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Oil Discharges
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the annual volume of oil entering (a) the North sea, (b) the straits of Dover and (c) the English channel from shipping for each of the last four years ; and, for each year, what proportion of that was intentionally discharged.
Mr. Norris : The information is as set out. There are no records of volumes of oil spilt in the Dover straits. The Bonn agreement estimates that between 1,000 and 2,000 tonnes of oil per annum are intentionally discharged in to the North sea--all sectors--each year but no such estimates exist for the Dover straits or the English channel.
|Tonnes
------------------------------------------------
1990
North sea (United Kingdom sector) |336
English channel |<1>5
1991
North sea (United Kingdom sector) |45
English channel |41
1992
North sea (United Kingdom sector) |134
English channel |33
1993
North sea (United Kingdom sector) |<2>170
English channel |<3>311
<1> Excluding the Rosebay spill of 1,100
tonnes.
<2> Excluding the Braer spill of 86,000 tonnes.
<3> Excluding the Apache spill of 256 tonnes.
Appointments
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the organisations and individuals outside his Department who are sent information on, or consulted about, individuals who are, or may be, proposed to the Minister for appointment to posts for which a Minister has to approve the person appointed or the shortlist for the appointment.
Mr. Norris : Lists of any such organisations and individuals are not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
In general, my right hon. Friend consults the chairmen of the relevant committee or board and such consultation may, in some cases, be a statutory requirement. He will also consult professional and other organisations if necessary in order to find persons with suitable qualifications for an appointment. He has regard to the guidance on consultations with the Prime Minister and other Departments set out in Section 6 of the "Cabinet Office Guide on Public Appointments Procedures", copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list each appointment for which a Minister has to approve the appointment or shortlist for the appointment, showing for each appointment (a) which Minister exercies the responsibility, (b) the salary, if any, attached to the post, (c) the term of the appointment and (d) the person currently appointed to the post.
Mr. Norris : Information on most of the appointments made by my right hon. Friend are shown in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1993". Further information on these and on some other appointments is to be found in "A Handbook for Women's Organisations" published by the Women's National Commission. Copies of both documents are available in the Libraries of the House. Up-to-date lists of persons currently appointed to posts are not held centrally, but information on membership of many public bodies was provided recently in response to questions tabled by the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Kilfoyle) on 27 January 1994. Further detailed information in response to the points raised by the hon. Member could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The exercise of responsibility on behalf of my right hon. Friend is a matter for him and any delegation will vary according to the nature of the body and the appointments being made.
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Railway Stations, Yorkshire
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those British Rail stations within Humberside and the three counties of Yorkshire that are not yet classed as open stations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Only four stations within Humberside and Yorkshire have ticket barriers. These are Bradford interchange, Huddersfield, Hull and Leeds.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British Rail stations within Humberside and the three counties of Yorkshire regional passenger committee area are totally unstaffed ; and if he will list them.
Mr. Freeman : A total of 138 stations within the Humberside and Yorkshire transport users' consultative committee for the north-east England area are totally unstaffed. I have placed the list in the Library and written to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Business Aviation
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the direction of trend in business aviation use at United Kingdom airfields.
Mr. Norris : My Department does not produce separate forecasts for demand for business aviation. However, the Government believe that such demand is likely to be correlated with economic growth and therefore in the longer term the trend is likely to be upward.
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what spare capacity for business aviation exists at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports.
Mr. Norris : At Heathrow and Gatwick airports the runways are essentially full in the peak periods ; general aviation services can obtain permission to use these airports no more than ten days in advance. At Stansted airport there is an administrative annual limit of 78,000 passenger air transport movements. Flights with less than 10 passengers and certain others are not included in this limit. Any increase to the annual limit would require the approval of both Houses of Parliament. Some 48,000 air transport movements operated last year.
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is the Government's policy on ensuring that a suitable airport or airports close to central London will continue to be available for business aviation use ;
(2) what are the plans to retain and develop suitable London airports for business aviation use.
Mr. Norris : The Government have acknowledged for some time that access to Heathrow and Gatwick airports will become increasingly difficult for general aviation and that alternative facilities will need to be used. The Government believe that there remains unused airport capacity within reach of central London--including at Stansted and Luton airports.
As far as airport facilities not generally serving commercial passengers are concerned, there are facilities at a number of sites. The Department has been in discussion
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with the Ministry of Defence about the scope for establishing a privately operated civil enclave for business aviation users at RAF Northolt.The recent planning policy guidance on transport--PPG13--published by the Secretary of State for the Environment says that local authorities should take into account the contribution of general aviation when formulating plans. This would be relevant if permission was being sought for any change of use.
The Department will seek to ensure through the planning system that the benefits of business aviation are fully reflected in local plans. Within this framework it is for airport operators to make decisions on the development of facilities, in the light of their commercial judgment.
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are his Department's estimates of the increase in demand over the next 20 years for business aviation capacity in the London area.
