Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis local authorities are to be given powers under Clause 5 of the Bus Services Bill [HL] to demand relevant information from bus operators, particularly in cases where such relevant information is market-sensitive and providing it to any other party might be contrary to the Competition Act 1998.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government wants to ensure that authorities considering franchising can access the information they need to accurately assess their franchising scheme. This will help to ensure that informed decisions can be made on the basis of robust evidence and analysis.
We recognise that some of the information provided by operators will be commercially sensitive. Franchising authorities will need to treat this information with care, and will be able to refuse to release such information by way of the relevant Freedom of Information exemptions. The Bill also makes clear that the information acquired by the franchising authority must only be used in connection with its franchising functions, and not for other purposes.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the monetary value of the relevant information that a franchising authority may obtain from local bus operators under Clause 5 of the Bus Services Bill [HL].
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has made no assessment of the monetary value of the information that a local authority can obtain under Clause 5. The Government understands that some of the information will be commercially sensitive and it is therefore imperative that authorities treat it with care. The information can be used only in connection with the franchising scheme.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect that data relating to the reduction in the maximum legal blood alcohol concentration levels for drivers in Scotland will be sufficient to inform a decision in respect of legal limits for drivers in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has no plans to change the legal blood alcohol limit for driving in England and Wales. If and when an evaluation about the impact of the changed limit in Scotland is conducted we would of course consider it, however we believe that rigorous enforcement and serious penalties for drink drivers are a more effective deterrent than changing the drink driving limit.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent by them or Trinity House on the E-LORAN navigation system in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Expenditure on the eLoran navigation system by the Trinity House Research and Radio Navigation department for each of the last 10 years is as follows:
| Exp (£000) | Income (£000) | Net Exp (£000) |
07/08 | 194 | -188 | 7 |
08/09 | 256 | 0 | 256 |
09/10 | 411 | -234 | 176 |
10/11 | 606 | -141 | 466 |
11/12 | 708 | -200 | 508 |
12/13 | 573 | -200 | 373 |
13/14 | 937 | -200 | 737 |
14/15 | 1,001 | -100 | 901 |
15/16 | 576 | -100 | 476 |
Total | 5,263 | -1,363 | 3,900 |
The vast majority of funding for Trinity House, and therefore the R&RNAV department, is met by the General Lighthouse Fund.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have issued any guidance on performance and evaluation criteria for equipment designed to reduce collisions between heavy goods vehicles and cyclists.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department for Transport has not issued guidance on additional equipment fitted to heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), although officials are actively participating in work commissioned by Transport for London (TfL) to develop an independent methodology for performance and evaluation criteria for the effectiveness of such equipment. TfL is aiming for the methodology to be validated and available in the Autumn.
Prior to entry into service, new heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) already require approval of mirrors, including their field of view and correct attachment to the vehicle. Information on these requirements is publicly available.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps, if any, they have taken since 1 May to reduce fatalities to cyclists caused by heavy goods vehicles.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 1 May 2015, the Department for Transport has not taken any specific, additional steps to directly reduce the number of fatalities to cyclists caused by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).
However, improving road safety including the reduction of cyclists killed or seriously injured on the roads, particularly by HGVs is a subject that we take extremely seriously. The Department continues to work to improve the safety of cyclists and the reduction of cyclist fatalities, through actions including regulations impacting on the design of vehicles, and education campaigns aimed at both drivers and cyclists, for example the THINK! “tips” campaign.
This THINK! campaign uses a series of practical tips to advise and remind both groups of the rules of the road and the positive actions they can take to help reduce cyclist casualties.
The campaign previously ran in Autumn 2013 and Spring 2014 using paid-for roadside advertising in five cities where cycling KSIs are over represented - Cambridge, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham.
THINK! repeated the campaign in these five cities in March 2015, to build on awareness and knowledge of the tips amongst drivers and cyclists. In addition, the campaign was also extended to seven additional cities – Southampton, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Bradford, Kingston upon Hull, Brighton and Hove and Liverpool, these were selected as they also have high levels cyclists being killed or seriously injured (KSIs).
Later this year, the Department will be commencing Section 21 of the Infrastructure Act 2015, and consulting on a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). The safety of cyclists and our plans to tackle cyclist fatalities caused by all vehicle types, including HGVs will form a key part of the CWIS document.