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Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who are the members currently appointed to the Street Works Advisory Committee.
Mr. Key : The members of the Street Works Advisory Committee are : S. N. Mustow-- (Chairman)
J. L. Aston
R. F. V. Aylott
Mrs. M. J. Bloom
D. G. Clow
K. J. Crawley
W. J. Dickens
Mrs. J. Gaffin
J. E. Holdsworth
E. Jamieson
F. D. J. Johnson
Mrs. S. May
D. L. Sabey
J. P. Smith
Miss P. A. Steel
Mrs. J. Venables
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing, in 1992-93 prices, the gross public spending for each year since 1990-91 and the projected expenditure for each year to 1995 -96 for each executive non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department, as listed in "Public Bodies 1993".
Mr. Norris : The information in respect of the traffic director for London is as follows :
1992-93 prices (to nearest million)
|Year |£ million
------------------------------------------------
|1990-91 |0
Outturn |1991-92 |1
Outturn |1992-93 |2
Estimated outturn |1993-94 |10
Plans |1994-95 |10
Trinity house and the Northern Lighthouse Board are not Exchequer funded. Their operating costs are met from the general lighthouse fund which receives its income from the levy of light dues at United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland ports.
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those responsible for making appointments of (a) chairs and (b) members of the boards to each of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department.
Mr. Norris : The traffic director for London is a corporation sole and has no board. The director is appointed by my right hon. Friend. The chairman of Trinity House Lighthouse Service, THLS, is the deputy master of Trinity House and subject to annual re-election by the court of Trinity House. My right hon. Friend nominates three board members ; three board members are elder brethren of Trinity House who are officers of THLS ; and there are three non-voting board members who are employees of THLS.
The chairman of the Northern Lighthouse Board is elected by the board. The board of the Northern Lighthouse
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Board consists of the six sheriffs-principal of Scotland, two Ministers of the Crown--the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor-General for Scotland--two district council chairmen, the Lords Provost of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, a nominee of the Manx Government, and five members co-opted by the board. My right hon. Friend appoints the member proposed by the Manx Government representative as a constitutional convenience.Driving Standards Agency
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what are the present salary costs for the chief executive of the Driving Standards Agency ; and if he will give details of special bonus schemes in place for the incumbent and the tenure of appointment for the post holder ;
(2) if he will list the special bonus payments made to the previous chief executive of the Driving Standards Agency.
Mr. Key : The chief executive of the Driving Standards Agency is employed at a salary of £47,900 per annum. In addition, he is eligible for annual performance-related bonuses of up to 15 per cent., which will depend on his meeting or exceeding specific targets. The chief executive was appointed following an open competition on 1 September 1993 for a fixed term until 22 August 1996, which may be extended.
Driver Safety Document
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the situation regarding the new driver safety consultation document ; and what provisional conclusion he has reached.
Mr. Key : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend, the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) on 9 February 1994, Official Report, columns 270-71.
Motorway Extensions
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the economic and social cost of land safeguarded for possible future extensions to the motorway network.
Mr. Key : The purpose of safeguarding is to prevent development which would prove abortive if the scheme goes ahead, thus avoiding waste of resource and cost to the taxpayer. In so far as this in itself imposes economic and social costs, the statutory provisions on blight are aimed at compensating those who are affected.
Motorway Cleaning
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 7 February, Official Report, column 97, when the central reservation of the M1 in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire was last cleaned ; when it will be cleaned ; and what is the programme for cleaning.
Mr. Key : In Bedfordshire, the section between junctions 11 and 13 was cleaned during September and October 1993. South of junction 11, the motorway widening works have prevented the normal cleaning operations, but there will be a litter pick on Saturday 12 February and a full clean of the central reserve in the following week.
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In Northamptonshire, daily inspections are carried out and any debris causing a safety hazard to road users is removed straightaway.On the short intervening section of M1 in Buckinghamshire, junctions 13 to 15, the drainage channel was last cleaned in December 1993 and scavenging was undertaken on 18 to 21 January 1994. The frequency of future cleaning will be in accordance with the code of practice on litter and refuse under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Motorway central reservations are a special case in the code because of the difficulties of access. In practice, the frequency of cleaning is likely to be about twice a year.
