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14 Apr 2003 : Column 583Wcontinued
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what aid has been given to airline companies since 11 September 2001; and what plans he has to give further financial assistance. [109134]
Mr. Jamieson: Following the closure of US, Israeli and central London airspace in the period immediately following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, financial assistance totalling £39.7 million, authorised by the European Commission, was paid out to 11 UK airline companies in compensation.
It is Government policy that the aviation industry should cover its full operating costs, including those incurred through increased security arrangements following 11 September. To this extent, we have no current plans to provide any further financial assistance to the airline companies.
Following 11 September, the UK Government also underwrote, on a temporary basis, third party war risk insurance for UK airlines, airports and service providers to the airline industry. Although insurance against war and terrorism risks is currently available on the commercial market the Government remain prepared to intervene in the case of market failurethough there is no indication, at present, that this will be necessary.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the PlusBus ticket scheme; and what plans he has to extend this scheme to the whole of the United Kingdom. [109133]
Mr. Jamieson: Journey Solutions, which was set up and is funded by the passenger transport industry, is responsible for the PlusBus scheme. PlusBus is a ticket that provides a simple add-on bus option to rail tickets at either or both ends of a train journey. It is currently available at 90 stations across the National Rail network in England, Wales and Scotland, and will be available at a further 10 stations by May 2003. Journey
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Solutions intends that PlusBus will be progressively rolled out until every major town and city in Great Britain is covered.
Decisions on further extension of the scheme will be made by Journey Solutions and its industry stakeholders, in consultation with my Department and the Devolved Administrations.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made since 1997 in improving disabled access to public transport; and if he will make a statement. [109208]
Mr. Jamieson: Regulations have been made under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). These set standards of access for disabled people, which have applied to all new trains (since the end of 1998), and all new buses and coaches used on local and scheduled service with a capacity of more than 22 passengers (since the end of 2000). Proposals for regulations applying to taxis will be brought forward later this year. Transport infrastructure is covered by Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act which requires the removal of policies or practices that discriminate and, from 2004, the removal of physical barriers to access.
In addition we have accepted the recommendations on transport made by the Disability Rights Task Force. These include extending some of the requirements of Part III of the DDA to cover vehicles, setting an end date by which all trains in service must be accessible and taking powers to introduce regulations to apply to the refurbishment of trains. We have just completed consultation on the first of these sets of proposals and will shortly publish a consultation paper on the second.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with rail companies on improving disabled access to (a) trains and (b) train stations; what progress has been made; and what assistance the Government have provided for these measures since 1997. [109209]
Mr. Jamieson: My Department is in regular contact with rail companies to encourage best practice on access to trains and stations and to offer advice on compliance with the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (RVAR) which requires all new trains to be accessible to disabled people.
In addition, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) published its Code of Practice on Train and Station Services for Disabled Passengers which covers access to trains and stations. Under the code the SRA has asked passenger train and station operators to review their Disabled People's Protection Policy to ensure that there is a commitment to accessibility wherever new work or a refurbishment takes place. As part of the review train operating companies will be identifying the current levels of accessibility at their stations and will be detailing what short term solutions have been identified to provide an alternative means of using the train service where physical barriers preclude this.
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Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in his Department have taken time off from work in order to attend to domestic incidents as provided for by the Employment Relations Act 1999. [108352]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport does not maintain separate records of time off from work taken by its staff, in order to attend to domestic incidents as provided for by the Employment Relations Act 1999.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list events at which his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible have exhibited in each of the last three years, stating for each (a) the purpose of exhibiting, (b) the cost of exhibiting and (c) the number of staff attending for the exhibition. [107618]
Mr. Jamieson: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to relocate Stranraer railway station after the cessation of passenger ferry services from Stranraer. [108970]
Mr. Jamieson: There are no current plans to relocate Stranraer railway station.
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on employment conditions of non-UK citizens on ferries from UK ports. [108971]
Mr. Jamieson: The United Kingdom has ratified International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 180 on limiting seafarers' working hours and the related Protocols to ILO 147 which provides for the enforcement of ILO 180 on all sea-going ships calling at UK ports.
We also intend to ratify ILO Convention 178 concerning the implementation of seafarers' working and living conditions.
All UK registered ships are required to have crew agreements, covering both UK and non-UK citizens, which either comply with one of the UK's two standard agreements, or which have been approved by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The MCA checks crew agreements to ensure that they comply with the ILO Convention on Articles of Agreement, and also comply with relevant UK merchant shipping legislation.
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed on ferries operating from UK ports; and of those, how many are (a) UK, (b) other EU and (c) non-EU citizens. [108972]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department does not compile information on the nationalities of seafarers employed on ferries operating from UK ports.
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Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 21 January 2003, Official Report, column 205W, on freight facilities grant, what the expected expenditure is on Freight Facilities Grants by (a) the Strategic Rail Authority in England, (b) the Scottish Executive in Scotland and (c) the Welsh Assembly in Wales is in each year from 200102 to 200405. [102338]
Mr. Jamieson: SRA outturn expenditure for rail freight facilities grants in 200102 was £32.8 million. Its current outturn estimate for 200203 is £27.8 million.
Indicative SRA budgets for freight facilities grants in 200304 and 200405 are £20 million per year.
Freight grant expenditure and budgets for Wales and Scotland are matters for the respective Devolved Administrations.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to change the operating hours of (a) Rotherhithe station, (b) Canada Water station and (c) Surrey Quays station on the London Underground East London line; and if he will make a statement. [108824]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 11 April 2003]: This is an operational matter for London Underground, who inform me that they have no plans to alter the operating hours of these stations.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been for each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement on their role. [109135]
Mr. Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) role is to provide a 24-hour maritime search and rescue function, to survey and inspect ships, and to protect the marine environment.
The budgets of the MCA since 1997 are set out in the table:
Budget | |
---|---|
199798 | (57) |
199899 | 86,491 |
19992000 | 92,672 |
200001 | 99,816 |
200102 | 108,641 |
200203 | 111,662 |
(57) Not applicable. The MCA came into being on 1 April 1998.
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