You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Commons Debates by date > Commons Debates - previous sessions > Bound Volume Hansard - Written Answers
Previous Section Index Home Page

Millennium Compliancies

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the local authorities identified by the Year 2000 Taskforce as giving cause for concern in terms of their millennium computer compliance preparations. [82821]

Mr. Meale: As Action 2000 stated at their National Infrastructure Forum on 21 April 1999, at this stage of the evaluation process they are not naming any organisations. At the next Forum meeting, on 13 July, the Government Offices for the Regions, as the Millennium Bug responsible bodies for local authorities, fully expect to be in a position to report progress on all local authorities.

West Midlands Regional Development Agency

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he has taken to ensure that Herefordshire is adequately represented on the West Midlands Regional Development Agency; and if he will make a statement. [82823]

Mr. Meale: Our primary concern in appointing the board members of Regional Development Agencies was to choose people with a wide range of experience who would make an effective contribution to the work of the boards. Members should not consider themselves to be the delegates of any group, body or geographical area but should take into account the interests of the region as a whole.

5 May 1999 : Column: 386

SSSIs

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the designated areas of special scientific interest that have been subject to inappropriate development since May 1997. [82676]

Mr. Meale: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on 28 April 1999, Official Report, column 144.

Unauthorised Camping

Mr. Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has to assist councils faced with the cost of cleaning up land from which travellers have been evicted. [82719]

Mr. Raynsford: We have published, jointly with the Home Office, good practice guidance for local authorities and the police on managing unauthorised camping. The good practice recognises that the cost of clearing up after unauthorised encampments can be high, and suggests that costs might be reduced by the provision of refuse collection and disposal services during the encampment.

We want to encourage local authorities to think creatively about how best to manage unauthorised camping. Part of their thinking may involve the provision of temporary, serviced sites as advised in Department of the Environment Circular 18/94 "Gypsy Sites Policy and Unauthorised Camping", and latterly in the good practice guidance.

Radar

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if civil airlines flying into United Kingdom airports are required to have radar enabling their pilots to detect other planes or flying objects directly below them. [82849]

Ms Glenda Jackson: Many passenger transport aeroplanes flying in UK airspace already have an airborne collision avoidance system installed and operating. This system is known as Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) II. It can provide advisory information including recommended avoidance manoeuvres to the pilot if another aircraft equipped with an operating transponder beacon is likely to pass too close. The intruder aircraft may be coming from any direction and may be above, below or at the same level as the aeroplane equipped with TCAS.

With effect from 1 January 2000, all aeroplanes with more than 30 passenger seats or with a maximum take off mass that exceeds 15,000 kilogrammes will need to be equipped with an improved version of TCAS II that offers enhanced operational performance. It is intended that by 1 January 2005 this requirement should be extended to all aeroplanes that have more than 19 passenger seats or a maximum take off mass of more than 5,700 kilogrammes.

BEST Pensions

Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what offer has been made by the Government to the BEST pension trustees; and what was the response; [82678]

5 May 1999 : Column: 387

Ms Glenda Jackson: Discussions about achieving a just out-of-court settlement of this issue are proceeding. We continue to attach high importance to bringing the discussion to a satisfactory conclusion without any unnecessary delay.

Officials from other Departments have been kept fully informed of matters affecting their Departmental interests.

Radioactive Iridium (Stansted)

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the circumstances whereby a package of radioactive iridium was discovered at Stansted Airport. [83123]

Ms Glenda Jackson: I understand that this package, which was misdirected from the United States, arrived at Stansted Airport on Saturday 24 April 1999, as part of a normal shipment of radioactive material, and was placed in Federal Express's radioactive material store. When it was recognised that this package did not belong in the United Kingdom, the consignor was contacted and its proper destination ascertained. The package was returned to the United States on Monday 26 April 1999. At no time did it leave the control of Federal Express during its brief stay in the United Kingdom. The material was correctly contained in a package approved by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the US Department of Transportation in compliance with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization's Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (Class 7) which governs the international transport of dangerous goods by air. I also understand that the package bore the appropriate markings and the correct labels, enabling it to be properly and safely handled. I would emphasise that the package at no time posed any threat to the health of workers, the public or to the environment.

The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the circumstances of how the package came to the United Kingdom.

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action was taken to safeguard (a) human health and (b) the environment following the discovery of a radioactive package of iridium at Stansted Airport. [83132]

Ms Glenda Jackson [holding answer 4 May 1999]: On arrival at Stansted Airport, the package was placed in a dedicated and licensed radioactive store of Federal Express where it remained until it was returned to the United States. I understand that the package bore the appropriate markings and the correct labels, enabling it to be properly and safely handled. There was at no time any hazard to human health or to the environment.

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the package of iridium found at Stansted Airport was transported there on a passenger-carrying aircraft. [83135]

5 May 1999 : Column: 388

Ms Glenda Jackson [holding answer 4 May 1999]: This package arrived on a Federal Express cargo plane and was similarly returned to the United States on a Federal Express cargo plane.

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what hazard warnings there were on the outside of the package of radioactive iridium discovered at Stansted Airport. [83134]

Ms Glenda Jackson [holding answer 4 May 1999]: The package which was mistakenly delivered to Stansted Airport bore all the necessary hazard warnings in accordance with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization's Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (Class 7) and with the relevant UK regulations for air transport of dangerous goods (The Air Navigation (Dangerous Goods) Regulations 1994 SI No. 3187 and Amendments 1996 SI No. 3100 and 1998 SI No. 2536).

The warnings consisted of an indelible trefoil symbol, resistant to the effects of fire and water, plainly marked on the outside of the package, together with two diamond shaped Category III-YELLOW labels on opposite sides of the package. The labels also bear the trefoil symbol, the word "RADIOACTIVE", and give details of the contents, the radioactivity and the Transport Index.

Radioactive Material (Transport)

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has of the number of packages of radioactive material carried within the United Kingdom by common carriers for the last year for which figures are available. [83131]

Ms Glenda Jackson [holding answer 4 May 1999]: Data are not collected separately on whether radioactive material is carried by common carriers or by a company's own transport, as they are required to meet the provisions of the same regulations. It was estimated in 1997 that of the order of 10,000 flights carrying packages of radioactive material currently occur each year, the vast majority of which contain limited quantities for medical or industrial use in excepted or Type A packages.

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what controls exist over the movement within the United Kingdom of radioactive packages by common carriers. [83133]

Ms Glenda Jackson [holding answer 4 May 1999]: The transport of radioactive material within the UK, by whatever type of carrier, is controlled by a number regulatory requirements. The main regulations are as follows:





5 May 1999 : Column: 389


    Air


    The Air Navigation (No. 2) Order 1995 SI No. 1970. The Air Navigation (Dangerous Goods) Regulations 1994 SI No. 3187 and Amendments 1996 SI No. 3100 and 1998 SI No. 2536.


    Ports


    The Dangerous Substances in Harbour Areas Regulations 1987 (SI 1987 No. 37).


    Rail


    The Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Radioactive Material by Rail Regulations (RAMRail) 1996 (SI 1996 No. 2090): Approved Requirements for the packaging, labelling and carriage of radioactive material by rail 1996 Edition. The Carriage of Dangerous Goods (Classification, Packaging and Labelling) and Use of Transportable Pressure Receptacles Regulations (CDGCPL) 1996 (SI 1996 No. 2092). The Packaging, Labelling and Carriage of Radioactive Material by Rail Regulations (Northern Ireland) (RAMRailNI) 1998 (SR 1998 No. 132).

Next Section Index Home Page