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Road Haulage Vehicles

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road haulage vehicles were inspected by the vehicle inspectorate in each of the last three years. [60457]

Mr. Jamieson: Information about the vehicle inspectorate's enforcement activities for the three years to the end of March 2001 is published in the inspectorate's Effectiveness Report 2001, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what resources were provided for inspections of road haulage vehicles with regard to overloading and vehicle drivers' hours offences, in each of the last three years. [60456]

Mr. Jamieson: Traffic examiners (TEs) carry out weighings and check compliance with drivers' hours legislation as part of their duties. The vehicle inspectorate (VI) employed 175 TEs in 1999–2000 and 2000–01. The number of TEs increased to 209 at the end of 2001–02 in response to additional funding from the Road Haulage Forum. In addition to VI's network of permanent weighbridge sites, a number of mobile weighpads were introduced in 2000–01 which have improved VI's ability to target its checks. Work will be done in 2002–03 to test electronic tachograph analysis equipment which will improve the examiner's ability to detect drivers' hours and other offences.

Parking

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much in the last financial year for which figures are available each local authority in England and Wales has raised from the issuing of (a) parking permits, (b) parking meters and (c) pay and display systems. [55797]

Mr. Spellar: I have been asked to reply.

Separate statistics on local authority income from parking permits, parking meters and pay and display systems are not collected centrally. A table showing the expenditure on and income from parking for local authorities in England in 2000–01 has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Local authorities in Wales spent £10.72 million on parking and received income of £16.58 million in 2000–01.

Railtrack

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers the administrators of Railtrack have to sell (a) major stations, (b) other property and (c) other land assets independently of the remainder of the rail network. [60650]

Mr. Jamieson: In accordance with section 59 of the Railways Act 1993, the railway administration order made in respect of Railtrack plc directs that the affairs, business and property of the company shall be managed by the administrators for the achievement of the purposes of the administration order. The purposes of the order include transferring the network undertaking as a going concern and ensuring that the management of the rail network can be properly carried on pending a transfer.

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The administrators have the power to sell major stations, other property and other land assets, but may use it only to achieve the purposes of the administration order. Furthermore, to protect the public interest, it is a condition of its network licence that Railtrack plc (in administration) may not dispose of land without the consent of the Rail Regulator.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many full-time engineers were employed by Railtrack who worked on (a) maintenance and (b) enhancements and projects on 24 September 2001; how many there are; and how many have joined the company since 5 October 2001. [60653]

Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) on 24 May 2002, Official Report, column 617W. Further information is not held in the form requested.

Vehicle Registration

Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve the vehicle registration system. [60884]

Mr. Spellar: Some months ago the Department undertook a review of the vehicle registration system in partnership with the insurance industry. Research was undertaken by the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, University College London (JDI). The review examined ways of enhancing the accuracy of databases, improving enforcement arrangements and providing more reliable services to benefit all motorists. The JDI report made 11 recommendations. The first of these, the introduction of continuous registration, has already been accepted and enabling provisions have been included in the Finance Bill. The details of those provisions and the other recommendations will be discussed in detail with stakeholders prior to implementation. I have made available copies of the JDI report in the Library of the House.

Cycling

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many kilometres were cycled per person in each of the last three years. [60455]

Mr. Jamieson: The latest data available, from the National Travel Survey, cover the average distance cycled for those living in Great Britain for the years 1998, 1999 and 2000:

	Distance cycled per person per year (kilometres)
1998	58
1999	68
2000	59

The volatility of the single year figures is likely to be a result of the relatively small sample sizes and the geographical clustering of the sample. Cycling patterns over individual years are also very dependent on the weather.

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Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the average carbon dioxide emissions for a motorist using their car in the last 12 months in the UK. [60427]

Mr. Jamieson: In 2000 (the latest year for which data are available), it is estimated that average carbon dioxide emissions from cars in the UK were three tonnes.

International Flights

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many international flights there were from the UK (a) over the North Atlantic, (b) to other EU countries and (c) to other world destinations in each quarter of the last five years. [60655]

Mr. Jamieson: The number of international flights from the UK (a) over the North Atlantic (b) to other EU countries and (c) to all other world destinations in each quarter of the last five years is shown in the table. Flights are attributed only to their final overseas destination and not, if any, to intermediate destinations. There were a similar number of international flights arriving in the UK.

Flights from the UK over the North Atlantic⁽³⁾

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
1997	8,786	11,053	12,782	10,677
1998	9,840	12,226	13,782	11,674
1999	10,733	12,730	14,208	12,103
2000	11,380	13,256	14,550	12,332
2001	11,442	13,597	14,171	10,897

⁽³⁾ Flights to USA and Canada

Flights from the UK to other EU countries

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
1997	77,409	92,483	99,661	86,195
1998	83,351	99,510	109,436	93,357
1999	89,997	106,602	117,345	99,812
2000	97,906	115,318	127,260	105,324
2001	100,194	119,921	130,702	102,997

Note:

For the purpose of this analysis Gibraltar has been included in 'other EU countries'

Flights from the UK to other world destinations

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
1997	29,621	34,194	36,624	33,264
1998	31,363	35,272	38,332	34,219
1999	33,240	36,186	38,917	34,216
2000	33,074	36,203	39,577	35,725
2001	33,852	37,537	40,031	34,329

Note:

Flights are attributed to the overseas country of destination and not to each point of call. For example a flight whose route is Gatwick—Paris—Tunis is allocated only to 'other world destinations'.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines he has issued to the CAA on the relationship between the number of flights (a) over the North Atlantic, (b) to other EU countries and (c) to other world destinations, and the level of the price cap that the CAA places on the fees that NATS charges airlines. [60656]

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Mr. Jamieson: I have issued no guidelines on these matters to the CAA. Although the initial price cap on NATS was set by the Government, as is usual when a public entity is transferred to the private sector, the CAA is the economic regulator of NATS and the Government do not interfere with its discharge of its economic regulatory duties.

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