Driving Theory Test
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the timetable for the introduction of the driving theory test ; and which bodies will be prevented from bidding for the work associated with administering the test.
Mr. Key : The driving theory test will be introduced by 1st July 1996. We intend to contract out the operation of this test, but decisions have not yet been taken about the conditions of tendering for the contract.
A6(M)
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the time scale for completing the planning process and building the A6(M) bypass for Hazel Grove to Birmingham.
Mr. Key : Proposed changes to the scheme will require the published draft orders to be withdrawn. We are hoping to re-publish the orders later this year with a view to holding a public inquiry early next year. The time for completion will depend upon the outcome of the inquiry.
Drinking and Driving
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has commissioned in order to assess the extent to which drivers aged 50 years and over have received the message that drinking and driving is not advisable ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : The reduction in drink driving by different groups of drivers is estimated by analysis of police breath test statistics and data supplied by coroners. This shows that drinking and driving among drivers aged 50 years and over has been falling at much the same rate as for drivers under the age of 50.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department first and last received representations from the British Medical Association for random breath testing as a major means of reducing drunk driving ; and if he will estimate the reduction in drink drive deaths (a) during that period and (b) from the peak to the present day.
Mr. Key : Records are not available to show the date when the British Medical Association first made a representation to the Department of Transport on random breath testing.
Estimates are made annually of the number of fatal casualties in accidents where at least one driver exceeded
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the legal alcohol limit. In 1978, the earliest year for which reliable data are available, the number was 1,650 and numbers in each subsequent year have been below this. In 1992, the most recent year available, the provisional estimate is 610, a reduction of 63 per cent. compared with 1978.Vehicles (Catalytic Converters)
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the estimated number of vehicles in the United Kingdom ; and what proportion of those vehicles have catalytic converters.
Mr. Key : About 25 million vehicles are currently licensed to use United Kingdom roads. Estimates based on industry sources and Department of Transport data on new vehicle registrations indicate roughly 11 per cent., or about 2.75 million vehicles are fitted with catalytic converters. Exact figures are not available.
Accident Records
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has undertaken into the effectiveness of computerised accident records in improved road safety ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : The Department keeps computerised records of all road injury accidents recorded by the police. These are extensively used in developing and monitoring road safety policy. These records are enhanced by linking them to coroners' records of road accident fatalities and research is under way to explore the possibility of developing a link with hospital casualty data.
Abandoned Vehicles
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who is responsible for taking action against untaxed motor vehicles and motor vehicles that have been abandoned and are on the public highway.
Mr. Key : The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, DVLA, administers and enforces the vehicle licensing regime. A pre-requisite to successful enforcement action is a formal sighting of the vehicle on a public road without a valid tax disc. The police and traffic wardens play a vital role in this process. They detect apparently unlicensed vehicles as part of their normal duties and report them to the DVLA for appropriate enforcement action. Local authorities, together with the police, have powers under the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations 1986 to deal with vehicles that are illegally, obstructively or dangerously parked, abandoned or broken down. Their powers do not extend to vehicles simply because they are unlicensed. Where abandoned vehicles are also unlicensed, DVLA works with local authorities in identifying those persons responsible and in bringing them to book.
Truck Drivers
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport is he will delay the implementation of the EU directive on disbarring insulin- dependent truck drivers until he has analysed the report on the three-year study of the subject currently being carried out by the USA's Federal Highway Administration.
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Mr. Key : The second EC directive on driver licensing has been agreed and is to be implemented by July 1996. The present advice from the honorary advisory panel on driving and diabetes is that to allow insulin- treated diabetics to drive large vehicles would constitute an unnecessary risk to road safety. The panel will reconsider this advice in the light of the USA's Federal Highway Administration's report as soon as it becomes available.
Vehicles (Rear Impact Tests)
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what data his Department collects on passenger injuries resulting from impacts to the rear of vehicles ;
(2) what plans he has to introduce rear impact safety tests for vehicles ;
(3) what representations he has received about the safety of rear-facing children's seats in cars.
