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9 Dec 2002 : Column 38W—continued

Statutory Harbour Authorities

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the statutory harbour authorities in the UK broken down by (a) companies, (b) local authorities and (c) trusts; which authorities have (i) completed and (ii) not completed implementation of the port marine safety code; and what steps he is taking to ensure full compliance. [86092]

Mr. Jamieson: We have concentrated our monitoring on harbour authorities that have powers in relation to the regulation of shipping and safety of navigation under the Pilotage Act 1987—Xcompetent harbour authorities"—because they comprise virtually all ports with significant functions to which the Code applies, and also account for almost all commercial port traffic. To date, the following competent harbour authorities have told my Department that they have implemented the Port Marine Safety Code:

(a) Company Ports

Associated British Ports:


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The following competent harbour authorities have not yet issued a statement of compliance in accordance with the Port Marine Safety Code:

(a) Company ports


(b) Local authority ports


(c) Trust ports


(d) Other


My officials are continuing to correspond with these harbour authorities and many are reporting that they are in an advanced stage of implementing the Port Marine Safety Code.

TAN21 Computer System

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what specifications were required by his Department in the contract for the development of the TAN21 computer system; what changes to this specification have taken place since the contract was awarded; and when these took place. [86087]

Mr. Jamieson: As part of the TAN21 Programme an Invitation to Tender (ITT) was issued through the European Journal (OJEC Ref: S251 (1999/S251– 207302)) for the procurement of TAN's core operational systems. The specification attached to the ITT was based on the requirement to develop the core business applications of licensing, enforcement and bus route registration which would be integrated with support and management systems. This requirement was incorporated as Schedules to the final contract and has not changed.

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Train Performance

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (a) how many and (b) what proportion of trains of each train operating company (i) arrived late by (A) more than five minutes and (B) more than 10 minutes and (ii) were cancelled in each month since September 2001. [86097]

Mr. Jamieson: Performance figures for each of the train operating companies are published by the Strategic Rail Authority in their quarterly publication XNational Rail Trends", and in more detail in their six monthly publication XOn Track". Copies of these publications are placed in the Library of the House. These next publications are on 12 December.

Vehicle Standards

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes have been made to the rules on the (a) environmental, (b) safety and (c) security standards of cars and light vehicles imported from outside the EU since 1 January 2000; what assessment of the effect of the changes has been made; and what further changes are planned. [86114]

Mr. Jamieson: Most of the vehicles that are not the subject of a European or National type approval are subject to The Motor Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2001. Those regulations came into force on 1 February that year and replaced the Motor Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 1996 as amended. The regulations prescribe the technical standards the vehicle must meet before it can be licensed and registered for use on public roads. Compliance is determined by individual inspection of the vehicle. The main change was to replace the earlier single-tier set of technical standards with a two-tier system. The first tier—standard Single Vehicle Approval—set technical standards appropriate for vehicles entering service in very low numbers, such as amateur builds. The second tier—Enhanced Single Vehicle Approval (ESVA)—applied higher standards for vehicles being sold or entering service in competition with the mainstream supply of mass-produced cars and light goods vehicles in Britain. ESVA is much closer to the European or British type-approval standards for key safety, environmental and anti-theft items required of the mainstream manufacturers. It thus ensures a consistent level of consumer protection relative to the numbers of vehicles involved.

We expect to consult very shortly on proposed amendments that reflect practical experience since the new arrangements were introduced. These will include:



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