§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the European Commission's Statistical Office figures for road death rates in the Highlands and Islands region relative to the rest of Scotland.[44685]
§ Mr. McLeishDetailed information about road accidents in Scotland is published annually by the Scottish Office in "Road Accidents Scotland", copies of which are available in the Library of the House. This publication includes information about the number of casualties and casualty rates per 100,000 population by each police force area, each local authority area and by severity, whereas the European Commission's Statistical Office figures show casualties for only 4 sub-divisions of Scotland.
The Scottish Office reviews annually accidents on trunk roads in Scotland with the aim of identifying clusters of accidents at particular locations and routes with high accident rates. This review provides the basis for the investigation of accidents on trunk roads and for appropriate remedial measures. The investigation and prevention of accidents on local roads are the responsibility of local road authorities.