Assisted Vehicle Technology
Q
Asked by Justin Tomlinson
(North Swindon)
Asked on: 27 October 2016
Department for Transport
Driving: Safety
50669
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many responses his Department received during the public consultation on advanced driver assistance systems and automated vehicle technologies.
A
Answered by: Mr John Hayes
Answered on: 02 November 2016
The consultation “Pathway to driverless cars: proposals to support advanced driver assistance systems and automated vehicle technologies” ran between 11 July and 9 September. It is currently being analysed, and a response will be issued in due course.
Road Safety: Sentencing and Offences
Q
Asked by Mr Mark Williams
(Ceredigion)
[N]
Asked on: 27 October 2016
Ministry of Justice
Road Traffic Offences
50796
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will clarify the remit of the review into driving offences and penalties for drivers who cause death or serious injury to other people on the roads.
A
Answered by: Mr Sam Gyimah
Answered on: 01 November 2016
The Government is committed to making sure that sentencing for those who kill or cause serious injury on the roads is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework.
It is our intention to commence a consultation before the end of the year which will look at driving offences and penalties.
Q
Asked by Mr Mark Williams
(Ceredigion)
[N]
Asked on: 27 October 2016
Ministry of Justice
Road Traffic Offences
50797
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timescale is for the review into driving offences and penalties for drivers who cause death or serious injury to other people on the roads.
A
Answered by: Mr Sam Gyimah
Answered on: 01 November 2016
The Government is committed to making sure that sentencing for those who kill or cause serious injury on the roads is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework.
It is our intention to commence a consultation before the end of the year which will look at driving offences and penalties.
Q
Asked by Ruth Cadbury
(Brentford and Isleworth)
Asked on: 21 October 2016
Ministry of Justice
Driving: Licensing
49747
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drivers have avoided disqualification from driving within the last year by pleading the loss of their licence would cause exceptional hardship.
A
Answered by: Mr Sam Gyimah
Answered on: 31 October 2016
Information about drivers who have not been disqualified from driving as a result of a court accepting that disqualification would lead to exceptional hardship is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The Government is committed to making sure that sentencing for those who kill or cause serious injury on the roads is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation on driving offences and penalties before the end of the year.
Q
Asked by Karl McCartney
(Lincoln)
[N]
Asked on: 24 October 2016
Attorney General
Sentencing
906822
To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
A
Answered by: Robert Buckland
Answered on: 27 October 2016
The number of sentences considered by my office has increased by over 108% since 2010 from 342 to 713 requests in 2015.
Of those, 136 were referred by my office to the Court of Appeal as potentially unduly lenient, with the Court agreeing to increase the original sentence for 102 offenders.
Q
Asked by Mr Ben Bradshaw
(Exeter)
[N]
Asked on: 20 October 2016
Home Office
Road Traffic Offences: Mobile phones
49735
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices were issued by the police to motorists who use mobile telephones while driving in the last five years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.
A
Answered by: Brandon Lewis
Answered on: 25 October 2016
The number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued to motorists for the use of handheld mobile phones while driving in each of the years from 2010 to 2014 is published in the annual “Police Powers and Procedures” statistical bulletin, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales
Air Safety: Drones
Q
Asked by Richard Burden
(Birmingham, Northfield)
Asked on: 20 October 2016
Ministry of Justice
Unmanned Air Vehicles
49618
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many meetings (a) Ministers of her Department and (b) officials of HM Prison Service have had with drone manufacturers in each quarter of each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.
A
Answered by: Mr Sam Gyimah
Answered on: 28 October 2016
Details of all ministerial meetings with external companies are published on gov.uk. Information on officials’ meetings is not held centrally.
We remain vigilant to all incidents involving drones and take the threat they pose to prison security very seriously. We have already introduced new legislation to further strengthen our powers, so that anyone found using a drone in an attempt to get contraband into prisons can be punished with a sentence of up to two years imprisonment. We take a zero tolerance approach to smuggling of contraband into prisons and work closely with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure those caught are prosecuted.
A range of methods to counter the threat posed by drones are continuously being trialled and evaluated for their effectiveness across the prison estate.
Drink- Driving
Q
Asked by Jim Shannon
(Strangford)
[N]
Asked on: 25 October 2016
Department for Transport
Driving under Influence: Northern Ireland
50294
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department plan to meet their counterparts in Northern Ireland to discuss steps to tackle drink driving.
A
Answered by: Andrew Jones
Answered on: 28 October 2016
Officials regularly meet with their counterparts in Northern Ireland and we will of course be interested in any evidence produced by the Northern Ireland Assembly on the impact that the changes to the drink drivinglimit has on road safety in Northern Ireland. There are though no current plans to alter the drink drivinglimit in England and Wales.
Q
Asked by Jim Shannon
(Strangford)
[N]
Asked on: 25 October 2016
Department for Transport
Driving under Influence: Northern Ireland
50226
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to monitor the effect of changes to the drink-driving limit in Northern Ireland due to come into force in 2017.
A
Answered by: Andrew Jones
Answered on: 28 October 2016
Officials regularly meet with their counterparts in Northern Ireland and we will of course be interested in any evidence produced by the Northern Ireland Assembly on the impact that the changes to the drink drivinglimit has on road safety in Northern Ireland. There are though no current plans to alter the drink drivinglimit in England and Wales.
Q
Asked by Michelle Donelan
(Chippenham)
[N]
Asked on: 31 October 2016
Department for Transport
Driving under Influence
51013
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the drink-drive limit to 50mg alcohol per 100ml blood.
A
Answered by: Andrew Jones
Answered on: 03 November 2016
The Government has no plans to lower the drink drive limit. We believe that rigorous enforcement and serious penalties for drink drivers are a more effective deterrent than changing the drink driving limit.
A fundamental review on drink and drug driving was commissioned in 2009. My Hon Friend can read the coalition government’s response here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-governments-response-to-the-reports-by-sir-peter-north-cbe-qc-and-the-transport-select-committee-on-drink-and-drug-driving
