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Air Conditioning

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will require all vehicles carrying fare-paying passengers to be fitted with air conditioning. [179358]

Dr. Howells: No.

Aircraft Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to (a) the Prime Minister's statement to the hon. Member for Lewes on 14 June 2004, Official Report, column 530 and (b) his oral answer to the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Inverness, West (Mr. Kennedy), on 16 June 2004, Official Report, column 769, what he assesses to be the maximum reduction that can be achieved in average aircraft emissions by 2020 from technological advances. [179973]

Mr. McNulty: The Government's Air Transport White Paper published in December 2003 notes (para. 3.38) that the research targets agreed by the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) suggest that a 50 per cent. reduction in CO ₂ production by 2020 can be achieved. This target has been adopted by the Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team (AeIGT), a joint government and industry initiative which aims, among other things, to promote and deliver technological advancement. The target, which applies to aircraft entering service by 2020 relative to a 2000 base, comprises improvements in engine and aircraft design, air traffic management systems and flight operations.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is his policy to secure an EU agreement on aircraft emissions trading before the end of the UK presidency of the EU. [179974]

Mr. McNulty: We are pursuing vigorously the commitment in "The Future of Air Transport" White Paper to press for aviation joining the EU emissions trading scheme in 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter. The proposal is subject to consensus with other member states, and we aim to secure early EU agreement. We will make this a priority for the UK presidency of the EU in 2005.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the steps he has
 
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taken since the publication of the White Paper on aviation (a) to make progress on an emissions trading scheme and (b) to seek agreement within the EU for a tax on aviation fuel. [179975]

Mr. McNulty: The information is as follows.

(a) We are pursuing vigorously the commitment in "The Future of Air Transport" White Paper to press for aviation joining the EU emissions trading scheme in 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter. We are working inter-departmentally to resolve the issues that we have already identified (summarised in Annex B of the White Paper), and have held constructive discussions with officials from the European Commission and other member states.

(b) The White Paper recognises the importance of ensuring that aviation meets its external costs, including its environmental costs. An analysis by the European Commission in 1998–99 suggested that an EU-wide tax would deliver minimal environmental benefit, and could create competitive distortions. The Government remain committed to applying the "polluter pays" principle to aviation, building on the work in the March 2003 report, "Aviation and the Environment: Using Economic Instruments". Further details are set out in the White Paper.

Biofuels (UK Target)

Mrs. Shephard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the closing date is for his consultation on the UK target for biofuels; and when he proposes to submit the UK target to the EU. [179707]

Dr. Howells [holding answer 21 June 2004]: The closing date for the UK's public consultation on the Government's biofuels strategy is Friday 16 July. The EU directive requires annual progress reports from member states on implementation of the directive to be submitted to the European Commission by 1 July, and the UK intends to meet that deadline. As we will still be consulting at this point, we will make clear to the European Commission that the indicative target proposed in our report is only a provisional one. We will confirm our target for 2005 by the end of the year, in the light of the responses to our consultation paper.

Correspondence

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer of 16 June to Question 179048, when he replied to Mrs. Bingham's letter, addressed to the Minister for Roads by name, of 20 March. [179977]

Mr. Jamieson: My office has been unable to trace a letter of 20 March, addressed to me from Mrs. Bingham. If the hon. Gentleman would like to send me a copy of the letter I will gladly consider it. A letter of the same date from Mrs. Bingham, addressed to the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, was replied to on 8 April.

'O' Licence Entitlement

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department permits a haulage firm to employ a part-time transport manager in order for it to qualify for an 'O' licence. [179260]

 
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Dr. Howells: The Department is not responsible for approving the employment conditions of transport managers. They are required to have continuous and effective responsibility for the transport operations of a business. It is for the licensing authority, a traffic commissioner, to decide if this requirement is being met.

Rail Freight

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to expand rail freight. [179491]

Dr. Howells: The Government are committed to achieving a competitive freight distribution industry that benefits the economy and the environment. The SRA's Freight Strategy provides a framework for a significant shift from road to rail. Rail freight is up nearly a quarter since 1997.

Railways

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many regulatory bodies are responsible for railway activity. [179486]

Dr. Howells: There are three public bodies whose work is, or includes, regulation of railway activity. They are the Office of the Rail Regulator, the Health and Safety Executive and the Strategic Rail Authority.

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve rail transport in London. [179618]

Mr. McNulty: London rail users will benefit from £2.7 billion investment programme to upgrade rail transport in London and the South East. This includes more than 2,000 new carriages and modernisation of the power supply infrastructure. Other investment will provide increases in passenger services and station improvements, including CCTV and information points. Over the next 15 years, £16 billion will be spent on modernising and upgrading London Underground to provide new signalling and trains, as well as track renewal. The British Transport Police continue to play a key role in helping to ensure the security of passengers in London whether on the rail network or the Underground. TfL have provided an additional £4.5 million this year including funding for a further 100 police officers on the Tube.

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his oral answer of 18 May 2004, Official Report, column 809, on the rail safety regulator, what steps he is taking towards a more streamlined system of responsibility in relation to health and safety on the railways. [179789]

Mr. McNulty: The rail review is continuing to look at the regulation of safety. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, said in his statement to the House on 19 January, the Government will publish their proposals in the summer.

Surveys

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what surveys of public perceptions of his Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and
 
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(b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if he will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library. [176949]

Mr. McNulty: There are a number of surveys that explore public perceptions of the Department, and its areas of responsibility. The following annex provides information on each of the main surveys undertaken by
 
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the Department, its Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. Many are regular surveys, and others are more ad hoc in nature.

