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Railway Station Car Parks
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the implications of the High Court decision of 29 November in the case of Clarke v. Kato and others with regard to the status of railway station car parks and the possible future role of local authorities in designating taxi ranks in such car parks; and if he will make a statement. [11046]
Mr. Watts: The decision was made on the particular facts of the case in question and does not lay down a general principle. The significance of the decision is that if a car park is a "road" under the Road Traffic Act 1988, the general provisions of road traffic law will apply to it, such as the requirement for compulsory insurance. The case does not mean that land which is a road within the meaning of the Act because the owner permits the public to use it--as distinct from land over which the public have a right of way--no longer remains under the control of the owner. He remains free to decide what traffic is to be allowed over the land and for what purpose.
The decision therefore has no bearing on the designation of taxi ranks at railway station car parks, which remain a matter for the appropriate station operator.
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Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what investigations are being carried out on his behalf, and by which organisations, into issues raised by the lorry fire in the channel tunnel on 18 November 1996, to ensure the safety of future passengers crossing under the English channel. [11264]
Mr. Watts:
The Channel Tunnel Safety Authority is conducting an investigation into the channel tunnel fire. This investigation is being undertaken on behalf of both the French and UK Governments in line with the duties and responsibilities of the Intergovernmental Commission and the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority, established in articles 10 and 11 of the treaty of Canterbury 1986, Cmnd 9745.
Mrs. Helen Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many inspections of bus emissions have been made in the South Yorkshire area during 1996; and how many of these have resulted in (a) prosecution and (b) a fine; [11047]
Mr. Bowis:
I have asked the chief executive of the Vehicle Inspectorate executive agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Ms Helen Jackson, dated 20 January 1997:
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requests for assistance from ships containing refugees in the Mediterranean have been reported to his Department since December 1996. [11179]
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance is given to United Kingdom-registered ships concerning the assistance to be offered to vessels or passengers in distress. [11182]
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Mr. Bowis:
The annual summary of admiralty notices to mariners and volume 5 of the admiralty list of radio signals, which are mandatory carriage on UK-registered ships, give explicit guidance to the masters of British ships. UK law provides that
The master of a British ship, on receiving at sea a distress signal or information from any source that a vessel or aircraft is in distress, must proceed with all speed to the assistance of the persons in distress--informing them, if possible, that he is doing so--unless he is unable, or in the special circumstances of the case considers it unreasonable or unnecessary to do so, or unless he is released from this obligation under certain conditions.
Mr. Chris Davies:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the estimated sums to be paid by way of subsidy in the financial year ending 31 March 1997 to the British Railways Board and each of the companies formerly owned by the board which have been privatised or franchised in the past five years. [11427]
Mr. Watts:
My current estimate of the net payments of support, excluding payments under the performance regime, to be made by the franchising director to the British Railways Board and to franchise operators in the financial year 1996-97 is listed in the table.
(2) if he will list the prosecutions brought and fines levied against bus companies, by region, which have breached the diesel emission limits during each of the past three years. [11048]
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the number of inspections of bus emissions made in the South Yorkshire area during 1996; and how many of these have resulted in (a) prosecution and (b) a fine; and the prosecutions brought and fines levied against bus companies by region, which have breached the diesel emissions limits during each of the last three years.
478 inspections of bus (PSV) emissions were carried out in the Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire area during the 1995/96 financial year which resulted in the issue of 5 delayed prohibition notices. No immediate prohibitions were issued.
It is not usual practice for breaches of PSV emissions limits to be dealt with by a prosecution or fine. The issue of a prohibition notice is considered an effective means of dealing with emissions failures in respect of licensed PSV operators. Prohibition notices issued to licensed operators are available to the Traffic Commissioners to consider whether disciplinary action is required.
"the master or person in charge of a vessel shall, so far as he can do so without serious danger to his own vessel, her crew and passengers (if any), render assistance to every person, . . . who is found at sea in danger of being lost."
| Payments to franchise operators | £ million |
|---|---|
| Anglia Railways Train Services Ltd. | 8.777 |
| Cardiff Railway Co. Ltd. | 10.014 |
| CrossCountry Trains Ltd. | 30.675 |
| Gatwick Express Railway Co. Ltd. | -4.192 |
| Great Eastern Railway Ltd. | 5.778 |
| Great Western Trains Co. Ltd. | 61,825 |
| InterCity East Coast Ltd. | 61.468 |
| Island Line Ltd. | 0.937 |
| LTS Rail Ltd. | 25.146 |
| Merseyrail Electrics Ltd. | 7.703 |
| Midland Main Line Ltd. | 16.188 |
| Network SouthCentral Ltd. | 73.610 |
| South Wales and West Railway Ltd. | 37.625 |
| South West Trains Ltd. | 63.207 |
| Thames Trains Ltd. | 18.780 |
| The Chiltern Railway Co. Ltd. | 11.650 |
| The South Eastern Train Co. Ltd. | 59.257 |
| West Anglia Great Northern Railway Ltd. | 14.208 |
| Total Payments to Franchise Operators | 502,655 |
| Payments to British Rail | 1,260.367 |
| Total Payments | 1,763,022 |
Marine Accident Reports
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines he sets the marine accidents investigation branch for the time scale for producing reports following accidents or incidents. [11513]
Mr. Bowis: Major accidents require an inspector's inquiry to be conducted, leading to a chief inspector's report being produced. The chief inspector's target is to
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submit the final report to the Secretary of State within 12 months of the date of the accident. Consultation with those considered by the chief inspector to have been adversely affected by the report may sometimes prevent this target being met.
In other accidents requiring full and detailed examination, summary reports may be released generally or to interested parties. Where these are to be published, the target is to do so within 10 months from the date of the accident.
MV Canberra (Inquiry)
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what factors underlay the delay in producing the marine accidents investigation branch report into the incident involving the MV Canberra in December 1994. [11514]
Mr. Bowis: This was a complex investigation which involved not only the causes of the power failure but the actions of the master and officers with respect to navigational decisions and communication.
In addition, the consultation and validation process was complex, and some time was spent in exploring the legal implications of publishing the report in the light of the consultation.
Aircraft Safety
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those airlines found to be (a) using unapproved parts and (b) flying without maintenance releases during the last two years. [11511]
Mr. Bowis: The Civil Aviation Authority routinely audit both airlines and their maintenance organisations. All CAA-approved maintenance organisations have procedures to reject on receipt unapproved parts and prevent their fitting to aircraft. However, the CAA has recorded one case in February 1995 where a part fitted was found not to be in full accordance with approved standards. The part presented no hazard to the safety of the aircraft, which was operated by Maersk Air, and appropriate action has been taken to prevent any recurrence. Procedures for the strict regulation and control of aircraft parts were outlined on 22 March 1996 by my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Mr. Norris) Official Report, column 392.
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