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1 Jul 2003 : Column 191W—continued
Pilots
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to follow the advice of the European Aviation Safety Agency on pilot flying hour limits; and if he will make a statement. [122508]
Mr. McNulty: The Regulation establishing the European Aviation Safety Agency came into force in September 2002 and the Agency is not yet fully operational. The Regulation requires the Agency to assist the Commission in the preparation of proposals for basic principals, applicability and essential requirements in the field of air operations. This will include the framework for flight time limitations. The Commission proposals will take the form of a draft Regulation which will be subject to the co-decision procedure. Once adopted, the Regulation will be binding on all member states.
Railways
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers travelled to and from Shrewsbury by rail in each year since 1997; how many regular train services were available from Shrewsbury in each year since 1997; and how much was raised in ticket sales at Shrewsbury rail station in each year since 1997. [122460]
Mr. McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) publishes annual passenger journey figures for each Train Operating Company in its Annual Report, a copy of which is placed in the Library of the House. National figures for timetabled train kilometres and passenger revenue are published in the SRA's quarterly
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publication, "National Rail Trends", a copy of which is also placed in the Library of the House. These data are not broken down to route level.
Redhill Aerodrome
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assistance his Department is providing to Redhill Aerodrome Ventures in relation to the development of their proposal to establish an international airport at Redhill Aerodrome; at what cost to public funds; and if he will make a statement. [122894]
Mr. McNulty: The Department has held discussions with several promoters of proposals for new airport capacity that are alternatives to, or variants of, options set out in the Government's consultation document. The aim has been to provide guidance on the methodology used to appraise options in the SERAS study and the information that will be needed by the Department in order to appraise alternative ideas submitted as part of the consultation.
Where new work on such alternatives has required the involvement of the Department and its consultants—such as traffic forecasting and modelling of economic benefits—the direct costs will be met by the promoter. The cost of appraising alternative schemes will be met by the Department.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contracts have been signed between Halcrow and his Department in relation to the proposal to develop an international airport at Redhill. [122895]
Mr. McNulty: No contracts have been signed between the Department and Halcrow concerning the proposal by Redhill Aerodrome Ltd. to develop a stand-alone passenger airport.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the meetings which have taken place between his Department and representatives of Redhill Aerodrome Ventures since September 2002; on what dates the meetings took place; and what the purpose of each meeting was. [122897]
Mr. McNulty: Officials from the Department met representatives of Redhill Aerodrome Ltd. on 12 February and 26 March 2003. The purpose of these technical meetings was to (a) provide guidance on the methodology used to appraise options in the SERAS study and (b) to advise on the type and level of information needed by the Department in order to appraise the alternative option presented by Redhill in their original response to the airports consultation.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has received assurances from Redhill Aerodrome Ventures that their proposal to develop Redhill Aerodrome into an international airport could be carried forward with no call on public funds. [122898]
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Mr. McNulty: The Redhill Aerodrome Ltd. response to "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom (South East)", submitted in December 2002, included a statement about the availability of funding. We will make publicly available in due course all responses to the consultation, except those marked confidential. In the mean time publication is a matter for the authors.
The Government's approach to the funding of future airport development schemes is described in paragraph 15.3 of "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East" consultation document. This states that the Government expect the current pattern of private sector financing to continue and that it does not expect to commit public funds to future airport development.
Road Charging
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the effects of road charging. [122002]
Dr. Howells: As both the London and Durham schemes have shown, charging can play a role in the management of local congestion. The effects of congestion charging depend upon the design of a scheme, which is a matter for individual local authorities. I have made no assessment of the cumulative effects of such schemes on congestion across the country.
Senior Departmental Posts
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many senior departmental posts were advertised in each year since June 1999; and how many of those were advertised in the Scottish press. [120669]
Mr. McNulty: The Department for Transport (DfT) was not established until May 2002. In 2002–03, DfT recruited seven senior civil servants by open competition. These posts were advertised in newspapers or magazines with a readership throughout the UK.
Speed Limits
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what circumstances reduced speed limits can be imposed on dual carriageways. [121717]
Dr. Howells: Local highways authorities can introduce lower speed limits on dual carriageways in accordance with guidance contained in Circular Roads 1/93, such as to improve road safety or for environmental reasons.
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the Road Traffic Regulations 1984 relating to the exemptions of emergency ambulances from speed limits. [122290]
Dr. Howells: Ambulances on emergency duty are exempt from speed limit regulations as set out in the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. My Department recognises the requirement to keep all its regulations under review and this includes regulations to exempt vehicles from speed limits.
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Traffic Commissioners
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many public inquiries have taken place in each year since 1997 under regulations administered by traffic commissioners in (a) Scotland and (b) England and Wales. [122311]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 30 June 2003]: The number of public inquiries held in Scotland and England and Wales in each year since 1998 for which figures are available are shown in the table. Figures are not available for 1997–98.
| Scotland | England/Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 202 | 1,418 |
| 1999–2000 | 222 | 1,422 |
| 2000–01 | 163 | 1,632 |
| 2001–02 | 184 | 1,514 |
Transplant Vehicles
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will extend the speeding limit exemption for ambulances to cover transplant vehicles. [121941]
Dr. Howells: Vehicles used for ambulance purposes are exempt from speed limits when used in an emergency. However the legislation does not contain a definition of what constitutes an ambulance. Whilst other vehicles used to carry human tissue are allowed to use blue lights in an emergency, it would be for a court to decide whether they are permitted to exceed speed limits.
The Government are therefore considering whether an amendment to legislation is necessary.
Vehicle Excise Duty
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the cost of vehicle excise duty evasion in London, broken down by local authority, in each year since 1997. [122749]
Dr. Howells: A breakdown of evasion by local authority area could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Figures of evasion in London were given in my previous answer of 25 June. Estimates of the cost of this evasion in London would be £19.4 million in 1999–2000 and £20.6 million in 2002–03. Increase in lost revenue is not as sharp as the increase in evasion because of the reduction in the average value of licenses.
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