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Aircraft Inspections
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many 737 aircraft have been inspected by independent inspectors. [108027]
Mr. Mullin:
Civil Aviation Authority Surveyors inspect selected aircraft each year in accordance with a policy, and associated programme, published in Airworthiness Notice No. 30 (CAA Aircraft Survey Programme--All United Kingdom Registered Aircraft). This survey programme is independent of the operators' inspections carried out as part of the scheduled maintenance programme.
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In the year ending 1999, 77 Boeing 737 aircraft were surveyed by CAA.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many aircraft, operating on behalf of United Kingdom airlines, flying for hire and reward and not on the United Kingdom register flew into and out of British airspace in 1999. [108079]
Mr. Mullin:
During 1999 UK airlines leased 48 foreign registered aircraft for planned periods, varying in length from less than one week up to 12 months. Of these, 43 were leased with crew. In the same year, foreign registered aircraft carried out 249 unplanned substitution flights on behalf of UK carriers whose own aircraft became temporarily unavailable.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the Safety Regulation Group of the CAA will publish guidelines on wiring and flight fire. [108025]
Mr. Mullin:
The Civil Aviation Authority and other accredited UK and international bodies have published requirements and guidelines concerning aircraft wiring and the prevention of in-flight fire and smoke for many years.
The UK airworthiness codes already prescribe mandatory requirements for electrical wiring design and installation which are intended to prevent the aircraft as whole being put at risk in the event of wiring faults or serious malfunction of the electrical system or any connected equipment. In particular, there is a requirement that wiring must not be able to create a fire or smoke hazard under temporary or continuous fault conditions. Demonstration of compliance with these requirements is required for all aircraft. Also, British Standards Institute and European aeronautical cable specifications and standards define flammability and toxicity requirements for aircraft wiring, as well as defining standardised methods of testing aircraft wire.
In addition to the mandatory requirements, CAA have also published guidelines on electrical wiring and electrical protection. For example, the CAA Civil Aircraft Airworthiness Information and Procedures (CAP562) contain instructions on inspection and testing of electrical circuits, installation and maintenance of electrical cables, protection against electrostatic discharge, care and maintenance of electrical power supplies, electrical cable failure and procedures for resetting thermal circuit breakers.
These requirements and guidelines are well established and well known throughout the UK aviation industry. In addition, the CAA proposes to submit to the Joint Aviation Authorities by September 2000 a consolidated version of its established guidelines concerning aircraft wiring and the prevention of in-flight fire and smoke, for promulgation throughout the JAA member states.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many instances of pressure on commercial pilots to lower safety standards have been registered in the confidential reporting system in the last 12 months. [108031]
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Mr. Mullin:
The UK Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP) is run by the CHIRP Charitable Trust. The January 2000 edition of CHIRP's publication "Feedback" contains a "Key Word analysis" of reports received in 1999, which indicates that the key words 'commercial pressure' appeared in 7 per cent. of the 141 reports received that year in the flight deck category. The analysis notes that in view of the voluntary nature of the reporting process, the results have no statistical significance.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps the Government are taking to ensure that rudders of UK-registered 737 aircraft are fault free. [108026]
Mr. Mullin:
The United States' Federal Aviation Administration is the regulatory authority responsible for overseeing the safe design of Boeing aircraft and for issuing information necessary to maintain their continued airworthiness. The Federal Aviation Administration has issued Airworthiness Directives covering both inspections of the Boeing 737 rudder system as well as revisions to flight crew operating procedures. These directives are intended to reduce the likelihood of possible rudder system faults compromising the aircraft's safety.
The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority requires that any Federal Aviation Administration directives applicable to Boeing 737 aircraft are complied with by UK operators and carries out regular surveys to monitor, and if necessary, enforce compliance. Although the Authority reserves the right to vary Federal Aviation Administration directives for the UK fleet, it has had no cause, to date, to impose additional requirements with respect to the Boeing 737 rudder system.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if it is a requirement for helicopter inspections to be carried out by operations inspectors who are trained helicopter pilots; how many operations inspectors are trained helicopter pilots; and if he will make a statement. [108032]
Mr. Mullin:
There are no international standards governing the qualifications of civil aviation authority inspectors, but the International Civil Aviation Organisation "Manual of Procedures for Operations Inspection, Certification and Continued Surveillance" recommends that to carry out a flight inspection of an aircraft, an inspector should be qualified in that type of aircraft.
In the United Kingdom, all helicopter flight inspections, together with technical evaluations of the helicopter, equipment, and operation are undertaken by Civil Aviation Authority Flight Operations Inspectors who possess a current Airline Transport Pilots Licence (Helicopters), and have had considerable commercial operating experience often including management or training duties. Not only are proficiency checks undertaken, but regular line flying duties in a variety of roles are carried out by all helicopter Flight Operations Inspectors.
The CAA has 13 specialist helicopter Flight Operations Inspectors.
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There are some aspects of helicopter operations which can be audited or checked by suitably trained Inspecting Staff, who nevertheless do not hold a professional helicopter pilots licence. For example examination of pilots duty hours and training records would not necessarily require professional piloting expertise in order to evaluate their validity and integrity.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been the expenditure on (a) staff and (b) office accommodation of each of the regional development agencies. [107942]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
The planned expenditure for 1999-2000 for each of the Regional Development Agencies on staff and on accommodation are as follows:
| Regional Development Agency | Staff | Accommodation |
|---|---|---|
| North West Development Agency | 4,400,000 | 500,000 |
| One North East | 4,388,000 | 649,000 |
| Yorkshire Forward | 5,629,000 | 929,000 |
| Advantage West Midlands | 2,979,000 | 813,000 |
| East Midlands Development Agency | 3,396,000 | 1,135,000 |
| East of England Development Agency | 2,975,000 | 285,000 |
| South West of England Regional Development Agency | 4,147,000 | 2,321,000 |
| South of England Development Agency | 2,846,000 | 1,269,000 |
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what budget is available to the regional development agencies for implementing their sustainable development programmes. [107944]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have not been given specific budgets to implement sustainable development policies. The RDAs have a statutory duty to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in the UK, and it is integral to their Regional Strategies and action plans. The RDAs' contribution to sustainable development will be delivered through the implementation of these plans, and of their programmes and projects.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what timetable he has given the regional development agencies for their contributions to an integrated transport system in the regions. [107940]
Ms Beverley Hughes: Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have a keen interest in integrated transport issues in their regions. They are providing an important input into the regional transport strategies which are being prepared as part of the Regional Planning Guidance (RPG). The timetable for the preparation of RPG varies by region.
The regional planning bodies are also considering the transport implications of RDAs' regional strategies. Similarly, the regional transport strategies should inform and assist the RDAs in the implementation of their own Strategies.
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RDAs have also been invited to feed their ideas on integrated transport into the 10-year plan for investment in transport, currently being developed by my Department.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to ensure that the regional development agencies deliver their plans for sustainable development on time. [107943]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) were not required to develop specific sustainable development plans. The RDAs' contribution to sustainable development is integral to their regional strategies and action plans, and will be delivered through the implementation of these plans, and of their programmes and projects.
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