Mr. Key : The Department has two main sources for the collection of accident and injury data--the "STATS 19 Road Accident Report" which forms the basis of the Department's annual publication "Road Accidents Great Britain" and an ongoing co-operative crash injury study sponsored jointly by the Department and certain vehicle manufacturers. Details of injuries resulting from rear impacts are included as a matter of course in both. In addition the Department has recently set up a two-year study to investigate the long-term effect of whiplash injuries.
The Department is currently carrying out research into the possibility of developing a test procedure to simulate rear-end accidents which offers the prospect of a reduction in casualties. We have not received any representations specifically about the safety of rear-facing child seats. Such restraints are the safest way of transporting very young children although their use on the front seat of a vehicle fitted with a passenger air bag is inadvisable.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many visits abroad the Minister for Roads and Traffic made during 1993 ; and what was (a) the cost to public funds and (b) the purpose of each visit.
Mr. Key : My predecessor made one trip abroad in 1993.
Place |Purpose |Cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amsterdam |To attend the European |£341.52
|Conference of Ministers for
|Transport
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many visits abroad the Minister of State for Aviation and Shipping made during 1993 ; and what was (a) the cost to public funds and (b) the purpose of each visit.
Mr. Norris : The Minister of State for Aviation and Shipping made the following visits abroad last year :
Place |Purpose |Cost (£)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brussels |To attend EC Transport Council |567.82
Dublin |To attend meeting on shipping |254.00
|developments with Irish Ministers
Brussels |To attend EC Transport Council |560.00
Paris |To attend Paris air show |242.10
Paris, Amsterdam |To visit European airports |874.30
and Frankfurt
Brussels |To attend EC Transport Council |434.38
|and various aviation visits
|in Brussels and Maastricht
Hong Kong |To attend conference on aviation |3,733.27
|security and various aviation and
|shipping visits
Brussels |To attend EC Transport Council |390.28
Child Accidents
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents children have had on the roads in each year since 1987.
Mr. Key : The number of injury road accidents involving children since 1987 are as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1987 |40,657
1988 |41,430
1989 |43,147
1990 |43,620
1991 |39,987
1992 |39,340
Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money his Department has spent on measures designed to prevent road accidents to children for each year since 1987.
Mr. Key : Many aspects of our road safety programme contribute to improving child road safety as well as that of other road users. In addition to measures such as cycle training or road safety education directed specifically at children, they also benefit from the construction of safer roads and vehicles and from improved driver behaviour. It is not, therefore, possible to calculate what proportion of the expenditure should be attributed to the prevention of road accidents to children.
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the grounds for compassionate compensation due to the channel tunnel rail link ; and what arrangements are available for appeals against decisions to refuse such claims.
Mr. Freeman : Purchase will be considered by Union Railways for homes that are likely to experience operational noise above the proposed threshold for noise insulation. There needs to be proven financial hardship in buying another property necessitated by a job move beyond commuting distance, medical problems, or family dissolution. There can be other hardship grounds and cases are looked at individually. The scheme is not a statutory requirement and decisions are entirely at the discretion of Union Railways.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to announce safeguarding arrangements for properties affected by the proposed high-speed channel tunnel rail link.
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Mr. Freeman : In the next few weeks.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether decisions about safeguarding and compensation for properties affected by the proposed high-speed channel tunnel rail link will be made by Union Railways, or by his Department.
Mr. Freeman : The safeguarding directions will be made by the Secretary of State with the benefit of advice from Union Railways on the land to be included in the safeguarded zone. Union Railways has said that it will accept applications for voluntary purchase of owner-occupied homes within the safeguarded zone. Outside the zone it will consider in cases of hardship the purchase of homes likely to experience operational noise above the proposed threshold for noise insulation.
Stratford
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met representatives of Union Railways to discuss the case for an international station at Stratford.
Mr. Freeman : I met representatives of Union Railways to discuss a number of matters related to the channel tunnel rail link on 2 February. At that meeting, I asked Union
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Railways to discuss further with the Stratford promoter group the assumptions underlying its case, and to report back to me.Channel Tunnel
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimated monthly loss of revenue to Eurotunnel as a result of the delay in operating services.
