House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 14 Oct 2003 (pt 48)

14 Oct 2003 : Column 187W—continued

Correspondence

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Minister of State will reply to the letter of 10 September from the hon. Member for North Shropshire regarding Mr.Per Lindstrand of Lindstrand Balloons Ltd. [131217]

Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my letter to him on this subject of the 22 September 2003.

Deep Vein Thrombosis

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 15 September 2003, Official Report, columns 499–500W, on deep vein

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thrombosis, when the Aviation Health Unit will come in to existence; what its composition will be; and if he will make a statement. [131932]

Mr. McNulty: The Aviation Health Unit, based at the Civil Aviation Authority's Gatwick offices and funded by this Department, will be a centre of expertise on health issues affecting air passengers and crew. The Civil Aviation Authority will announce the appointment of the Head of the Unit, and the start date of the Unit's work, shortly. The Head of the Unit will help determine its composition.

Derailment (King's Cross)

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the action to be taken as a result of the derailment of a train at King's Cross station on 16 September. [131729]

Mr. McNulty: The derailment remains the subject of an on-going Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. HSE's HM Railway Inspectorate is still gathering evidence to inform its decision about bringing any possible enforcement action.

Network Rail has launched a formal investigation into the cause of the accident.

Disabled Parking Permits

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of crime associated with the theft of blue badge disabled parking permits; what steps his Department is taking to deal with such crime; and if he will make a statement. [132085]

Mr. McNulty: Vehicle crime is a matter that the Government continues to take very seriously and many initiatives are being taken forward to reduce levels of crime and theft in particular. Indeed, in recent years there has been a fall in such crime and we are on track to meet our target to reduce vehicle crime (thefts of and theft from vehicles) by 30% by March 2004.

Theft of Blue Badges and abuse of the Blue Badge Scheme is of concern to the Department. These are issues that were considered during a recent comprehensive review of the Scheme, which concluded with 47 recommendations (including a number of enforcement measures) from our statutory advisers, the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee. These have been accepted by the Government and are being taken forward. The enforcement measures include an important power for the police, traffic wardens and local authority parking enforcement officers to inspect badges to check details and the photograph of the badge holder. We are also looking at the feasibility of establishing a national database of badge holders; the introduction of smartcard technology; increasing penalties for abuse and misuse of the Scheme.

The power to inspect, and a number of other measures, will need to be introduced through primary legislation and we are looking for a suitable legislative opportunity to do so. We aim to implement the changes at the earliest opportunity.

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Driving Licences

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which countries' passports (a) are and (b) are not accepted by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency as proof of identity from individuals applying for a replacement driving licence; for what reasons the latter are not acceptable; what other form of documentation is acceptable to the DVLA; and if he will make a statement. [131501]

Mr. Jamieson: DVLA will consider passports from all countries in support of a driving licence applicant. In some cases, additional evidence of an applicant's identity may be required before a licence can be issued. A wide range of documents can be considered including birth certificates and appropriate papers issued by the Home Office. DVLA will not grant a driving licence until the identity of the applicant has been clearly established.

Euro

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent in each year by his Department in preparing for United Kingdom entry to the euro; how much his Department plans to spend on preparations for United Kingdom entry to the euro for each year from the current financial year up to and including 2005–06; and what estimates he has made of the total costs to his Department of changeover to the European Single Currency. [131606]

Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary (PQ reference 131597), at column 142W.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many official speeches he has made since June supporting entry into the euro. [131848]

Mr. McNulty: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary (PQ reference 131748), at column 142W.

Flight Paths (Walthamstow)

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes have taken place in the last three years in the number of aircraft on flight paths above Walthamstow. [131581]

Mr. McNulty: Records are not kept of the numbers of aircraft routed over Walthamstow. Approximately 20 to 25 per cent. of Heathrow arrivals overfly Walthamstow or adjoining areas. Aircraft inbound to London City overfly Walthamstow only occasionally.

There are no Heathrow departure routes over Walthamstow. A London City departure route passes over the south of the area.

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what altitude restrictions apply to aircraft on flight paths above Walthamstow; and how these have changed in the last five years. [131582]

Mr. McNulty: The airspace over all of Walthamstow above 2,500 ft has been classified as 'controlled' for many years. Over the southernmost quarter of Walthamstow the airspace has been controlled to

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ground level since the opening of London City Airport. Aircraft using Heathrow and City operate within this controlled airspace. Aircraft inbound to Heathrow will normally be above 5,000 ft.

Over the remainder of my hon. Friend's constituency below 2,500 ft, helicopters and general aviation aircraft from smaller aerodromes can determine routes and altitudes according to their particular requirements. Such flights are subject to the Rules of the Air Regulations, notably Rule 5, which means most will be above 1,500 ft.

There have been no changes to the airspace over Walthamstow in the last five years.

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for which airports (a) inbound and (b) outbound flight paths overfly Walthamstow; and how this has changed in the last three years. [131583]

Mr. McNulty: The information requested is as follows.

Inbound—There are no fixed paths over Walthamstow for arriving aircraft although they tend to follow a regular pattern that varies depending on wind direction and how busy Heathrow airport is at the time. Aircraft over-flying Walthamstow comprise mainly those descending from the Lambourne holding stack en route to the final approach to Heathrow, and occasionally aircraft inbound to London City. Exceptionally, aircraft inbound to Stansted may be routed over Walthamstow.

Outbound—There are no Heathrow departure routes over Walthamstow, but air traffic controllers are permitted to use all controlled airspace, and so a small number of Heathrow departures may overfly Walthamstow above 4,000ft. Any London City departures over Walthamstow will normally be above 3,000ft. Aircraft departing from other south-east airports can be routed over the Walthamstow area, but will be at much higher altitudes and probably not be heard.

There have been no changes to these airspace arrangements in the last three years.

Heathrow Airport

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what consultation his Department has undertaken with the Environment Agency on the risk of flooding in the Thames Valley resulting from the potential development of a third runway at Heathrow; [131730]

(a)

(b)

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East of England Regional Air Services Study (SERAS), including the option for a third runway at Heathrow, were appraised for potential impacts on the water environment including any contributory risk to flooding.

The appraisal system took account of national guidance including the Environment Agency's 1 in 100 year flood plain mapping and the Flood Estimation Handbook. The option for a third runway at Heathrow Airport was assessed as having a low adverse impact on flooding.

There was a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment including flood risk for Terminal 5. The Secretary of State took account of the inspector's conclusions on environmental impacts in reaching his decisions in November 2001. The issue of the impact of the development on the Twin Rivers was unresolved at that time and a condition was imposed requiring BAA to secure planning permission for a scheme to address it. The London borough of Hillingdon has now granted permission for such a scheme.

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of a third runway at Heathrow on flooding in the area; [131868]

Mr. McNulty: The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East consultation closed on 30 June 2003. We are currently analysing over 400,000 responses to the consultation. It would not be appropriate to comment on any of the responses while the analysis is being undertaken. However, I can confirm that all options considered in the South East and East of England Regional Air Services Study (SERAS), including the option for a third runway at Heathrow, were appraised for potential impacts on the water environment including any contributory risk to flooding.

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