HC Deb 19 December 2003 vol 416 cc52-3W
Mr. Chope

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed(a) full time and (b) part time by (i) his Department and (ii) consultants engaged by his Department in supervision and monitoring of safety camera partnerships. [143094]

Mr. Jamieson

[holding answer 9 December 2003]: There are five people (four exclusively) employed in the Department working on the safety camera programme which includes the supervision and monitoring of partnerships. The number of consultant staff involved in supervising or monitoring the safety camera programme varies from time to time.

Mr. Chope

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statistical data safety camera partnerships are required to submit to his Department each quarter; and to what use such statistical data is put. [143096]

Mr. Jamieson

[holding answer 9 December 2003]: Partnerships are required to provide quarterly monitoring information and data covering traffic speeds, casualties, public opinion and costs. The information is collated, analysed and presented to inform policy development. The results are published annually on the DfT website and are available in the Libraries of the House.

Mr. Damian Green

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fixed speed cameras there are on the A28 between Ashford and Margate. [142942]

Mr. Jamieson

Five. When Kent joined the scheme there were already three cameras enforcing at high-risk sites on this route. The Partnership have recently installed a further two cameras at sites where 11 people had been killed or seriously injured over the past three years.

Bob Spink

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the uses to which surplus funds from(a) speed and (b) red light cameras are put in Essex. [145164]

Mr. Jamieson

All surplus funds arising from safety camera activity within partnerships operating within the netting off programme, that is over and above the amount required to cover their costs, are passed to the Treasury. Where areas are not yet in the scheme all fine revenue from camera activity passes to the Treasury in the usual way.

Bob Spink

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost of running(a) speed and (b) red light cameras in Essex was in each of the last five years; and what the estimated costs are for the current financial year. [145168]

Mr. Jamieson

The cost to the Essex Safety Camera Partnership for operating their safety cameras for the most recent audited years was £1,846,480 in 2000–01 and £3,179,304 in 2001–02. Estimated costs for 2002–03 and 2003–04 are £5,150,286 and £5,980,765 respectively. Costs for speed and traffic signal cameras cannot be apportioned separately. Prior to the start of the safety camera netting off trial in April 2000 local authorities were not obliged to provide information on camera activity.

Bob Spink

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were killed in road traffic accidents on Essex roads in each of the last five years. [145169]

Mr. Jamieson

The information requested is shown in the following table:

Fatalities in accidents on roads in Essex
Year Number
1998 84
1999 112
2000 86
2001 121
2002 92