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Vehicle Inspectorate
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what sums he expects to be spent on the computerisation of enforcement intelligence by the Vehicle Inspectorate and the traffic area offices during 1996-97. [38149]
Mr. Bowis: I have nothing to add to the answer given on 22 March 1996, Official Report, column 387.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what resources have been allocated to the Vehicle Inspectorate for roadworthiness enforcement spot checks in each of the last 10 years. [38148]
Mr. Bowis: Figures for years before 1991-92 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Figures for the last five years for all types of vehicles are as follows:
| Year | Budgets for roadworthiness spot checks on GB and foreign vehicles (£) |
|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 2,612,000 |
| 1992-93 | 3,673,000 |
| 1993-94 | 2,777,000 |
| 1994-95 | 3,011,000 |
| 1995-96 | 3,211,000 |
Parliamentary Questions (Meetings)
Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many occasions ministerial conference and meeting rooms in the parliamentary estate have been booked in his name, or that of other Ministers in his Department, for meetings with Conservative Members immediately preceding questions to his Department in the current parliamentary Session. [39518]
London Transport
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what were the levels of investment in London Transport in (i) 1992-293, (ii) 1993-94 and (iii) 1994-95. [39296]
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 364
Mr. Bowis: The information requested is in the table, in both outturn and constant prices:
| Year | Investment (£ million) outturn | Investment (£ million)-- 1996-97 prices |
|---|---|---|
| 1992-93 | 789 | 873 |
| 1993-94 | 821 | 883 |
| 1994-95 | 955 | 1,008 |
Catalytic Converters
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars in the United Kingdom are currently fitted with catalytic converters. [39290]
Mr. Bowis: It is estimated that there are some 5 million cars in the United Kingdom currently fitted with catalytic converters.
Franchising Director
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish the franchising director's annual report for 1995-96 made to him under section 75 of the Railways Act 1993. [39990]
Sir George Young: I have today laid before Parliament the franchising director's annual report for 1995-96, which records the very good progress achieved in franchising during that period. Copies have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Fishburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further instructions he has issued to the franchising director. [40029]
Sir George Young: I have today written to the franchising director instructing him under section 5 of the Railways Act 1993 to take into account any Government policies which are relevant to the provision of passenger services insofar as they affect, or may be affected by, the fulfilment of his objectives. I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Harbour Order, Southampton
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has reached a decision after the public inquiry into the proposal by Associated British Ports for a harbour order to extend the limits of the port of Southampton to include the western Solent. [39938]
Sir George Young: I have agreed with the inspector that the order should not be made. I have considered the reasons for making it and taken careful note of the arguments put forward by the applicants and their supporters and by the objectors. I agreed with the inspector that the order is unnecessary, and that none of the concerns in the case for the order is so important, or incapable of resolution by current practices or regulations.
Business Aviation
Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for enhancing facilities for business aviation at RAF Northolt; and if he will make a statement. [39914]
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 365
Mr. Bowis: The Department of Transport has confirmed to the Transport Select Committee that it does not consider Northolt to be a suitable site for the development of a civil airport on the scale that would be necessary to provide significant relief to Heathrow, as the Committee had supported. However, RAF Northolt does have the potential to provide useful, if limited, facilities for business aviation.
The Government have made clear their recognition that business aviation can bring economic and wider benefits to national competitiveness as well as to local and regional economies. Whilst they would not subsidise the necessary facilities, Government are keen to ensure that the industry is not unreasonably denied access to capacity.
The pressure on runway capacity in the south-east of England has already led to RAF Northolt becoming an increasingly attractive option for business aviation seeking access to London. The Government have been considering how the needs of business aviation can best be accommodated alongside the continuing military requirements at the station. Last year the Government announced they would not proceed with the option of a separate civil enclave at RAF Northolt; consultation with interested parties had shown that the high capital costs and physical constraints would not make it commercially viable. Instead, the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Transport have been working jointly to identify possible changes to working arrangements at the station to improve the service offered to users and to businesses in the south-east more generally.
The two Departments are now able to announce a package of practical measures which arise from further consultation with existing users of the aerodrome, but which also recognise the concerns of the local communities about the impact of aviation activities. We believe these measures respond to the needs of the business aviation industry while preserving RAF Northolt's operational effectiveness and safeguarding the interests of local people.
The key element of the package is an extension to the station's operating hours of one hour each weekday morning, on a trial basis. From 1 October 1996 RAF Northolt will open for civil use at 0700, rather than 0800 as at present. There will be no change to the closing time of 2000, or to the standard closure at weekends, nor will the existing arrangements under which military operations take precedence be affected. This change will give business aviation extra flexibility, and in particular it will make it able to deliver its customers to European destinations early enough to meet continental business schedules. Air traffic control constraints will in any case limit the use that can be made of the extra hour.
Over the coming months MOD and DOT will closely monitor the number of civil movements to assess the amount of flexibility provided by the existing movement limit; in the meantime, the station will continue to operate on the basis of a maximum of 7,000 civil movements per year. This figure includes business aviation and other civil operations, but excludes movements on MOD or other Government business. The station expects around 6,000 civil movements in the current financial year.
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 366
The extended opening hours will begin on a trial basis for six months. MOD and DOT will be assessing the practical impact of the change, on the industry and on local residents as well as on the station itself, before a decision on its continuation is taken.
The other elements of the package, whose impact will largely be restricted to the users themselves, will not form part of that review. In addition to minor operational improvements at the station, there will be readiness on the part of the MOD to consider any proposals from private sector operators to utilise currently unused areas of the RAF Northolt site to establish their own hangars, subject to operational considerations. This would mean that civil users could in the long-term base some of their aircraft on site, thus reducing the need for positioning movements at the beginning and end of the day. Responsibility for taking forward any such development through the necessary planning procedures would of course rest with the civil promoter.
Ms Glenda Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to investigate the circumstances surrounding the sinking of the dredger, Bom Rei. [39287]
Mr. Bowis:
None. The Bom Rei, formerly the Bowbelle, was registered under the Portuguese flag. The Portuguese authorities will be investigating the incident. The marine accident investigation branch has no jurisdiction to carry out an investigation into an incident involving a foreign flagged vessel sailing outside UK territorial waters. The MAIB has, however, provided the Portuguese authorities with a copy of the MAIB report into the Bowsprite, a sister ship, which was lost off the coast of Belgium in 1988.
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