Mr. Norris : My Department does not produce estimates of demand separately for business aviation.
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which airports within 30 miles of central London, which are currently being used for business aviation, are due to close during the next 10 years.
Mr. Norris : I understand that Hatfield and Leavesden aerodromes are to close this year.
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which airfields, other than Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, near London, are planned for continuing business aviation use.
Mr. Norris : Aerodromes near London available for continuing business aviation use are Biggin Hill, Blackbushe, Elstree, Fairoaks, Farnborough, London Luton, London City, Northolt and Southend. Some of these cannot take all types of aircraft.
Mr. Duncan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department and the Civil Aviation Authority have made of the effect of access difficulties to London airports on the scale of business aviation ; and what evidence he has of business aviation being transferred to France.
Mr. Norris : I have encouraged the business aviation community to provide me with information on the industry ; my Department is currently undertaking a study with the Department of Trade and Industry into the demand
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and economic case for business aviation. I have no evidence that business aviation is transferring from the United Kingdom to France.Britain's Railways : A New Era"
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many copies were (a) printed and (b) distributed of his Department's document, "Britain's Railways : A New Era", and if he will list the recipients.
Mr. Freeman : A total of 8,000 copies of the document "Britain's Railways : A New Era" were printed. Distribution has been as follows :
1,056 to BR and 2,000 to Railtrack ; in turn I understand that BR and Railtrack are distributing the document to senior managers at national and regional level
1,000 to the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising for distribution in response to enquiries
827 copies to Peers and Members of Parliament
50 copies to the media
45 copies to attendees at a City seminar about rail privatisation 110 copies sent on request to the Railway Industry Association 28 copies have also been sent on request to individuals with an interest in the rail industry.
The residue will be distributed on request.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the cost of (a) printing, (b) distributing and (c) writing the document "Britain's Railways : A New Era."
Mr. Freeman : (a) Printing costs were £16,000 within an overall total for production costs of £30,000 ;
(b) The Department's distribution costs were £2,000.
(c) The document was written by the Department, its advisers and others as part of their normal duties.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many, and what percentage of officers in each of grades, 1 to 7 and overall, in his Department are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled, respectively.
Mr. Norris : The following table shows numbers and percentages of staff in post in the Department of Transport and its agencies at 1 April 1993. The figures relating to ethnic origin are based on responses to voluntary and confidential surveys of staff and are derived from the Department's computerised personnel records.
Column 755
Department of Transport-Staff in post 1 April 1993
Grade Total Women Ethnic minority Disabled
|number
|Number |percentage|Number |percentage|Number |percentage
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
2 |4 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
3 |25 |2 |8.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
4 |16 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
5 |110 |8 |7.3 |1 |0.9 |0 |0
6 |146 |7 |4.8 |6 |4.1 |0 |0
7 |763 |73 |9.6 |24 |3.1 |0 |0
All |15,246 |6,946 |45.6 |736 |4.8 |198 |1.3
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Coastline Protection
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make further protective measures immediately to protect the United Kingdom coastline, human and wild life communities and the lives of seafarers in the light of information about the collision of two ships in the Bosphorus on 14 March ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 23 March 1994 at column 251.
Air Traffic Control
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what emergency training for air traffic controllers has been implemented at Birmingham and Manchester airports by National Air Traffic Services.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 28 March 1994] : As the training of air traffic controllers is a matter for the Civil Airports Authority I am asking the chairman of the CAA to write in reply to the hon. Member's question.
Shipping
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about the Baltic Exchange's proposal for a British open register ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 29 March 1994] : Since the Baltic Exchange put its proposals for a British open register for shipping to Ministers on 3 December 1993 there have been a number of representations from various sources, some have been in favour, some against.
As I explained to the hon. Member on 11 January, Official Report column 124, and again more recently to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mr. Perry), Official Report, 16 March column 692, the proposal requires careful study before a conclusion can be reached. An announcement will be made shortly.
Consultants
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many contracts his Department has had with consultants ; and what has been the total cost in each of the past five years.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 23 March 1994] : In each of the five years from 1989 to 1993 the number and value of contracts let by the Department to consultants for non-highways work was as follows :
Year |Number |Value (£000s) -------------------------------------------------------- 1989 |74 |8,745 1990 |126 |15,225 1991 |186 |16,414 1992 |254 |13,621 1993 |378 |14,924
For highways work, new consultant contracts awarded in respect of schemes in the trunk road programme, operation of the trunk road network and associated investigations were as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1989 |72
1990 |115
1991 |113
1992 |46
1993 |44
Since many of these commissions are continuing, it is impossible to provide final costs. However, on a financial year basis, total expenditure in the last four years on all such contracts--not just those identified--has been :
|£ million
------------------------------
1990-91 |159
1991-92 |181
1992-93 |208
1993-94 |<1>173
<1> To date.
