To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers were stopped for using mobile telephones while driving in the latest period for which figures are available; how many subsequent prosecutions there were; and what the outcome was of those prosecutions. (152758)

Information on the number of drivers stopped for using hand held mobile phones while driving is not collected centrally.

The latest figures for prosecutions and outcomes are for 2004. These show that for England and Wales there were 789 prosecutions and 641 convictions for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving. This offence can also be dealt with by the offer of a fixed penalty and there were in addition 73,796 tickets paid.

2005 data will be available later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how section 41D of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is being enforced; what training has been provided for the (a) police and (b) judiciary; how the Government are monitoring its effectiveness; what guidance has been given to the courts on enforcement issues; and if she will make a statement. (152778)

Enforcement of offences is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police enforcement of road traffic. Section 41D, Road Traffic Act 1988 consists of failing to have proper control of a vehicle and using a mobile phone while driving. The likelihood of detection of such offences has increased through the increasing numbers of police, including the deployment on roads of teams involved in the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) equipment. They can stop vehicles as a result of direct observation, as well as an ANPR hit. Otherwise, the police enforce as operationally appropriate, taking into account other demands on their resources. Training for roads policing duties including the enforcement of Section 41D offences is a matter for individual chief officers.

Section 41D is an offence to do with vehicle construction and use. All such offences are only triable summarily. All magistrates receive training in road traffic offences as they constitute a large part of the work of the magistrates’ court. While there has been no direct training in s41D, the construction and use provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provide the basis of part of the Judicial Studies Board induction training for magistrates about sentencing in road traffic cases. Magistrates also receive advice in court from the clerks and legal advisers.

For monitoring purposes, the Department for Transport undertakes observational surveys of the number of drivers using mobile phones while driving on a regular basis. The survey for 2007 is under way at the moment and the results will be published later this year. The most recent survey published in August 2006 is TRL Leaflet 2100 which is available online at:

www.trl.co.uk/store/report_list.asp?pid=211