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18 Jun 2003 : Column 220W—continued
TRANSPORT
Children's Car Seats
Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what duty there is for car hire firms when providing children's car seats to ensure that the seats meet current safety standards; and what requirements there are for car hire firms to ensure that children's car seats are properly fitted and appropriate to the weight of the intended child passenger. [119166]
Mr. Darling: Under seat belt wearing legislation, the driver of a vehicle is responsible for ensuring that children under 14 years use child restraints or adult belts, as appropriate, in accordance with the regulations. There is nothing in this legislation to require hire companies to provide appropriate child restraints for customers or ensure that they are properly fitted. The provision and fitting of appropriate child restraints is a matter between a hire company and their customers.
A46 and A453
Mr. Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when he expects construction work to begin on the planned dualling of the A46 Fosse Way between Widmerpool and Newark-on-Trent; [119171]
- (2) when he expects construction work to commence on the planned dualling of the A453 trunk road between Kegworth and Clifton in Nottinghamshire. [119172] I
Mr. Darling [holding answer 13 June 2003]: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the right hon. Member.
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Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. Kenneth Clarke, dated 18 June 2003:
- I have been asked by the Secretary of State for Transport to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the start dates for construction work on the proposed dualling schemes on the A46 between Widmerpool and Newark and the A453 between Kegworth and Clifton in Nottinghamshire.
- Public consultation on our preferred option for the A46 scheme commenced at the end of March this year and local exhibitions were held in April. The public consultation period ends on 20 June 2003. The future programme depends on how quickly the various statutory processes can be completed but we are currently planning to announce a preferred route in Spring 2004, with a start of works sometime during 2007.
- The proposals for the A53 scheme are at an early stage. As a result of recommendations made in the A453 Nottingham to M1 Multi-Modal Study, the Secretary of State for Transport announced last December that he was minded to include a scheme in the Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI). At the same time, he asked the Highways Agency to carry out further preliminary assessment work. Assuming that a scheme is included in the TPI later this year, construction work is currently scheduled to commence in 2008.
- As with the A46, achievement of this date is subject to the satisfactory completion of the required statutory procedures.
- If you would like any further details about these proposals, our staff would be pleased to help. The Project Manager for the A46 scheme is Geoff Bethel and the Project Sponsor for the A453 scheme is John Holt. Both can be contacted at the Agency's offices at Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1BL; Geoff on 0121 678 8137 and John on 0121 678 8314.
Air Accidents Investigation Branch
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average length of time is for the publication of reports by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch following the air accident under investigation. [119707]
Mr. Jamieson: The average length of time taken to publish a report following an AAIB investigation is 28 weeks.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many reports have been published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (a) within 12 months of and (b) more than 12 months after the accident under investigation in each year since 1996. [119710]
Mr. Jamieson: The information requested is as follows:
| Less than 12 months | More than 12 months | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 335 | 7 |
| 1997 | 317 | 16 |
| 1998 | 360 | 27 |
| 1999 | 331 | 28 |
| 2000 | 271 | 11 |
| 2001 | 261 | 31 |
| 2002 | (3)239 | 21 |
(3) In addition, there are 29 investigations to be published that are less than 12 months old.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff were employed in the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in each year since 1996. [119711]
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Mr. Jamieson: The number of staff employed by the AAIB by year since 1996 is in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 42 |
| 1997 | 44 |
| 1998 | 46 |
| 1999 | 44 |
| 2000 | 44 |
| 2001 | 46 |
| 2002 | 50 |
| 2003 | 46 |
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many personnel, broken down by grade, are employed in the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. [119875]
Mr. Jamieson: The number and grades of staff employed by the AAIB on 16 June 2003 is in the table.
| Grade | Number |
|---|---|
| SGB 1 | 2 |
| Divisional Secretary | 1 |
| Personal Secretary | 1 |
| Administration Officer | 5 |
| PGSE | 1 |
| Executive Officer | 3 |
| HPTO | 1 |
| Higher Executive Officer | 1 |
| G7 (Inspectors) | 25 |
| G6 (Principal Inspectors) | 4 |
| G5 (DCIAA) | 1 |
| G4 (CIAA) | 1 |
| Total | 46 |
Congestion
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what his Department's policy is on exempting motorcycles, scooters and mopeds from further congestion charging schemes; and if he will make a statement; [119927]
- (2) what plans his Department has to promote the use of powered two-wheelers in reducing congestion; if he plans to introduce legislation to mandate exemptions for powered two-wheelers from future congestion charges and road pricing schemes; and if he will make a statement. [119928]
Mr. Jamieson: With the help of the Advisory Group on Motorcycling the Government are currently exploring a number of important issues relating to the role of motorcycling in an integrated transport policy, including congestion. The key workstreams should be completed by 2004, when we aim to determine a strategy for motorcycling.
We will consult on the scope of a uniform minimum standard of exemptions and concessions once we have had an opportunity to take into account the experiences gained from road user charging schemes in London and Durham. In the meantime it is a matter for those local authorities developing charging schemes to decide how to manage such vehicles within their schemes.
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Motorways
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment the Government have made of the (a) availability and (b) accessibility of designated rest areas on motorways; and how many rest areas there are on each motorway. [119858]
Mr. Jamieson: Motorists wanting to take a break in the course of their journey can stop at motorway service areas, which are available at approximately 30-mile intervals on most of the motorway network in England. I am arranging for a map showing the location of existing motorway service areas, from which may be deduced the number of rest areas on each motorway, to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Network Rail
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list (a) Network Rail's rail land disposals, broken down by (i) date and (ii) value, and (b) the occasions on which the Rail Regulator has intervened to block rail land sales, in each of the last five years. [119317]
Mr. Jamieson: The Office of the Rail Regulator advises that the regulatory accounts of Network Rail Infrastructure Limited (and formerly Railtrack PLC) show income from land being £73 million for the financial year 2001–02. The unaudited figure for 2002–03 is £51 million. A breakdown of income per land case is not available. Data are not available prior to 2001–02.
Since the introduction of the land disposal licence condition by the Rail Regulator in November 2001, the Regulator has received 58 requests for consent from Network Rail (and formerly Railtrack plc). The Regulator has consented to 40 of these requests, refused consent on nine occasions, with nine requests awaiting a decision.
This information is set out in the following table.
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