§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many road vehicles are operated by the Department and its agencies; how many personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Department have occurred within each of the last five years; and what the Department's policy is for managing work-related road safety. [185922]
§ Paul GogginsThere are currently 1,370 road vehicles operated by the Department and its agencies. The fleet listing by Department is as follows:
Number Prison Service 910 Forensic Science 84 Police 47 Immigration 287 Main HO 27 NASS 15 Information on personal injury claims lodged by staff in the Home Office and its agencies is not collated centrally, but is held by individual Departments/ agencies. However, the number of third-party personal injury claims against the Department within each of the last five years is as follows:
Number 1999 7 2000 6 2001 5 2002 7 2003 4 To date in 2004 one third-party personal injury claim has been lodged against the Department.
Following changes in legislation in December 2003, the Department issued policy guidance on the use of hand held and hands free mobile telephones. The Home Office is reviewing the instructions and advice held in the Transport Manual to cover all aspects of the management of work-related road safety.
Until that work has been completed, general guidance derived from benchmark codes issued by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the Highway Code and the fleet industry continues to be provided on request.