PAPER C
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ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORT SELECT COMMITTEE - 30 JULY 2004 SAFETY CAMERA PARTNERSHIP - FUNDING REPORT OF THE HEAD
OF SELECT COMMITTEE AND BEST VALUE SUPPORT |
REASON FOR SELECT
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
To note the funding of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Safety Camera Partnership.
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ACTION REQUIRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE To comment on the funding principles behind the Safety Camera
Partnership. |
BACKGROUND
Members will recall that at the last meeting the topic of Safety
Cameras was discussed. An outline was
given by Dr Marion Clark, of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Safety Camera
Partnership, on funding. The
Partnership reclaimed its operating costs from speeding fines. Any surplus not utilised for safety camera
initiatives was retained by the Lord Chancellors Office.
Following the meeting the Chairman sought details from the Partnership
in relation to figures for 2002/03 and 2003/04. The following information was received :
2002/03
1,329 fixed penalty notices were issued on
the Island (against a total of 35,758 for the area). Of those 1,129 were paid generating £67,740 (of the overall total
for the area £1,745,760). These figures
are estimates because the Magistrates Courts do not track payments per area in
which the offence was detected.
Approximately 85% of fixed penalty notices issues are paid
directly. The other 15% are either paid
through the courts, (this revenue is not available to the Partnership) or are
cancelled.
The Isle of Wight costs that were recovered
in Year 1 were (£60,534.53.
2203/04
3,602 fixed penalty notices were issued on
the Island (against 53,724 for the area).
Of those 3,062 were paid generating £183,720 (of the overall total for
the area £2,439,840).
The Isle of Wight costs that were recovered
for the year was £115,690.28.
The Partnership has stressed that the revenue generated on the Island
is not the revenue available for the Island.
The total Partnership revenue is pooled and used to recover the costs of
all Partners including the 4 Highway Authorities, Police and Magistrates
Courts.
Safety Camera Partnerships are not there to raise money and neither the
Police or Highway Authority can receive any money from the operation of safety
cameras. Strict Treasury rules mean
that any money from fines that is returned to a safety camera partnership can
only be utilised on operational costs.
All remaining money must go to the Treasury. The Department of Transport consider that if Police, Courts and
Highway Authorities were allowed to keep the entire fine this would run the
risk of cameras being placed simply to raise revenue. Cameras must only be placed at locations meeting the set criteria
to improve road safety.
If in time fewer people speed resulting in insufficient revenue to
cover the costs of extra cameras then the Partnership considers that it would
have been successful.
It is interesting to note however that on the Department for
Transport’s website on its Frequently Asked Questions section for Speed
Cameras, under Safety or Cash, Question 11 states :
Will surplus revenue be made available to pay
for other road safety activity, such as traffic calming features and road
safety education?
No.
Although legislation is drafted so that this might be allowable, it is
not the Government’s intention to divert surplus revenue to other expenditure
and all such revenue will be passed directly to the Treasury Consolidated Fund.
RELEVANT PLANS,
POLICIES, STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
The Councils policies relating to road safety are contained within the
Local Transport Plan and Draft Road Safety Plan.
CONSULTATION
PROCESS
None.
FINANCIAL, LEGAL,
CRIME AND DISORDER IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial or legal implications arising from this
particular report. Safety cameras
assist in reducing speeding offences.
It should be noted that the actual cost of a Gatsometer speed camera
(fixed site) is approximately £32,000. The Select Committee is reminded that
the recent study into Road Traffic Accidents showed that the financial cost of
an accident involving a fatality was £1,447,490, a serious injury £168,260 and
a slight injury £16,750.
APPENDICES
ATTACHED
None.
Details
from www.safetycamera.org.uk
and www.dft.gov.uk
Contact Point : Paul Thistlewood, Select Committee Support ( 823285
e-mail paul.thistlewood@iow.gov.uk.