The Government has announced that no more money will be given to councils to pay for new fixed speed cameras, and they will no longer be able to use them as a "cash cow".

The junior transport minister Mike Penning told the Commons at question time: "If local authorities want new cameras they are free to do so using their own resources.  But we strongly encourage them to use other methods of effective safety measures."

"The public must be confident speed cameras are there for road safety - not as a cash cow.  Under this Government it will not be so."

He went on to say that speed cameras could help to protect the public, but as there were three times as many speed cameras now compared to 10 years ago, the public was concerned about whether they were in place for safety reasons or to raise money for the Treasury.

However, the former Labour transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick said that the speed cameras had helped cut the tolls of deaths and injuries on the roads, and that the income was less than the money spent by the Government.

Full story - The Independent 17/06/10