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My Travel

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what advice his Department has received from the Civil Aviation Authority on whether My Travel's ATOL bond is sufficient to meet customer claims in the event of that company's financial failure; [164643]

(2) what funds the Air Travel Trust Fund would be required to provide to cover the cost of air tickets in the event of the financial failure of My Travel. [164644]

Mr. McNulty: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) provides advice to the Department on a range of issues connected with the operation of the ATOL scheme.

In the event of insolvency of any ATOL holder, the bond would be used to cover the costs of repatriation of customers abroad at the time of the failure and to reimburse those who have paid for their holiday or air ticket but yet to travel.

Due to the seasonal nature of the package travel industry, travel organiser liability varies throughout the year. The level of bond that ATOL holders establish with the CAA is based on their projected licensable

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turnover but if in the event of insolvency the bond proves to be insufficient, monies from the Air Travel Trust Fund would be used to make up the difference.

Office of the Traffic Commissioner

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ask an external body to audit the work of the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in Eastbourne. [164481]

Mr. Jamieson: The Traffic Commissioner for the South East and Metropolitan Area based in Eastbourne is statutorily independent in his licensing functions and not subject to audit.

His administrative support is provided by staff of the Department for Transport whose work is periodically audited under arrangements agreed with the National Audit Office and there is no need to advance the standing programme.

Port Security

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent in the 2003–04 financial year on the training of port security officers. [165107]

Mr. Jamieson: My Department's Transport Security Directorate (TRANSEC) was responsible for developing the required training parameters for PFSOs and approving the training providers, TRANSEC absorbed the necessary staff costs associated with developing the regime. In addition TRANSEC is also absorbing the subsequent costs of conducting unannounced audits to ensure that the trainers are teaching the approved syllabus to the required standard.

However, industry is meeting the costs of putting individual PFSOs through the training courses. Courses generally run for three days (21 hours) and costs vary between the approved training providers; the range being £300 to £2,000 per candidate per course.

Approved training providers are listed on the Departmental website at: www.dft.gov.uk.

Powered Two-wheelers

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 18 March 2004, Official Report, column 405W, on powered two-wheelers, when he expects to be able to provide the figures requested. [164897]

Mr. Jamieson: Casualty statistics for Two Wheeled Motor Vehicle users in 2003 are due to be published as part of the "Road Casualties in Great Britain—Main Results" bulletin on 24 June 2004. A copy of the bulletin will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Rail Services (Kent)

Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the change in the numbers of those using the (a) A2 and (b) M2 as a consequence of the Strategic Rail Authority's Integrated Kent Franchise proposals. [162504]

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Mr. McNulty: The SRA has examined the shift from road to rail on an aggregate basis, not by individual roads, as part of the appraisal of the Integrated Kent Franchise. The impact of the Integrated Kent Franchise on road usage will depend on the pattern of services chosen following the consultation exercise currently in progress.

Regional Assemblies

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) responsibility for local transport plans and (b) functions of the Highways Agency could be transferred to regional assemblies. [164548]

Mr. McNulty: The transport powers of elected regional assemblies were set out in the White Paper "Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions" (Cm5511).

Elected regional assemblies will be responsible for advising government on funding allocations for local transport, taking over functions currently exercised by regional government offices. There are no plans to transfer the functions of the Highways Agency to regional assemblies.

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the requirements are on officials in his Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for his departmental officials. [164712]

Mr. McNulty: The Department's staff are required to inform line managers and Human Resources of any conflict of interests. The Department does not keep a register for conflicts of interests.

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Seatbelts

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications for exemption from the requirement to wear a seat belt in the front seat of a car on the public highway have been (a) received and (b) granted in each of the past 10 years. [165236]

Mr. Jamieson: There is no requirement for vehicle users to apply for such exemptions. The Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993 No. 176), and The Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts by Children in Front Seats) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993 No. 31) provide exemptions for specific situations and/or occupational groups.

Doctors can also exempt a person from the requirement to use a seat belt on medical grounds. The Regulations are available on-line at: www.legislation. hmso.gov.uk.

South Hampshire Rapid Transit Project

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress with the South Hampshire Rapid Transit project, with particular reference to the expected starting date. [163900]

Mr. McNulty: This scheme remains under consideration following a significant increase in the proposed level of central Government funding. A decision will be made in due course.

Track Access Costs

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the track access costs for each train company for each year since 1997. [164823]

Mr. McNulty: The track access costs since 1997 are in the following table. These figures include both the fixed and variable track access charges and charges for the use of stations and depots.

Track access costs£ million

TOC Name	Sector	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Anglia Railways	LSE	10.40	43.85	44.20	44.64	44.75	25.38	26.28	27.74
Arriva Trains Merseyside	Regional	5.87	33.31	32.25	31.97	31.59	30.64	26.31	29.18
Arriva Trains Northern	Regional	12.64	164.54	165.73	166.66	164.16	157.50	142.37	115.80
Central Trains	Regional	10.55	126.66	127.83	125.27	122.69	97.11	98.78	110.00
Chiltern Railways	LSE	11.31	19.00	19.46	19.86	20.63	18.07	21.04	25.16
C2C	LSE	32.98	39.17	38.99	39.15	39.25	32.61	34.16	34.90
Connex South Eastern	LSE	75.16	159.88	159.94	158.70	156.28	162.42	161.69	183.01
East London Line	LSE	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
First Great Eastern	LSE	17.64	74.11	74.36	74.04	72.93	73.52	71.64	73.57
First Great Western	Strategic	96.30	100.29	112.46	111.27	109.27	112.11	109.78	118.51
First North Western	Regional	9.61	117.17	120.89	120.70	118.86	117.49	117.72	107.80
Gatwick Express	LSE	10.18	11.85	11.10	11.27	10.97	14.05	14.20	14.90
Great North Eastern Railway	Strategic	175.61	147.90	148.47	150.35	148.48	93.54	96.93	103.80
Greater Anglia	LSE	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Integrated Kent	LSE	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Island Line	LSE	0.59	1.29	1.21	1.21	1.28	1.33	1.40	1.53
Midland Mainline	Strategic	32.29	35.21	34.74	35.06	34.94	28.28	31.06	35.90
Northern	Regional	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
South Central	LSE	108.59	129.04	132.12	130.12	130.78	106.07	108.99	121.50
Scotrail	Regional	0.00	177.68	184.85	183.46	181.22	145.69	157.64	176,92
Silverlink	LSE	4.47	55.17	56.29	55.18	54.34	73.42	79.76	84.84
South West Trains	LSE	159.35	162.52	161.85	165.56	163.97	139.75	145.13	170.48
Thames Trains	LSE	18.80	40.16	40.75	40.24	39.89	30.78	32.90	26.20
Thameslink	LSE	3.73	44.41	45.45	45.93	45.40	34.24	35.64	29.10
TransPennine Express	Strategic	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	9.60
Virgin West Coast	Strategic	9.80	153.03	149.36	148.26	133.30	279.30	195.76	309.92
Virgin Cross Country	Strategic	23.00	102.71	104.93	105.80	103.53	152.80	162.84	177.21
West Anglia Great Northern	LSE	0.00	94.26	93.67	93.78	93.54	79.58	81.99	86.80
Wales and Borders Trains	Regional	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	10.05	44.42	64.33
Wessex Trains	Regional	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	5.82	25.37	29.20

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