Parliamentary Questions: 14th-17th July

18 Jul 2014 | Parliament, Parliamentary Questions

18^th July

British Transport Police Authority
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the Part 2 report of the Triennial Review of the British Transport Police Authority.
Claire Perry: We expect to publish the Part 2 Report in the autumn.
 
Roads
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on (a) the number of times grass verges should be cut and (b) the quality of the cut; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Goodwill: Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. This includes the cutting of grass, verges, shrubs and trees. It is for each individual local highway authority to decide on the number of times that grass verges should be cut and the quality of the cut based upon their local knowledge and other circumstances including taking into account safety, environmental and conservation considerations.
The Department for Transport encourages good practice in highway maintenance through channels such as ‘Well-maintained Highways’, the Code of Practice for highway maintenance by the UK Roads Liaison Group. It is available at the following weblink:
www.ukroadsliaisongroup.org
The Code advises local authorities on a wide range of highways maintenance issues, including grass cutting and highway verge management. Central Government has no powers to override local decisions in these matters.
Information available on the Parliamentary Website
 

15^th July

Aviation: Accidents
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many air accidents in the UK in the last five years arose from(a) pilot error and (b) mechanical breakdown.
Mr Goodwill: Since July 2009 there have been 61 accidents investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in the UK involving public transport aircraft. Of these around 70% were as a result of operational causal factors (human factors) and around 30% were as a result of technical causal factors. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch does not attribute any causes to pilot error as they are explicitly required not to apportion blame or liability.
 
Driving: Disqualification
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of drivers who accumulated over 12 points on their licence were disqualified in each of the last five years.
Mr Goodwill: An analysis of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s records carried out on 3 July 2014 showed that 93% of drivers who had accumulated 12 or more penalty points were disqualified. Figures for the proportion of drivers who had accumulated 12 or more points and were also disqualified are not available for previous years.
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many drivers have accumulated more than 12 points in each year from 2010.
Mr Goodwill: The information requested is shown in the following table.

These figures were obtained from a scan of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s database on 11 July 2014. The information changes daily as the database is updated as conviction details are added or become spent. Figures provided for 2010 are lower because any penalty points obtained before July 2010 will have been removed from driver records as required by law.
 
Roads: Standards
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the total value of compensation paid out of the public purse for damage to cars by poorly conditioned local roads in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10.
Mr Goodwill: The Department for Transport has made no formal estimate of the total value of compensation for cars damaged on the local road network. Local highway authorities are responsible for maintaining local roads in their area and therefore are also responsible for compensation.
Information available on the Parliamentary Website
 

14^th July

Written Statement
Transport
Local Sustainable Transport Fund
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Stephen Hammond): My noble Friend the Minister for Transport, Baroness Kramer, has made the following ministerial statement:
I am today announcing the successful bids for the local sustainable transport fund 2015-16 revenue funding competition. Almost all eligible local authorities submitted a bid for funding, and 44 were successful. The successful schemes will deliver a range of sustainable transport interventions across England, including enhanced cycling and walking infrastructure, improved bus journeys and better transport interchanges. All bids needed to demonstrate how the proposed programme would deliver economic growth, benefit the environment, influence greater uptake of cycling and walking, improve health and create a more joined-up door-to-door journey for people.
The successful projects will share over £64 million in revenue funding. Each project has provided its own matched contribution; the overall total of this matched funding is over £375 million. This includes over £100 million sourced directly from the local growth fund. This means that for every £1 the Department for Transport will invest through the local sustainable transport fund in 2015-16, local authorities will contribute £5.80 over the six years to 2020-21.
Examples of some successful projects include:
Birmingham will be continuing their ambition to become a premier cycling city through an extension of their cycling ambition programme;
Devon’s successful Access 2 Education programme will be extended to continue their work encouraging students across the country to travel more sustainably to school and training;
Jobseekers in Tamworth will be supported to access employment through cycling training and improved transport interchanges; and
East Lancashire will benefit from a range of cycling improvements, including an enhanced strategic cycle network that will provide links between housing, employment and town centres.
The announcement contains a number of projects that will significantly support the Government’s “Moving More, Living More” campaign, which seeks to create a more active nation as part of the physical activity legacy to the Olympic and Paralympic games.
The full list of successful schemes has been published on the Department for Transport’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-sustainable-transport-fund.
Information available on the Parliamentary Website
 
Written Answers
Buses: Safety
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions traffic commissioners have (a) revoked a bus or coach operator’s licence and (b) curtailed the number of vehicles which an operator is allowed to run under its licence for failing to meet safety standards since 2000.
Stephen Hammond: The data that is currently recorded for action taken against bus and coach operators does not identify specifically where the action has been as a result of failing to meet safety standards. The following data shows the number of licences where the operator had their licence revoked or had the authorisation reduced. This data is therefore where operators have failed to meet “licence” standards, such as financial standing, repute, undertakings as well as those relating to vehicle and driver safety standards.

The traffic commissioners recognise that additional data would be useful for completing the compliance picture and are already working with the Department and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency through the Compliance Forum to deliver against that aim.
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions traffic commissioners have sanctioned(a) bus operators and (b) coach operators for failing to meet safety standards since 2000.
Stephen Hammond: The data that is currently recorded for action taken against bus and coach operators does not identify specifically where the action has been as a result of failing to meet safety standards. The following data shows the number of public inquiries that were heard in relation to bus and coach operators where regulatory action was taken. This data is therefore where operators have failed to meet “licence” standards, such as financial standing, repute, undertakings as well as those relating to vehicle and driver safety standards.

The traffic commissioners recognise that additional data would be useful for completing the compliance picture and are already working with the Department and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency through the Compliance Forum to deliver against that aim.
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met the traffic commissioners to discuss safety standard adherence by bus or coach companies. [204709]
Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State and his ministerial colleagues have periodic meetings with the Senior Traffic Commissioner to discuss a range of issues. The Secretary of State last met with the Senior Traffic Commissioner on 8 July this year.
 
Driving: Licensing
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what proportion of driving licences were withdrawn from people ordinarily resident in Scotland on the basis of alcohol abuse (a) following road accidents and (b) at the request of medical practitioners in each of the last five years.
Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold information on the number of driving licences withdrawn on the basis of alcohol abuse following a road traffic accident.
The most recent information obtained on 2 July confirms that no driving licences have been withdrawn on the basis of alcohol abuse at the request of a general practitioner or a medical practitioner in the last five years.
 
Tyres
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of part-worn tyres sold in the UK in each of the last five years.
Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport does not routinely collect information on the number of part-worn tyres sold in the UK.
Information available on the Parliamentary Website