HC Deb 08 July 2003 vol 408 cc686-7W
Tom Brake

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate the Government have made of (a) how many people might be fined under the proposed offence of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving, (b) how many people would contest the fines and (c) the revenue to be raised through fines in the first year of operation. [123829]

Mr. Jamieson

Enforcement is a matter for the police. However, the Department published a partial Regulatory Impact Assessment last year when it consulted on the proposal for a new offence of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving. Based on prosecutions for failure to wear a seat belt, the assessment suggested that perhaps up to 100,000 fixed penalty notices at £30 each might be issued a year. Fines could therefore total £3 million a year, depending on the level of enforcement.