HC Deb 26 January 2004 vol 417 cc238-9W
Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much revenue the Metropolitan Police received from the operation of(a) speed and (b) red light cameras in 2002; and how much was (i) imposed and (ii) collected in fines resulting from (A) speed and (B) red light cameras in London in each of the last five years. [149795]

Caroline Flint

The amount of revenue which the Metropolitan Police received from the operation of safety (speed and red light) cameras in 2002 is not yet known. Police forces receive income from safety camera fixed penalties under the provisions of the national safety camera netting-off scheme. The London Safety Camera Partnership, of which the Metropolitan Police are a member, joined the scheme in July 2002. Partnership performance and revenue received, from this time up to March 2003, will be detailed in the next report on the progress of the national safety camera scheme. The Department for Transport, which manages the scheme, expect to publish this report in March 2004.

Before 2002, the Metropolitan Police received no income from safety the number of speeding and red-light offences detected by cameras in the Metropolitan and City of London Police areas and the estimated revenue for the five years up to 2001 is shown in the table. Information for 2002 will be available in the next few months.

Fixed penalty and court proceedings data for speeding and traffic light offences detected by cameras1,2,3 in the Metropolitan Police District (including city of London), 1997–2001
Fixed Penalties Court Proceedings
Offence and year Number of tickets Estimated revenue(£) Number of fines Total amount of fine(£) Average fine (£)
2000 22,200 961,400 5,900 525,900 88
2001 10,800 646,900 6,600 478,800 73
1 Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types from 1999.
2 Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and The Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973.
3 Offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994.

Note:

1. Paid i.e. no further action.

2. Estimate based on £40 fixed penalty charge to October 2000. From November 2000 the penalty was raised to £60.

3. Estimates were made to cover the loss of fixed penalty data by the Metropolitan Police for October 1999.

4. Excludes City of London