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Air Algerie
Mr. Morely: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 24 January, Official Report, column 98, when he expects his Department to
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announce the results of the inquiry being conducted into flights by Air Algerie aircraft from Coventry airport in November and December 1994.Mr. Norris [holding answer 1 February 1995]: My Department expects to complete its inquiry as soon as possible.
Shipping Casualties
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the occasions when he has ordered a formal investigation into a shipping casualty under sections 55 and 56 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1970 when no casualties or loss of life has occurred as provided for in section 32 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979; (2) if he will provide a reference for a comprehensive list of, or list in the Official Report, the occasions since 1979 when he or his predecessors have ordered a formal investigation into shipping casualties as provided for in sections 55 and 56 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1970, stating in each case any loss of life arising from the incident.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 1 February 1995]: From January 1979, formal investigations were ordered on the following occasions:
Commencement Date |Vessel(s) Name(s) |Type of Casualty
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 1979 |MV Hero |Loss of vessel with
| loss of one life
July 1979 |MVF Boston Sea |Loss of vessel with
| Ranger | loss of five lives
December 1979 |MVF Do It Again |Loss of vessel with
| loss of two lives
November 1980 |MV Pool Fisher |Loss of vessel with
| loss of 13 lives
January 1981 |MV Kurdistan |Breaking in two of
| vessel; no loss of
| life
March 1983 |RNLB Solomon
| Browne and MV | with loss of 16
| Union Star | lives
July 1983 |MV Grainville |Loss of vessel with
| loss of three lives
November 1983 |MV European |Collision resulting in
| Gateway MV | loss of one vessel
| Speedlink | with loss of six
| Vanguard | lives
October 1985 |Auxiliary Barque |Loss of vessel with
| Marques | loss of 19 lives
April 1987 |MV Herald of Free |Capsizing of vessel
| Enterprise | with loss of 188
| lives
October 1987 |MV Derbyshire |Loss of vessel with
| loss of 44 lives
March 1990 |MFV Boy Andrew |Stranding and loss of
| vessel. No loss of
| life.
Gibraltar Airport
Mr. David Young: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration has been given to according Gibraltar airport the status of a regional airport.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 1 February 1995]: Gibraltar airport is regarded as a regional United Kingdom domestic airport.
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Mayday Call (Olympic Airways)
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport over what districts of London Olympic Airways Boeing 737 Flight 265 from Athens travelled on 17 January from the moment of its Mayday call until its touchdown at Heathrow; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 30 January 1995]: The Mayday call was made by Olympic Airways flight OA265 while it was in a holding "stack" at 18,000 ft over East Sussex. The aircraft entered the London area travelling north-east from Reigate to the Hither Green area where it turned to a westerly heading for the approach to Heathrow. This route was necessary to enable the aircraft to descend for landing.
Cash Limits
Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to change his Department's cash limits and running costs limits; and what proposals there are to change the cash limit and running costs limit of passenger rail services and the Office of the Rail Regulator for 1994 95.
Dr. Mawhinney: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made: (i) The cash limit for class VI, vote 1--Highways Agency--will be increased by £243,000 from £2,142,659,000 to £2,142,902,000. The increase in the cash limit arises from adjustments in funding relating to the formation of the Highways Agency between this vote and class VI, vote 2.
(ii) The cash limit for class VI, vote 2--administration and transport services--is reduced by £1,733,000 from £251,045,000 to £249,312,000. The reduction is made up of transfers to class VI, vote 1, £243,000, and to class VI vote 7, £1,670,000, offset by a transfer from class 1, vote 1, £180,000, for bounty payments to the Merchant Navy reserve.
(iii) The cash limit on class VI, vote 4--Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency--is reduced by £4,000,000 from £179,003,000 to £175, 003,000, made up of transfers of £2,461,000 to class VI, vote 7 and £1,539,000 to class VI, vote 8 for consultancies.
(iv) The cash limit for class VI, vote 5--local roads and transport--is reduced by £2,150,000 by from £592,573,000 to £590,423, 000. This reflects a reduction in the cash limit to this vote of £3, 625,000 offset by the take up of end year flexibility entitlement as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1994, Official Report , columns 729-34 .
(v) The cash limit for class VI, vote 7--passenger rail services--will be increased by £52,131,000 by transfers from class VI, vote 2, £1,670,000, class VI, vote 4, £2,461,000, and from non voted expenditure from £1,747,500,000 to £1,799,631,000. The additional provision is required for sums due to British Railways Board in respect of public service obligations and for costs of administrative and miscellaneous services.
(vi) The cash limit for class VI, vote 8--Office of the Rail Regulator-- will be increased by £1,539,000 from £7,712,000 to £9,251, 000. The additional provision is made up of a transfer from class VI, vote 4 for consultancies offset by additional appropriations in aid. (vii) The Department of Transport local authority capital cash limit has been increased by £3,732,000 from £297,358,000 to £301,090, 000. This reflects the take up of end year flexibility entitlement as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1994, Official Report , columns 729-34 .
(viii) The Department of Transport running costs limits has been reduced by £3,755,000 from £417,993,000 to £414,238,000 and the Office of the Rail Regulator running
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costs limit has been increased by £1,514,000 from £6,170,000 to £7,684,000.The overall increases will be offset by transfers or charged to the reserve and will not, therefore, add to the planned total of public expenditure.
Coaches
Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 30 January, Official Report, column 483, how he proposes to judge the effect of the experiment intended to reduce risk and to cut casualties by banning coaches in the right-hand lane of carriageways with more than two lanes.
Mr. Norris: The effects will be judged by examining any changes in the accident data over a two-year period with respect to the historical accident patterns, and in particular the manoeuvres that vehicles were making prior to collision and the proportions of coach accidents involving other vehicles of various classes, including heavy lorries.
M18
Mr. Devlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the concrete overlay surface between junctions 5 and 6 of the M18.
Mr. Watts: This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to my hon. Friend. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Tim Devlin, dated 3 February 1995:
I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the concrete overlay surface between junctions 5 and 6 of the M18.
A number of trial concrete surfacings were constructed as part of the concrete overlay section of the M18.
The preliminary assessment being undertaken by the Transport Research Laboratory is giving encouraging results. A Report on the full assessment is due to be published later this year.
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Stoke-Derby Link Road
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much money has been expended on the Stoke-Derby link road to date; and when he expects it to be completed;
(2) how much money has been spent on the public inquiries that have been held in to the whole route for the Stoke-Derby link road; (3) what assessment he has made as to whether the Doveridge bypass is necessary to complete the Stoke-Derby link road;
(4) if the Stoke-Derby link road forms an integral part of the roads programme;
(5) how much money has been spent in the preparation for the Doveridge bypass as part of the Stoke-Derby link road.
Mr. Watts: Schemes forming the Stoke-Derby link road, including Doveridge bypass, are an important part of the roads programme and we intend to complete the link road as funds permit. To date, £110.4 million, excluding VAT and land compensation payments, has been spent on preparing and building the link road. It is
not possible to disaggregate the cost of public inquiries included in that total without disproportionate effort; but of the total, £3.5 million excluding VAT has so far been spent in preparing Doveridge bypass for construction. We are giving urgent consideration to the possibility of taking forward the Doveridge bypass as a design, build, finance and operate scheme.
Buses
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he proposes to take in respect of monopolies in the bus industry and reduced competition among bus companies.
Mr. Norris: It is for the Director General of Fair Trading to initiate any such action.
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