Mr. Freeman : This is a matter for Eurotunnel.
Road Repairs
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of what sums have been allocated in each of the last five years to highway authorities for the repair of principal roads ; and what that amount represented as an overall proportion of money allocated to local highway authorities.
Mr. Key : As explained in my answer of 2 February, Official Report, column 756, transport supplementary grant and credit approvals were first allocated for structural maintenance of principal roads forming part of the primary route network in 1992-93 and were extended to cover all principal roads in 1993-94. Allocations for structural maintenance, and the proportion they represent of the total resources allocated under the TSG system, are as follows :
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1992-93 1993-94 1994-95
|£000 |Per cent.|£000 |Per cent.|£000 |Per cent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City of London |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0
Barking |0 |0.0 |867 |30.9 |399 |35.2
Barnet |0 |0.0 |140 |9.5 |175 |6.7
Bexley |0 |0.0 |847 |12.5 |1,103 |13.7
Brent |0 |0.0 |287 |12.0 |828 |30.2
Bromley |212 |3.6 |420 |7.2 |432 |22.8
Camden |1,617 |33.1 |1,566 |35.8 |1,139 |28.0
Croydon |0 |0.0 |1,480 |22.5 |1,144 |22.7
Ealing |0 |0.0 |285 |7.1 |386 |11.8
Enfield |0 |0.0 |270 |4.0 |309 |5.6
Greenwich |379 |35.6 |510 |26.2 |477 |18.3
Hackney |185 |5.9 |385 |13.2 |600 |17.9
Hammersmith |0 |0.0 |420 |13.1 |761 |13.8
Haringey |255 |6.5 |1,270 |36.3 |1,012 |32.0
Harrow |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0 |318 |3.7
Havering |0 |0.0 |90 |6.5 |69 |7.9
Hillingdon |0 |0.0 |170 |1.3 |278 |5.4
Hounslow |0 |0.0 |215 |3.8 |414 |7.4
Islington |900 |36.0 |730 |28.1 |935 |29.9
Kensington |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0 |142 |12.3
Kingston |820 |30.7 |563 |20.3 |472 |13.5
Lambeth |145 |17.6 |255 |19.7 |537 |31.1
Lewisham |100 |0.8 |50 |0.6 |231 |2.3
Merton |250 |11.6 |140 |4.9 |189 |10.9
Newham |30 |0.4 |140 |1.4 |204 |1.8
Redbridge |0 |0.0 |765 |34.0 |535 |31.7
Richmond |41 |4.3 |111 |8.6 |200 |10.3
Southwark |0 |0.0 |0 |0.0 |381 |9.9
Sutton |150 |9.4 |170 |6.2 |180 |7.8
Tower Hamlets |1,847 |62.4 |6,995 |77.3 |3,440 |64.0
Waltham Forest |170 |8.1 |415 |14.4 |251 |10.0
Wandsworth |275 |4.8 |503 |8.7 |664 |10.4
Westminster |570 |8.9 |480 |8.9 |336 |9.1
Bolton |550 |15.1 |1,015 |26.1 |722 |19.6
Bury |300 |23.7 |630 |31.7 |688 |30.4
Manchester |779 |4.1 |1,330 |4.9 |1,363 |5.5
Oldham |200 |1.6 |775 |8.7 |779 |15.2
Rochdale |500 |30.8 |315 |15.3 |686 |28.3
Salford |970 |23.2 |940 |26.2 |964 |32.7
Stockport |222 |5.9 |350 |7.5 |955 |19.8
Tameside |431 |15.0 |1,285 |38.4 |938 |48.6
Trafford |140 |2.6 |290 |5.5 |251 |2.2
Wigan |435 |10.0 |370 |20.6 |536 |37.9
Knowsley |456 |3.2 |860 |3.8 |953 |4.9
Liverpool |1,400 |54.2 |1,500 |31.4 |2,200 |36.6
St. Helens |95 |0.7 |160 |3.2 |142 |19.7
Sefton |378 |25.3 |550 |26.5 |185 |16.5
Wirral |190 |4.9 |360 |7.4 |259 |8.4