Findings from most of the surveys referred to in the annex are available on the internet, and therefore are not summarised here. The annex provides full details on where findings can be obtained. In addition, copies of a number of the reports referred to will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Title of survey	Nature	Where are findings published?	Cost of survey (£)
ONS Omnibus Survey, July 2003. Module covered attitudes to congestion charging and knowledge of speed limits ONS Omnibus Survey, October 2003. Module covered attitudes to road safety and speeding issues ONS Omnibus Survey, November 2003. Module covered attitudes to rail line closures on Bank Holidays	A multi-purpose survey run by ONS eight times per year Coverage—Great Britain Random sample Face to face interviews, in-home Sample size—around 1,800 each wave Response rate—approx 60 per cent.	A summary of recent attitudinal work on speed and other road safety issues was published on the DfT website in February 2004. This can be found at http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft transstats/documents/page/dft transstats 028383.hcsp A summary of attitudinal work on congestion charging is expected to be completed and published on the DfT website during the summer. Data from the November 2003 questions of rail line closures will be included within a series of thematic factsheets to be released in autumn 2004. All findings will be available on the DfT website at http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft transstats/documents/sectionhomepage/dft transstats page.hcsp	23,700 for the module 35,100 for the module 7,100 for the module
ONS Omnibus Survey, March 2004—attitudes to road pricing		Will be published on the DfT website in July (at the same address as that provided above).	38,200 for the module
ONS Omnibus Survey, April 2004. Small module on satisfaction with travel information services		Will be published early in 2005 as part of the evaluation of Transport Direct.	7,400 for the module
Bus Passenger Satisfaction Survey—a survey of bus users' satisfaction with bus services. Respondents provide satisfaction ratings on 22 key service attributes.	A quarterly survey of bus users. Coverage—England. Quota sample, involving around 1,500 interviews per quarter. Face to face interviews undertaken at bus stops.	Data are published quarterly on the DfT website, within the Bus Quality Indicators bulletins. The 2003–04 bulletins can be found at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft control/documents/contentservertemplate/dft index.hcst?n=8624&l=5 Copies will also be placed in the Library.	250,000 per annum
BMRB Omnibus Survey, October 2003. Covers use of and attitudes towards public. transport in the UK	DfT uses this survey around two or three times per year. 2,000 interviews per wave Quota sample (random location sampling) Face to face interviews, in home Coverage—Great Britain	Findings from the October 2003 module were published on DfT website on 11 March 2004 at http://www.dft.gov.uk/research/programmes/index.htm, where findings from other modules can also located (i.e. November 2002 and April 2003). Copies will also be placed in the Library.	24,480 plus VAT per wave, to a maximum of three waves a year
British Social Attitudes Survey—the survey is carried put on an annual basis, and the Department currently part funds a transport module	Annual survey Coverage—Great Britain Sample size approximately 1,100 Random sample Face to face interviews, in-home Response rate—approx 60 per cent.	Results from the survey are published by NatCen in their annual BSA Book. This is a priced publication, which costs £40.00. Most recent findings were published in December 2003, 'British Social Attitudes: the 20th Report—Continuity and Change over Two Decades'. Press releases providing headline results are available on NatCen's website at http://www.natcen.ac.uk/natcen/pages/news and media docs/2003bsa pr.pdf Department also has a full electronic dataset for the transport data from each survey.	DfT contributes 36,000 per annum
The Strategic Rail Authority's National Passenger Survey. Covers satisfaction with train services—overall and across 27 specific aspects of service	Carried out every six months. Self-completion survey of rail-users, with approximately 25,000 completed questionnaires being returned every wave. Questionnaires are distributed at around 950 stations Coverage—Great Britain	Findings are published as part of 'National Rail Trends', and are available on the Internet at the following address: http://www.sra.gov.uk/publications/national rail trends Copies will also be placed in the Library.	SRA funds the survey
Highway Agency's Road Users' Satisfaction Survey	A continuous survey, with an annual sample of around 2,500 road-users Coverage—England Quota sample Face to face interviews, in-home	Findings are published every two years. Results are published on the HA website, and can be found at http://www.highways.gov.uk/aboutus/corpdocs/road user/2002/index.htm Copies will also be placed in the Library. Findings for 2004 will be published on the HA website in around December 2004.	HA funds the survey.
Learners Survey. A survey undertaken by the DVO Group on satisfaction/perceptions to DVO services	An annual survey of 1,000 motorists that have applied for a provisional licence in the past six months Coverage—Great Britain Telephone interviews	The survey was first conducted in August 2003. The findings have been distributed throughout the DVO Group. Copies will also be placed in the Library.	The survey was funded by the DVO Group and cost 60,000.
Private Motorists survey. A survey undertaken by the DVO Group on satisfaction/perceptions to DVO services	An annual survey of 1,000 motorists Coverage—Great Britain Quota sample Face-to-face interviews	The survey was first conducted in July 2003. The findings have been distributed throughout the DVO Group Copies will also be placed in the Library.	The survey was funded by the DVO Group and cost 110,000. The 2004 survey is budgeted at 100,000.
MOT study. A study on how the MOT is perceived by private motorists	A survey of 1,000 MOT customers Coverage—Great Britain Quota sample Face-to face interviews	The survey was first conducted in September 2003. The findings have been distributed throughout the DVO Group Copies will also be placed in the Library.	The survey was funded by DVO Group (55,000) and VOSA(21,000). The next survey is planned for 2005

 
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