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Staff

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list for his Department (a) how many people in total are employed, (b) how many of the total number of staff are (i) male and (ii) female and (c) how many (I) men and (II) women are employed on a (1) full-time and (2) part-time basis. [9482]

Mr. Boswell: The number of men and women employed on a full-time and part-time basis in the Department on 1 October 1996 was as follows:

Number
Full time
Male 3,518
Female2,795
Part time
Male43
Female516
Total
Male 5,561
Female3,311
Staff6,872

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 656

The table does not include figures for the Department's executive agencies.

Mr. Hain: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many (a) permanent and (b) non-permanent staff there have been in (i) his Department and (ii) executive agencies of his Department in each year since 1992. [9621]

Mr. Boswell: Information on the numbers of permanent and casual staff in the Department and its executive agencies in each year since 1992 can be found in the civil service staff in post summary tables, copies of which can be found in the Library of the House.

Fishing Rights

Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what classes of French fishing vessels are prohibited from fishing within the French 12-mile limit.[9573]

Mr. Sackville: I have been asked to reply.

In those areas where French vessels are permitted to fish within 12 miles of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, no distinction is made between classes of vessel.

Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons the area agreement for French fishing vessels to fish inside the British fisheries limit of 12 miles around Guernsey and for British vessels to fish within the French 12-mile limit was not ratified by France.[9572]

Mr. Sackville: I have been asked to reply.

A temporary agreement with France covering these waters was recently terminated by the United Kingdom at the request of the Guernsey authorities, who did not think it operated in a way which was fair to the Bailiwick.

Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what rights French fisherman currently have to fish within the Sark box. [9574]

Mr. Sackville: I have been asked to reply.

The position in international law is disputed, and the matter is currently the subject of discussion with France.

TRANSPORT

Transport Council

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the result of the Transport Council held in Brussels on 12 and 13 December. [10339]

Sir George Young: The Transport Council met in Brussels on 12 and 13 December. My noble Friend the Minister for Aviation and Shipping represented the United Kingdom.

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 657

The Council agreed a common position on the Commission's proposals for a directive on road passenger cabotage--replacing directive 2454/92 which was annulled for technical reasons by the European Court of Justice. The UK said that it would vote against the text when formally adopted, because much of the original proposals for further liberalisation had been removed from the text. This was the only item on which the question of a vote arose.

The Council also agreed a common position on a proposed amendment to Council regulation 684/92, on further liberalisation of international bus and coach services.

The Council held orientation debates on the Commission's White Paper on the future of the Community's railways, and on proposals for the introduction of new digital tachograph technology to replace the mechanical recording devices currently required for buses and lorries.

The Council agreed conclusions endorsing the Commission's proposals to take forward negotiations on a land transport agreement with Switzerland. It also discussed proposals for a replacement to directive 93/89--also annulled by the European Court of Justice on technical grounds--on taxation and road user charges for heavy goods vehicles. It was agreed that this issue would be taken forward under the Netherlands presidency of the EU in parallel with discussions on fuel excise duties.

The Council held an orientation debate on air traffic management in the EU, and agreed conclusions noting the urgent need to adopt the new Eurocontrol convention. The Council agreed a common position on a proposed regulation increasing and harmonising the liability of Community air carriers in case of accident to passengers.

The Commission reported to the Council on its negotiations on air transport relations with the United States, and gave a presentation on proposals for a mandate to negotiate Community membership of a new European Aviation Safety Authority.

The Council reached political agreement on a proposed directive on safety standards for fishing vessels and on a proposed amendment to directive 93/75 on reporting requirements for ships carrying dangerous or polluting goods.

The Council agreed a resolution promoting a maritime strategy for the Community. The UK opposed two elements of the strategy--on employment-related operating subsidies, and on restrictive manning practices--which were therefore excluded from the resolution itself and were covered separately by presidency conclusions supported by the Commission and the other delegations.

The Council discussed the recent lorry blockades in France and Greece and the question of compensation.

The Council discussed summer time, and received progress reports from the Commission on a number of other issues, which were not debated.

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 658

Red Routes

Mr. Congdon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has undertaken an accident study of the pilot priority red route in north London since its introduction. [10471]

Mr. Bowis: The report "A Pilot Red Route Accident Study", commissioned by the Traffic Director for London, has been prepared by the consultants TecnEcon. The report analyses casualty data covering the three years since the pilot scheme was implemented and draws comparisons with the three yeas before the pilot scheme began. It covers the pilot scheme "rat runs" and other roads in the immediate area which were likely to be affected as a result of improvements in traffic flow on the pilot scheme and traffic calming measures. It concludes that the number of people injured in road accidents on or near London's pilot red route has fallen by 15.4 per cent. since the scheme became operational in 1993, and shows impressive reductions in the number of severe casualties--down 32.8 per cent.--and in the number of pedestrians injured--down 29.9 per cent. I have arranged for a copy of the report to be placed in the Library.

Bus Working Group

Dr. Marek: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list (a) the members of the bus working group, (b) its terms of reference, (c) the number of meetings it has held and (d) the reports it has produced; and if he will place copies of its reports in the Library. [10271]

Mr. Watts: Under my chairmanship, the bus working group comprises representatives from the Confederation of Passenger Transport, the Joint Local Authority Associations and the National Federation of Bus Users. In addition to the senior traffic commissioner and officials from the Department of Transport and the Scottish and Welsh Offices, who also attend meetings of the group, the following attended the most recent meetings, held on 19 September:



















The group has no formal terms of reference. Its remit is to examine ways of improving the provision of bus services within the privatised and deregulated framework.

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 659

The group has met five times since it was re-established in its present form last year. In addition, there have been a number of meetings of four sub-groups.

My predecessor as chairman, the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Mr. Norris), reported on the group's work in a press statement on 8 January. More recently, the group has worked up a guide to good practice in the provision of passenger information, which was published by the Department in September. Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library.

Private Pilots' Licences

Mr. Ashdown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many holders of (i) a United Kingdom private pilot's licence for (a) helicopters PPL (h) and (b) fixed-wing aeroplanes, (ii) an airline transport licence and (iii) a commercial pilot's licence for (A) helicopters and (B) gyroplanes have been prosecuted for exceeding the privileges of their licence since 24 July 1990; [8833]

Mr. Bowis: Records of prosecutions of pilots for exceeding the privileges of their licences do not specify what licences and/or ratings were held at the time, although they do distinguish between fixed-wing and helicopter incidents.

Since 1 January 1991, there have been 22 successful prosecutions of pilots for exceeding the privileges of their licences, 16 involving pilots of fixed-wing aircraft and six involving helicopter pilots. All earlier records have been archived and the information from these could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Records relating to investigations which do not lead to prosecutions are not retained.

Mr. Ashdown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many holders of a UK private pilot's licence and a UK private pilot's licence (helicopter) have been convicted for conducting public transport operations. [8835]

Mr. Bowis: Since 1 January 1991, there have been 18 successful prosecutions for illegal public transport operations, 12 involving fixed-wing aircraft and six involving helicopters. The records do no show the category of licence held by the pilots.

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