§ Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on accepting road safety research conducted overseas as being valid for the United Kingdom; and whether this policy is applied in other parts of his Department. [102217]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe road safety research programme takes account of research conducted overseas through literature reviews and collaborative projects under the EU Framework programme. Our vehicle standards research feeds into international collaborative agreements where the combined research effort of all participants is used. Every attempt is made not to duplicate research unnecessarily, but the validity of results from research in other countries needs to be assessed to ensure that they are relevant in British road conditions and under our legal and regulatory system. A similar approach is taken in other parts of the Department.