. [38656]
Dr. Ladyman: This information is not available.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new motorbikes were purchased in each year since 1997. [38658]
Dr. Ladyman: The number of motorcycles newly registered in Great Britain are as follows:
| Thousand | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 106.4 |
| 1998 | 117.2 |
| 1999 | 123.0 |
| 2000 | 118.8 |
| 2001 | 112.4 |
| 2002 | 110.0 |
| 2003 | 108.8 |
| 2004 | 98.4 |
Source:
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
These figures exclude scooters and mopeds.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the value of second-hand motorbikes purchased in each year since 1997. [38659]
Dr. Ladyman: This information is not available
Port of Sharpness
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made towards re-opening a rail link to the Port of Sharpness. [39275]
Derek Twigg: The Department has not received any proposals to re-establish rail links to the Port of Sharpness.
Railways
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what month he expects to publish the specification for the new merged Central Trains/Midland Mainline railway franchise. [39787]
9 Jan 2006 : Column 21W
Derek Twigg: Our current expectation is that consultation on the new East Midlands franchise draft specification will commence in summer 2006.
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average age is of passenger trains on (a) the London and South East heavy rail network, (b) the local regional rail network and (c) the Northern Trains franchise. [38722]
Derek Twigg: The average age of passenger trains, as at 1 October 2005 is approximately as follows: London and South East Network 12 years; the regional network 16 years and Northern Trains franchise 17 years.
Road Accidents
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) males and (b) females were (i)killed, (ii) seriously injured and (iii) slightly injured as a result of a motor vehicle being driven on the wrong side of the road in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [39708]
Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is not available.
Road Deaths
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road deaths there have been in the Nottinghamshire county council area in the last three years. [40690]
9 Jan 2006 : Column 22W
Dr. Ladyman: The number of fatalities in personal injury road accidents, in the Nottinghamshire county council area (excluding the City of Nottingham) in the last three years is given in table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 69 |
| 2003 | 64 |
| 2004 | 54 |
(3)Deaths within 30 days of the accident. Excludes confirmed suicides, death from natural causes and injuries to pedestrians with no vehicle involvement (e.g. a fall on the pavement).
Roads
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost has been to his Department of (a) repairing existing and (b) building new roads in each year since 1997, broken down by category of road. [38451]
Dr. Ladyman: The motorways and trunks roads of the strategic road network are managed by the Highways Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Transport. The reporting of the cost of these roads is notbroken down by category of road. The figures for repairing existing and building new roads on this network since 1998–99 are:
| 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repairing(4) | 0.64 | 0.72 | 0.74 | 0.71 | 0.76 | 0.78 | 0.73 |
| Building new roads(5) | 0.32 | 0.36 | 0.31 | 0.40 | 0.51 | 0.35 | 0.35 |
(4)Resource and capital expenditure.
(5)The apparent decrease in spending between 2002–03 and 2003–04 is due to a change in accounting treatment of lands provisions.
Note:
Information is not readily available for 1997–98.
This information includes expenditure on roads in London until the creation of Transport for London in 2000. The later numbers do not include this expenditure, which is now a matter for the Mayor of London and the Greater London Assembly.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Article 14 Directives have been served by the Highways Agency on developments in North Northamptonshire. [39784]
Dr. Ladyman: The Highways Agency has served eight Article 14 Directions in North Northamptonshire since 1 January 2005. An additional direction issued in December 2004 is still in force. The Highways Agency offered no objection to a further 44 Planning Applications. Details of the directions are shown in the following table:
9 Jan 2006 : Column 23W
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with Northamptonshire county council about the construction of new distributor road capacity around Kettering. [39785]
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