Written question asked by Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Davies of Oldham (Labour) on Thursday, 10 November 2005.

Highway Safety Cameras

Question: Whether the decision to install safety cameras on highways rests with the local highway authority; and, if not, with which body.

Answer: Proposals to install safety cameras within the National Safety Camera Programme are made by Safety Camera Partnerships, formed of police, highways authorities, the courts and other stakeholders, in their annual operational case which forms, part of the strict criteria that enable partnerships to reclaim expenditure from fine revenue. Cameras can only be deployed after the local highway authority has confirmed that no other cost-effective environmental or engineering solutions can be implemented to improve road safety. Approval of partnerships’ operational cases rests with the Department for Transport. Police authorities continue to have the ability to install safety cameras, independent of the National Safety Camera Programme, but in such cases cannot reclaim the expenditure from fine revenue.

Secondary information