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Dept for Transport

Answer

Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Witney constituency, the effects on Witney of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [215983] Charlotte Atkins: The Department has put in place a considerable programme of improvements across a wide range of transport policy areas since 1997. I am confident that the Witney constituency will have benefited from these. For example, the injury totals for all road causalities in Great Britain fell from 327,803 in 1997 to 290,607 in 2003, and the number of children aged under 16 years killed or seriously injured on our roads fell from 6,452 in 1997 to 4,100 in 2003. On our railways, passenger kilometres have increased from 32.1 billion in 1996-97 to 40.9 billion in 2003-04, a rise of 27 per cent. In terms of improvements to air quality, emissions of the UK's two main pollutants--nitrous oxides and particles--fell by 31 per cent. and 27 per cent. respectively between 1997 and 2002. The funding provided directly to Oxfordshire county council since 1997 is shown in the following table1. It has been for Oxfordshire county council to determine how that allocation has spent, in line with their local transport plan and their priorities. Oxfordshire county council £ million _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Nature of funding 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Capital maintenance 2.038 3.078 5.793 8.045 8.013 10.016 11.017 Integrated block 1.962 3.686 4.764 10.500 10.600 9.911 12.940 Major schemes 1.510 0 0 0 0 0 0 Targeted bus grants2 0.93 1.93 0.93 1.18 1.35 1.79 1.42 Total 6.44 8.694 11.487 19.725 19.963 21.717 25.377 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1 Funding allocations for 1997-98 not included since they cover a period proceeding May 1997 and announcements concerning the 1997-98 allocations were made in 1996. 2 Includes Rural Bus Subsidy Grant and Rural Bus challenge funding In addition, since 1997 the Witney constituency, which lies within the Thames area franchise has benefited from investment in new rail rolling stock.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

431 c203-4W; 215983

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Department for Transport Government departments Policy Witney

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk