§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the consultation document Transport Policy states that, "car traffic volumes depend on the size of the population", when children and old people with loss of faculties are not permitted to drive; and whether they will publish new estimates of rates of car ownership per head, based on the adult population between the ages of 18 and 84.
§ The PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY of STATE, DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT (Baroness Birk): The fact that certain members of the population do not themselves drive is implicitly taken into account by Her Majesty's Government in deriving relationships between population, car ownership and car use. The proportion of the population in the normal age range for driving is not expected to change significantly over the period of the traffic forecasts.