The figure for 1989-90 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Public Appointments
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of public appointments made by his Department in 1993 were of (a) Asians and (b) black people ; and if he will list their names.
Mr. Norris : Statistics are not kept on the total number of public appointments--including reappointments--made by my right hon. Friend each year. A check was made on the number of appointments held by members of ethnic minorities at 1 September 1993 as part of the Government-wide monitoring exercise for the purposes of the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1993". This revealed that a holder of one of the DOT appointments listed in it is a member of an ethnic minority. However, as information on ethnic origin is given in confidene, the policy is not to give details that would identify ethnic origins of individuals.
Official Entertainment
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total cost of official entertaining in his Department in each year since 1990-91 ; if he will list the receptions held in each year at his Department's expense ; and what was the cost of each reception.
Mr. Norris : The Department of Transport--excluding its agencies-- has spent the following amounts on official entertainment since 1990-91 :
|£
---------------------------------
1990-91 |203,684
1991-92 |169,050
1992-93 |231,547
1993-94 |<1>218,615
<1> To 28 March 1994 only.
Information regarding individual receptions and the related costs is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Proton Cars
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Proton cars were purchased by his Department in each of the last 10 years for which information is available ; and at what cost.
Column 759
Mr. Norris : The Department of Transport has not purchased any Proton cars in the last 10 years.
Cycling (Code of Conduct)
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to introduce a cyclists' code of conduct ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : Advice to pedal cyclists on safe cycling practices is contained in the highway code. Rules 36 to 154 apply to cyclists as they do to all vehicle users and rules 187 to 211 give further specific advice to cyclists. We have also issued a leaflet "Tips for Safer Cycling" as part of our Cycle Safe campaign.
Traffic Calming
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice is given by his Department to local authorities on the design of traffic calming measures.
Mr. Key : The Highways (Traffic Calming) Regulations 1993 build on the earlier Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1990 and provide local highway authorities with a wider choice of features to improve road safety and the local environment. The regulations provide for features such as chicanes, narrowings and gateways, as well as road humps, which can be used separately or in combination.
It is for individual authorities to design local schemes but my Department provides technical advice on the regulations and individual design features in circulars and traffic advisory leaflets.
Traffic Congestion (Cost)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the annual cost of traffic congestion.
Mr. Key : The cost of traffic congestion can be measured only against specific alternatives such as road schemes, junction improvements or initiatives to reduce or redirect traffic. It is not possible to provide a national aggregate measure.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Local Government Legislation
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will list the Acts of Parliament and Consolidation Acts that affect local government that have been introduced by his Department since 1992 ;
(2) if he will list the Acts of Parliament and Consolidation Acts that affect local government that have been introduced by his Department since 1990.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer of 4 March, Official Report, columns 899- 900, if he knows of any other people known to be Labour party supporters appointed to public bodies.
Mr. Waldegrave : I have nothing to add to my earlier answer.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer of 4 March,
Column 760
Official Report, columns 899-900, (1) if he will construct a list of known Liberal Democrat party supporters appointed to public bodies ;(2) if he will construct a list of known Conservative party supporters appointed to public bodies.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list those former honourable and right honourable Members defeated in the general election of 1992 who, at any subsequent date, have been appointed to public bodies by the Government ; and if he will list those appointments.
Mr. Waldegrave : Information about individual public appointees is not held centrally.
Parliamentary Ombudsman
Dr. Wright : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals the Government have to strengthen and extend the role of the parliamentary ombudsman.
Mr. Waldegrave : As proposed in the White Paper "Open Government" (Cm 2290), there will be a major extension to the responsibilities of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration as from April 1994, when complaints may be referred to him in connection with the code of practice on access to Government information.
The Government are also giving support to the private Member's Bill of the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Malone), which had its Second Reading in the House on 11 March, to extend the jurisdiction of the PCA to the administrative actions by the administrative staff in certain tribunals not already within his remit.
Finally, the Government are considering the proposals in the first report of the Select Committee on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, Session 1993-94, on the powers, work and jurisdiction of the ombudsman, and will respond in due course.
Research Councils
Mr. Roger Evans : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancster, what progress he has made in appointing members of the three new research councils.
Mr. Waldegrave : The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences research council, Engineering and Physical Sciences research council, and Particle Physics and Astronomy research council, will come into being on 1 April 1994. I have appointed the following members to serve on the councils :
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
(BBSRC)--
Chairman : Sir Alistair Grant (Argyll Group)
Chief Executive : Professor Tom Blundell FRS
Members :
Professor Jack Baldwin FRS (Oxford University)
Dr. Peter Bunyan (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food)
Dr. Ed Dart (Zeneca)
Professor Peter Dunnill FEng (University College
London)
Dr. Elliot Finer (Department of Trade and Industry)
Sir Brian Follett FRS (University of Warwick)
Mr. Ben Gill (National Farmers' Union)
Dr. Keith Humphreys (Rhone-Poulenc)
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