---

15 Oct 2002 : Column 706W—continued

Trust Ports

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made with modernising trust ports. [71438]

Mr. Jamieson: Of the 51 trust ports that fall within my Department's area of responsibility (England and Wales), so far 12 have achieved full compliance and 15 have prepared draft orders that are either with the Department for comment or about to be made. We are working with the remaining 24 trust ports in the preparation of their implementation plans and draft orders.

Transport 10-year Plan

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the elements of the 10-year plan which are running behind schedule, as set out in the memoranda published by his Department in 2000. [71440]

Mr. Jamieson: A report on the 10-Year Plan for transport, which will set out progress to date, will be published in the Autumn.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements are in place to review the effectiveness of the 10-year plan for transport. [73763]

Mr. Jamieson: Progress towards delivery of the objectives in the 10-Year Plan is monitored continuously.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of the timetable steps outlined in the Delivery of Improvements over the Life of the Plan memorandum published at the time of the publication of the 10-Year Plan have been met. [73379]

Mr. Jamieson: A report on the 10-Year Plan for transport, which will set out progress made to date, will be published in the Autumn.

Rail Franchises

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement concerning the grant of the rail franchise for Wales. [71441]

15 Oct 2002 : Column 707W

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority expects to award the Wales and Borders franchise in the Spring of next year. The new franchise is likely to start next Autumn.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement on the South West Trains franchise negotiations. [71443]

Mr. Jamieson: Negotiations between the Strategic Rail Authority and Stagecoach are in progress. In June of this year they reached agreement on an interim deal costing #29 million up to February 2003 that will deliver early passenger benefits, including the replacement of Mark 1 trains.

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the extension of the Thames Trains franchise. [74753]

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority is in negotiation with Go-Ahead Group regarding a possible two-year extension of the Thames Trains franchise, which expires in April 2004.

Speed Cameras

Mr. Plaskitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of making speed cameras more visible; and if he will make a statement. [71444]

Mr. Jamieson: The camera visibility rules for those areas in the safety camera netting off came into force on 1 July 2002. It is too early to judge their effectiveness although initial feedback from the participant areas suggests that compliance is improved at the yellow fixed camera sites.

Air Traffic Capacity

Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to meet the demand for air traffic capacity in the South East. [71445]

Mr. Jamieson: The South East Consultation Document on the Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom invites views on whether new airport capacity should be provided in the South East over the next 30 years and, if so, how much; and on where any additional runway capacity should be provided. The Secretary of State will consider all consultation responses before taking decisions in the air transport White Paper which we plan to publish next year. The consultation document includes a chapter on the implications of growth for the safety of our airspace.

Handy Cross Junction

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement on the renovation of Handy Cross junction. [71437]

Mr. Jamieson: As the hon. Member will be aware, on 19 August I announced that we intend to accelerate this scheme by including it in our Targeted Programme of Improvements. Subject to the satisfactory completion of the necessary procedures, works are programmed to start in 2005. I am pleased to announce that the Highways Agency has now placed a Contract

15 Oct 2002 : Column 708W

Notice in the Official Journal of the European Community inviting expressions of interest for contractors to design and build the scheme.

Ports

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are taken to prevent a distortion of competition between existing ports in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic when applications are submitted for funding to the European Union and Her Majesty's Government from port authorities in the United Kingdom. [73399]

Mr. Jamieson: Where port authorities in the UK seek public funding, we undertake an assessment of the potential impact on traffic flows at other UK ports. Funding of ports in the Irish Republic is a matter for the Irish Government.

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the level of use of European Union-assisted ferry port facilities in the United Kingdom. [73398]

Mr. Jamieson: No specific assessments have been made of the use of ferry port facilities that have received European Union assistance.

Shipping Industry

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many merchant ships were UK owned and registered in each year since 1997. [73386]

Mr. Jamieson: The size of the fleet in number of UK owned and UK Registered ships is given in the table:

As at 31 December	UK Owned Fleet (All vessels)	UK Owned Fleet (*Trading vessels)
1997	1,779	612
1998	1,770	616
1999	1,763	617
2000	1,793	624
2001	1,772	594
2002 (as at 30 June)	1,754	593

As at 31 December	UK Registered Fleet (All vessels)	UK Registered Fleet (* Trading vessels)
1997	1,498	369
1998	1,498	378
1999	1,456	379
2000	1,518	417
2001	1,527	427
2002 (as at 30 June)	1,562	451

Note:

* ''Trading'' vessels are those which carry cargo or passengers for commercial purposes. The remainder of the fleet consists of vessels, which are deemed to be ''non-trading''. Examples of non-trading vessels are dredgers and trawlers, but vessels which were constructed for ''trading'' purposes can also come into this category, if they have been converted to a non-trading use, e.g. storage or a floating restaurant.

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures the Government have taken since 1997 to help increase the amount of UK-flagged tonnage in the merchant shipping industry. [73385]

15 Oct 2002 : Column 709W

Mr. Jamieson: The Government have introduced tonnage tax. Together with the Maritime & Coastguard Agency's registration reforms, this has resulted in a substantial increase, of around 90 per cent., in the amount of UK-flagged tonnage in the merchant shipping industry.

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions have taken place with NUMAST on (a) the health and safety of British seafarers and (b) the state of the UK shipping industry. [73388]

Mr. Jamieson: The Secretary of State met NUMAST to discuss cover by fire services at sea, social conditions on UK registered ships, and seafarer training.

Earlier this year, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State met NUMAST to discuss social conditions on UK registered ships.

The Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has also met NUMAST to discuss issues arising from the Report of the re-opened Formal Investigation into the loss of the MV Derbyshire.

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were employed in the UK shipping industry in each year since 1997. [73387]

Mr. Jamieson: The best estimates of total active seafarers since 1997 are those produced by the London Guildhall University's ''United Kingdom Seafarers Analysis 2001''. These are given in the table:

Year	Total Active Seafarers
1997	29,610
1998	29,309
1999	28,085
2000	27,826
2001	25,188

The Government recognise the concern about the lack of a comprehensive, consistent approach to estimating the number of people resident in the UK with maritime skills, based on agreed definitions and assumptions. This includes information on those with maritime skills in posts ashore. My Department is therefore examining, with the industry, means of improving estimates of data.

---