Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with local authorities on (a) improving the availability of electric car charging points and (b) funding for those charging points.
Answered by Michael Ellis
In 2018 Office for Low Emission Vehicle Ministers wrote to Local Authority leaders encouraging them to support the uptake of electric vehicles and apply to the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme. This scheme provides grant funding to Local Authorities to install chargepoints at on-street locations for residents that lack off-street parking. Ministers also announced a further £4.5m for the scheme (£2m for 18/19 and £2.5m for 19/20). In addition, OLEV and the Energy Savings Trust have hosted a series of on-street charging workshops providing over 200 Local Authorities with more information on the scheme. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles have regular discussion with Local Authorities on recharging infrastructure.
We have also provided £40m to eight Go Ultra Low Cities, around £20 million for dedicated taxi infrastructure and recently announced over £12.5 million for bus recharging infrastructure under the ultra low emission bus scheme.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) fatal crashes caused by uninsured drivers and (b) speed cameras activated by uninsured drivers in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government does not hold data on either the insurance status of drivers involved in accidents or from speed cameras in relation to uninsured drivers.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the economy of road crashes resulting in (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries caused by uninsured drivers in the last three years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department does not hold data on the specific costs of accidents caused by uninsured drivers.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the economy of road crashes resulting in (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries in the last three years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The latest figures available for the total cost elements of reported accidents are:
| Deaths | Serious injuries |
2017 | £3,571M (at 2017 prices) | £5,490M (at 2017 prices) |
A full breakdown on accident and casualty costs by year has been published on www.gov.uk (see https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/ras60-average-value-of-preventing-road-accidents - Table RAS60003 has the total value of prevention for accidents of all severity, by cost element.)
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the merits of increasing his Department's funding to Bikeability.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Bikeability programme is an important part of the Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, because it provides the next generation of cyclists with the skills and confidence to make cycling a natural choice for shorter journeys.
The Strategy included a commitment that the Department would invest £50 million to support Bikeability over the period to 2020, and the programme is currently delivering more than 300,000 training places per year to children in England outside London. The Government also announced in August that it would provide an additional £1m of funding for Bikeability as part of a suite of new measures aimed at halving childhood obesity by 2030.
A further £1 million has been raised through a commercial partnership between Halfords and The Bikeability Trust. Additional funding has also been allocated to a new pilot scheme to develop a cycle training package for driving instructors aimed at improving empathy and understanding between road users. Funding and delivery of Bikeability in London is devolved to Transport for London and the London boroughs.
Future funding for Bikeability will be considered during the next Spending Review. The Department for Transport is currently evaluating the benefits of the programme with more than 200 schools nationwide, and expects to be in a position to publish the findings in summer 2019.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing penalty points on drivers' licences for not wearing seat belts.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has made no assessment of the potential merits of introducing penalty points on drivers' licences for not wearing seat belts. The “Seat belt and mobile phone use surveys: England and Scotland, 2014” observed that 98.2% of car drivers were using seat belts, suggesting that take-up is nearly universal.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport of 24 April 2018, Official Report, column 356WH, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on road safety of the decision to eliminate safety targets; and what the killed or seriously injured figures were in each year from 2007 to 2017.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There is no robust academic evidence to indicate the lack of targets in the UK has contributed to the lack of progress in road casualty reduction since 2010. There has been a stalling of progress in road casualty reductions across many economically advanced countries, affecting countries with targets (e.g. Sweden and the Netherlands) as well as the UK where there is no target.
The KSI statistics for road accident casualties between 2007 and 2016 can be found in the table below along with a comparison to the 2010 – 2014 average. The KSI figures for 2017 will be published later this year.
Year | Killed | Seriously injured | Killed or Seriously injured | Slightly injured | All casualties |
2007 | 2,946 | 27,774 | 30,720 | 217,060 | 247,780 |
2008 | 2,538 | 26,034 | 28,572 | 202,333 | 230,905 |
2009 | 2,222 | 24,690 | 26,912 | 195,234 | 222,146 |
2010 | 1,850 | 22,660 | 24,510 | 184,138 | 208,648 |
2011 | 1,901 | 23,122 | 25,023 | 178,927 | 203,950 |
2012 | 1,754 | 23,039 | 24,793 | 170,930 | 195,723 |
2013 | 1,713 | 21,657 | 23,370 | 160,300 | 183,670 |
2014 | 1,775 | 22,807 | 24,582 | 169,895 | 194,477 |
2015 | 1,730 | 22,144 | 23,874 | 162,315 | 186,189 |
2016 | 1,792 | 24,101 | 25,893 | 155,491 | 181,384 |
2010 -2014 average | 1,799 | 22,657 | 24,456 | 172,838 | 197,294 |
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) local authorities and (b) police authorities on setting their own road safety targets since the removal of Government road safety targets in 2010; and what information his Department holds on the number of such bodies which have set such targets.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The British Road Safety statement sets out the Department for Transport’s overall principles and priorities in relation to British road safety. Local authorities, the police and other bodies are free to set their own road safety targets if they wish.
The Department does not issue guidance to local authorities or the police on setting their own road safety targets, nor does it hold records on bodies which may have done so. What matters is that local road safety practitioners, the police or local authorities should be apply and adapt their knowledge and skills to local circumstances.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the health effects of achieving the aims of the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department has not made a detailed assessment of this matter. The health benefits of cycling and walking are considerable and the Department is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care and Public Health England on the delivery of the £1.2 billion Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the next annual update of the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government will report regularly to Parliament on the progress it is making in delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, as required by section 21 of the Infrastructure Act 2015. A decision on the timing of the first such progress report will be made in due course.