Barnsley |536 |6.3 |565 |11.2 |750 |11.3
Doncaster |1,445 |19.1 |1,421 |19.6 |1,129 |18.1
Rotherham |219 |5.2 |522 |15.3 |478 |10.0
Sheffield |1,000 |4.8 |2,711 |10.1 |2,773 |13.8
Gateshead |185 |3.0 |275 |10.4 |300 |22.2
Newcastle |541 |12.1 |736 |10.1 |1,300 |14.0
North Tyneside |200 |21.5 |840 |49.9 |650 |38.4
South Tyneside |93 |7.2 |385 |20.4 |560 |42.5
Sunderland |1,044 |16.5 |2,006 |37.9 |1,482 |39.7
Birmingham |2,000 |7.2 |4,392 |11.4 |3,196 |8.9
Coventry |854 |8.1 |825 |5.9 |406 |2.8
Dudley |670 |8.8 |1,400 |13.2 |1,256 |12.8
Sandwell |1,555 |28.6 |1,740 |30.4 |1,644 |32.4
Solihull |125 |4.9 |120 |3.2 |151 |4.7
Walsall |110 |0.6 |770 |3.4 |755 |4.4
Wolverhampton |460 |4.8 |880 |4.8 |791 |4.2
Bradford |1,000 |18.4 |2,100 |31.4 |1,454 |20.2
Calderdale |352 |31.7 |1,277 |44.2 |2,262 |66.3
Kirklees |1,795 |35.8 |3,510 |39.3 |2,609 |36.9
Leeds |1,000 |9.7 |6,086 |26.8 |3,271 |17.7
Wakefield |827 |25.2 |1,686 |39.0 |1,300 |38.0
Avon |2,530 |9.3 |2,470 |11.2 |1,660 |8.9
Bedfordshire |777 |16.4 |1,210 |15.8 |1,041 |20.7
Berkshire |1,370 |11.3 |2,150 |16.9 |1,346 |13.2
Buckinghamshire |1,350 |26.1 |2,190 |31.6 |1,412 |43.4
Cambridgeshire |1,410 |22.2 |2,555 |24.1 |1,801 |26.8
Cheshire |4,480 |19.0 |7,520 |29.0 |5,429 |24.7
Cleveland |856 |8.0 |1,940 |12.8 |1,715 |13.5
Cornwall |1,490 |12.9 |2,340 |20.0 |2,008 |17.8
Cumbria |1,916 |37.9 |2,100 |24.6 |1,426 |28.9
Derbyshire |1,592 |26.8 |1,810 |21.6 |1,394 |26.9
Devon |2,570 |26.7 |4,040 |30.7 |3,893 |39.2
Dorset |400 |5.1 |1,295 |16.4 |926 |15.5
Durham |1,106 |10.9 |1,255 |9.5 |1,252 |11.2
East Sussex |890 |9.2 |1,963 |18.7 |1,913 |23.2
Essex |1,652 |12.0 |2,588 |15.6 |2,949 |15.3
Gloucestershire |1,054 |11.4 |1,500 |16.5 |1,409 |17.0
Hampshire |1,200 |4.0 |4,985 |11.7 |4,183 |14.8
Hereford and Worcester |1,332 |16.1 |2,030 |38.1 |1,744 |47.8
Hertfordshire |500 |3.7 |2,870 |16.0 |1,954 |16.3
Humberside |2,342 |13.4 |3,856 |18.3 |3,035 |17.5
Isle of Wight |0 |0.0 |600 |18.4 |594 |19.9
Kent |4,340 |5.9 |7,879 |10.5 |7,273 |7.7
Lancashire |2,004 |6.7 |2,160 |9.8 |3,381 |12.8
Leicestershire |2,240 |13.5 |1,915 |15.5 |2,011 |26.5
Lincolnshire |1,360 |17.2 |2,027 |18.9 |2,146 |28.9
Norfolk |2,616 |16.6 |3,542 |19.0 |2,730 |19.1
Northamptonshire |3,431 |29.3 |3,800 |36.1 |2,076 |33.8
Northumberland |1,007 |14.8 |2,210 |19.2 |1,998 |25.7
North Yorkshire |2,332 |14.2 |4,575 |19.7 |3,752 |24.0
Nottinghamshire |1,733 |17.0 |3,530 |27.4 |2,990 |27.9
Oxfordshire |1,789 |15.2 |1,833 |15.5 |1,791 |34.7
Shropshire |1,109 |13.4 |1,750 |25.2 |1,680 |37.5
Somerset |710 |8.2 |1,733 |12.2 |1,390 |13.3
Staffordshire |4,000 |46.2 |5,420 |35.7 |4,323 |30.0
Suffolk |2,411 |19.3 |3,050 |25.4 |3,075 |32.9
Surrey |443 |1.8 |2,712 |8.0 |3,484 |13.4
Warwickshire |560 |14.3 |1,050 |19.0 |1,710 |38.0
West Sussex |1,375 |16.0 |1,738 |19.3 |1,859 |26.5
Wiltshire |0 |0.0 |1,292 |30.0 |1,348 |33.7
Stansted Airport
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will visit businesses in Cambridge to discuss the need for transatlantic air services from London Stansted airport.
