To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many people in his Department are involved in planning and safety issues in (a) roads and (b) railways;(2) how many people in his Department, including regional officers, are involved in all matters relating to

[holding answer 19 March 1990]: I regret that the information is not available in precisely the form requested. However, the Department's staff are deployed broadly as follows:

	Staff
Highways (including Buses/Taxi Policy)	550
Road Safety	100
Freight (including Traffic Examiners)	300
Regional Offices	1,500
Traffic Area Staff (excluding those counted elsewhere, for example driving examiners)	1,000
Railways (including Railway Inspectorate)	200
Transport and Road Research Laboratory	600
Driving Standards Agency	2,000
Vehicle Inspection Agency	1,600
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency	5,500
Aviation	350
Shipping	950
Others (includes senior staff; management support services, personnel, economics and statistics, international work etc.)	1,800
Broad Total1	16,500
1 Rounded to nearest 500.

The numbers of staff engaged in safety or planning-related work cannot readily he assessed. However, it should be borne in mind that in addition to its general policy responsibilities the Department has an executive function in relation to trunk roads which it does not have for railways and other forms of transport, for which the operators are themselves responsible.