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Waiting Lists/Times

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to (a) strategic health authorities and (b) acute trusts in respect of waiting times for (i) MRI scans and (ii) nerve conduction tests. [177605]

Mr. Hutton: Data on waiting times for diagnostic tests, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and nerve conduction studies are not collected centrally.

However, the Government are committed to improving access to diagnostic services and the Department is working in partnership with strategic health authorities (SHA) and other stakeholders to secure a more responsive service. Each SHA is responsible for developing and implementing local improvement programmes for diagnostic services and to monitor progress against any locally agreed objectives.
 
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TRANSPORT

"Salvage and Intervention"

Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government have taken to implement Recommendation 7 in the report of Lord Donaldson's review, Salvage and Intervention and their Command and Control, published in 1999. [178098]

Mr. Jamieson: This recommendation concerns amending the Water Resources Act 1991, responsibility of which is a matter for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. However I have agreed with the Minister for the Environment (Mr. Morley) that my Department will take this recommendation forward and my officials are currently investigating using a Regulatory Reform Order to do this.

Air Passengers' Health

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to implement the recommendations of the European Civil Aviation Conference Working Group on Air Passenger Health Issues; and if he will make a statement. [177994]

Mr. McNulty: The European Civil Aviation Conference Working Group on Air Passenger Health Issues has prepared a manual on health issues, the first draft of which Directors General approved at their meeting on 17 March 2004. A number of the issues raised will need to be addressed at a European level. The UK inter-departmental Aviation Health Working Group will discuss the remaining issues at its meeting on 10 June in order to determine how to take forward the recommendations.

Aircraft Medical Emergency Kits

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has given to UK airlines on carrying a full medical emergency kit on all flights. [177993]

Mr. McNulty: UK airlines are required to meet the Joint Aviation Requirements—Operations (JAR-OPS) 1.755 on emergency medical kits. An operator must ensure that an aeroplane with more than 30 seats and where the planned route is more than 60 minutes flying time from an aerodrome at which qualified medical assistance could be expected to be available, is equipped with an emergency medical kit. The items that should be included in the emergency medical kit are also specified.

Bus Services (Rochdale)

Mrs. Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rural bus services in the parliamentary constituency of Rochdale are supported by rural bus grants. [178560]

Mr. McNulty: Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG) is paid to local transport authorities, in the case of Rochdale this is the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (PTE). It is for the authority, to decide which services should be supported with the grant. We understand from the PTE that one bus service in Rochdale is provided by RBSG.
 
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Crime (Public Transport)

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities have resulted from crimes on (a) railways and (b) buses in each year since 1997, broken down by type of crime. [175463]

Mr. McNulty: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information on fatalities which have resulted from crimes recorded on the railways since 1999; information is not readily available for earlier than 1999.

Offence	Fatalities
1999
Murder	3
Manslaughter	3
2000
Murder	3
Manslaughter	2
Death by dangerous driving	1
2001
Murder	2
Manslaughter	2
2002
Murder	4
Manslaughter	3
2003
Murder	0
Manslaughter	(11)3
2004(12)
Murder	2
Manslaughter	5

⁽¹¹⁾ In addition the 43 fatalities from Potters Bar, Ladbroke Grove and Hatfield were recorded in this year.
⁽¹²⁾ January to March.

No data are held centrally on the number of fatalities resulting from crimes on buses broken down by type of crime.

Cycling

Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice is given by his Department to local authorities about the advisability of cycling on footpaths. [178310]

Mr. Jamieson: Cyclists have no right to cycle on footpaths and it is illegal to cycle on the footway (the pavement adjacent to the carriageway).

Procedures do however exist in the Highways Act 1980 to convert footways to cycle tracks and in the Cycle Tracks Act 1984 to convert footpaths to cycle tracks.

The decision to convert a footpath or footway to a cycle track is for individual local highway authorities to determine after careful consideration of all the issues. The Department has issued advice on the design and criteria for shared use facilities in Local Transport Note 2/86 "Shared Use by Cyclists and Pedestrians" and, with our partners, in "Cycle-friendly infrastructure" available from the Institution of Highways and Transportation. We are also currently consulting on
 
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updated advice in a draft Local Transport Note on "Adjacent and Shared Use Facilities for Cyclists and Pedestrians".

Shared use facilities can have a role to play in providing improved facilities for cyclists but in the main they are best suited to lightly trafficked pedestrian areas, to links in cycle routes or where facilities for cyclists cannot be provided on the road. The conversion of footways and footpaths should not be introduced at the expense of pedestrians and should not be seen as area wide solution to providing improved facilities for cyclists. Local highway authorities should always consult widely on any such proposals at an early stage.

Electric Cars

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many recharging points for electric cars there are in (a) car parks and (b) on the street in (i) the UK, (ii) Kirklees, (iii) west Yorkshire and (iv) London. [178104]

Mr. Jamieson: According to information from the Energy Saving Trust, there are 16 car park recharging points in London but at present no on street charging points. Across the rest of the UK, there are no public recharging facilities although there are a number of private charge points for commercial and city council fleet vehicles.

Flight Time Limitations

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what his policy is regarding the proposed subparts of JAR-OPS parts 1 & 3 on Flight and Duty Time Limitations and Rest Requirements (Subpart Q) contained within the proposals now being considered by the European Council of Ministers on flight time limitations in Europe; [177610]

(2) what representations he has made to the European Council of Ministers regarding the proposals for flight time limitations in Europe; [177611]

(3) what representations he has received from the Civil Aviation Authority regarding the proposed flight time limitations; and what assessment he has made of the proposals before the European Council of Ministers. [177612]

Mr. McNulty: JAR-OPS 1 and 3 do not contain any requirements on flight and duty time limits as the Joint Aviation Authorities were unable to agree requirements when they were adopted in 1996. The draft Regulation currently under consideration transposes JAR-OPS 1 into Community law, together with flight and duty time requirements proposed by the European Parliament in September 2002.

We recognise the need for harmonised flight and duty limits to ensure a high level of safety and a level playing field in the single aviation market. We can therefore support the proposal provided that it achieves an acceptable level of safety. The Civil Aviation Authority has reviewed the proposal and advises that while the proposal in its original form was unacceptable, with a number of relatively small amendments it could form an acceptable baseline European flight time limitation requirement, supported by additional requirements in
 
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each member state. We have subsequently worked with our European colleagues to agree suitable amendments to the proposal. The CAA is satisfied that, the current text of the proposal taken as a whole will allow it to ensure an acceptable level of safety for UK airlines.

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