Mr. Norris : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has no plans at present to visit Cambridge.
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Chemicals (Labelling)
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress he has made in negotiations relating to acceptance by the EU of the hazchem label ; and if he will make a detailed statement.
Mr. Key : The European Commission's published proposal--COM(93) 548- -for a Council directive to apply the provisions of the European agreement concerning the
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international carriage of dangerous goods by road, ADR, to domestic transport includes a provision which would allow the continued use of existing emergency acton codes for domestic journeys until an internationally agreed code is developed. This would allow the continued use of the hazchem placard in the United Kingdom and the Commission is known to favour this as the basis for a new international code.Consideration of the proposed directive has begun under the Greek Presidency. We shall seek to ensure that the proposed derogation is retained in the final agreed text.
Transatlantic Air Travel
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to conclude the present round of negotiations with the United States of America regarding a new liberalised air service agreement.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the current negotiations with the United States of America on the transatlantic air travel bilateral restrictions started ; and when he expects them to be concluded.
Mr. Norris : United States Transportation Secretary Pena and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met on 19 April last year and agreed to try to reach a new, more liberal agreement within a year. That is still the time scale we are working to.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the effect on revenue to United Kingdom airlines of granting United States airlines free access to United Kingdom regional airports and the effect on the economies of the regions.
Mr. Norris : The CAA has estimated that the revenue loss to United Kingdom airlines of granting United States airlines free access to United Kingdom regional airports is in the region of £23 million per annum. There are benefits to consumers and local economies in the regions although these are difficult to quantify.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what survey has been carried out by his Department or the Civil Aviation Authority on how many passengers per year from the Stansted airport catchment area fly to the United States of America from (a) Stansted and (b) other British airports.
Mr. Norris : The Civil Aviation Authority conducted an origin and destination survey at five London airports--Gatwick, Heathrow, London City, Luton and Stansted--between January and December 1991. Its findings were published in January 1993 in CAP 610, "Passengers at London Airports in 1991".
The catchment area of an airport is impossible to define with precision ; this is particularly so when a number of airports serve the same locality. Of the 1.3 million passengers using Stansted to make international journeys in 1991, 18 per cent. travelled to or from points in Essex, 8 per cent. Hertfordshire, 23 per cent. East Anglia with the largest proportion, 34 per cent. travelled from or to Greater London. Comparable figures for Gatwick's 16.2 million passengers making international journeys were 4 per cent. Essex, 2 per cent. Hertfordshire, 3 per cent. East Anglia
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and 42 per cent. Greater London. For Heathrow's 25 million passengers making international journeys the figures were 1.8 per cent. Essex, 2.7 per cent. Hertfordshire, 2.4 per cent. East Anglia and 54.9 per cent. Greater London.During the London survey period there were no scheduled services to the United States from Stansted. A route to Chicago by American Airlines began in June 1992 but ceased in May 1993 having carried 65, 000 passengers. Some 29,000 passengers travelled on charter services between Stansted and Orlando in 1991 and 20,000 in 1992.
No specific analysis has been carried out on the proportion of passengers from the Stansted Airport catchment area flying to or from the United States.
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