To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has carried out on the reduction in the number of road accidents resulting from the opening of bypass schemes in Yorkshire in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [36886]

There have been five studies carried out on bypass schemes on trunk roads that have opened in Yorkshire in the last five years. Each of the studies covered the first year after the bypass opened. The change in the number of accidents following the opening of the bypasses was as follows:

• A65 Settle and Gigglewick Bypass: -1
• A65 Addingham bypass: -3
• A1079 Market Weighton bypass: +9
• A650 Drighlington bypass: -8
• A65 Draughton bypass: -1

The accident record on the Market Weighton bypass primarily reflects problems at one particular junction which were identified and addressed at an early stage.The changes in accidents recorded in these studies in the first year after opening do not necessarily represent the longer-term accident trend on each bypass.It is for local highway authorities to monitor accidents on non-trunk roads. My Department does not hold information on the reduction in the number of road accidents resulting from the opening of local authority bypass scheme in Yorkshire in the last five years.