PQs 28th – 31st March

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2011, Official Report, column 59W, on transport: Scotland, whether the implications of the provisions of the Scotland Bill for road speed limits were discussed during discussions with the Minister for Transport in the Scottish Government on road safety. [42040]

Mike Penning: No.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) costs will be incurred and (b) savings will be made from abolishing the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15. [46476]

Norman Baker: We will be taking forward a consultative process on successor arrangements in the coming months and as such it is not possible to determine likely costs or savings until successor arrangements have been finalised. For the purposes of the Cabinet Office-led process to assess the financial impacts of public bodies reform (the results of which were set out in the related written ministerial statement of 16 March 2011, Official Report, columns 9-10WS), we assumed administrative savings of around one-third by 2014-15, against the 2010-11 baseline of £496,000, for the successor arrangements to the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC).

Financial reasons were not the primary factor in the decision to abolish DPTAC.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what residual functions will remain following the abolition of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee; which organisations will carry out each such function; what the estimated costs of each such function are; and what transfer of funds will be made to each organisation to carry out each such function. [46477]

Norman Baker: No decision on successor arrangements has yet been taken. We will be taking forward a consultative process on successor arrangements in the coming months. It is not possible to determine likely costs or savings until successor arrangements have been finalised. For the purposes of the Cabinet Office-led process to assess the financial impacts of public bodies reform (the results of which were set out in the related written ministerial statement of 16 March 2001, Official Report, columns 9-10WS), we assumed administrative savings of around one-third by 2014-15, against the 2010-11 baseline of £496,000, for the successor arrangements to the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC).

Financial reasons were not the primary factor in the decision to abolish DPTAC.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the merits of introducing quotas for part 3 of the Approved Driving Instructors test. [49489]

Mike Penning: The Driving Standards Agency does not operate a quota system in relation to any of the tests it delivers-it would not be appropriate to do so. All candidates, including those seeking to qualify as an approved driving instructor, are successful or unsuccessful based upon their performance during the test against the set assessment criteria, which are publicly available.

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will conduct an investigation into the causes of recent trends in pass rates over the course of a year for part 3 of the Approved Driving Instructors test. [49490]

Mike Penning: We have no plans to conduct an investigation on this specific point-there has been no discernable trend in recent months.

The Driving Standards Agency, which is responsible for regulating professional driving instructors, has been holding discussions with interested parties about possible improvements to the initial approved driving instructors (ADI) qualification and standards maintenance arrangements for the occupation.

The following table sets out the national pass rate over the course of 2010.

2010	Number of ADI part 3 tests	Pass rate for the ADI part 3 (Percentage)
January	711	33.6
February	1,228	31.5
March	1,348	31.1
April	1,132	32.2
May	1,188	33.6
June	1,243	31.9
July	1,115	35.7
August	1,007	33.3
September	1,167	33.1
October	1,035	34.5
November	1,058	32.5
December	529	37.6

 

The annual national pass rate for the part 3, ADI test of instructional ability, in 2009-2010 was 34%. The annual national pass rate for 2010-11 will be published in due course.  

Mr Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were (a) killed and (b) injured as a result of an accident involving a foreign registered heavy goods vehicle in each of the last five years; and in how many such accidents a blind spot in the off-side mirror of the vehicle was found to be a causal factor. [47749]

Mike Penning [holding answer 18 March 2011]: The number of reported casualties in accidents involving foreign registered heavy goods vehicles in each of last five years for which data are available is given in the following table:

Reported casualties in accidents involving foreign registered heavy goods vehicles: GB 2005 to 2009
Casualties
	Killed	Injured
2005	33	1,507
2006	44	1,322
2007	31	1,244
2008	35	1,172
2009	21	986

It is not possible to identify accidents where a blind spot in the off- side mirror of the vehicle was found to be a causal factor.

However, the number of accidents involving foreign registered heavy goods vehicles where the contributory factor “vehicle blind spot” was assigned to the foreign HGV by police officer attending the scene of the accident is given in the following table:

Reported accidents( 1) involving a foreign heavy goods vehicles where contributory factor “vehicle blind spot” was assigned to the foreign HGV : GB 2005 to 2009
Accidents
	Fatal	Injury
2005	0	297
2006	1	263
2007	2	194
2008	1	191
2009	1	212
(1 )1ncludes only accidents where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported.

Data for 2010 will be published in summer 2011.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget for Commission for Integrated Transport (a) was in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11 and (b) will be for (A) 2011-12, (B) 2012-13, (C) 2013-14 and (D) 2014-15. [46653]

Norman Baker: The budget for the Commission for Integrated Transport (a) was:

(i) £994,000 in 2009-10; and,

(ii) £321,000 in 2010-11.

(b) There will be no budget for the Commission from 2011-12, due to its abolition announced on 14 October 2010.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) costs will be incurred and (b) savings will be made from abolishing Cycling England in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15. [46484]

Norman Baker: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 9 March 2011, Official Report , column 1099W, which answers her point as to the cost of abolishing Cycling England at the end of March 2011.

Regarding savings to be made, the costs of Cycling England as a body have been approximately £385,000 per annum, taking into account staff salaries, an honorarium for the chairman, travel and subsistence and the Cycling England press office/media support unit. Some of these costs (staffing and promotion activity) will be absorbed into Department for Transport running costs.

Financial reasons were not the primary factor in the decision to abolish Cycling England.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanism his Department has put in place to ensure passenger safety at unstaffed train stations. [48265]

Mrs Villiers [holding answer 24 March 2011]: It is the responsibility of relevant rail industry duty holders to ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, that an appropriate level of passenger safety is maintained at stations. The Office of Rail Regulation, as the independent health and safety regulator of Britain’s railways, monitors compliance with those responsibilities.

A wide range of best practice industry measures for dealing with passenger safety is available, such as the use of closed circuit television cameras. There is also a high level of industry participation in the Secure Stations Scheme, which encourages duty holder use of safety measures such as help points and improved lighting at stations.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many employees in his Department are participating in the Cycle to Work scheme. [49407]

Norman Baker: There are 302 employees in the Department currently participating in the Cycle to Work scheme. Cycle to work schemes operate in the central Department (DfT(c)) and four agencies.

Organisation	Number of participants
Central Department DfT(c)	55
Maritime and Coastguard Agency	12
Vehicle Certification Agency	4
Highways Agency	130
Driving Standards Agency	101
Total	302

 

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress he has made in allowing insurers to gain access to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency drivers’ database. [49813]

Mike Penning: A number of workshops have been held with the insurance industry to identify the system requirements, the preferred solution and the costs to design, develop, test and implement the required solution.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is now preparing the necessary business case to enable a full costing to be made and it will be shared with the insurance industry. The exact time scale for implementation will depend on the specific options chosen.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the merits of providing additional assistance to persons aged over 65 who cannot apply for automatic qualification for the Blue Badge scheme because they are not eligible for the mobility component of disability living allowance. [49955]

Norman Baker [holding answer 30 March 2011]: People over 65, who cannot claim the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance, can still qualify for a Blue Badge. They are able to apply for a badge directly to their local authority under the ‘eligible subject to further assessment’ criteria. This applies to anyone over the age of two years old; who has a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.

People are also able to apply under the automatic criteria if they are registered blind or are in receipt of the War Pensioners Mobility Supplement.

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals to improve driver testing and training processes he is considering for those aged between 17 and 25. [49812]

Mike Penning: We want to ensure that all young drivers develop and maintain the knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them to be safe and responsible road users. Effective arrangements for driver training and testing are among the issues that we shall address in our new Strategic Framework for Road Safety.