HC Deb 22 October 2002 vol 391 cc165-6W
Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with(a) the bus industry, (b) local authorities, (c) Transport for London, (d) passenger transport executives and (e) the Treasury on changes to the fuel duty rebate. [76188]

Mr. Jamieson

We are at present conducting a review of bus subsidies, including the future of fuel duty rebate (now known as Bus Service Operators grant). A consultation paper was issued on 6 August 2002 and we will take account of the responses of all interested parties. The review will report to Transport and Treasury Ministers in February 2003.

Front Seat Rear Seat
Child under 3 years Appropriate child restraint must be worn Appropriate child restraint must be worn, if available
Child aged 3 to 11 (and under 150 cms in height) Appropriate child restraint must be used if available. If not, an adult seat belt must be worn. Appropriate child restraint must be used if available. If not, an adult seat belt must be worn if available.

If there is no seat belt available, then children may not travel in the front. Passengers in the rear seats of passenger carrying vehicles over 2.54 tonnes unladen weight are not required to use seat belts or child restraints.

Casualty figures for children 0–3 years are set out below. Information on the use of seat belts is not recorded in official casualty statistics, and therefore it is not possible to say whether these casualties were using child restraints or seat belts or not. The figures include casualties in buses or coaches where the passenger was injured whilst getting on or off these are not disaggregated from the casualty figures.