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16 Jul 2004 : Column 1385W—continued
Civil Aircraft (Safety)
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what steps the UK authorities take to ensure the safety of civil aircraft flying to, from, or over the UK; [184128]
(2) which airlines are prohibited from flying to, from or over the UK. [184130]
Mr. McNulty: International civil aviation is governed by the Chicago Convention. Under the Convention, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is responsible for establishing minimum safety standards which contracting states are required to implement. States are required to recognise the certificates issued by other contracting states unless they have reason to believe that they have not been issued in accordance with ICAO standards, ICAO also audits contracting states' aviation authorities to help identify and address any deficiencies in the implementation of international standards.
Any airline from outside the EU, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland which wishes to pick up or put down passengers or cargo in the UK requires a permit from the Secretary of State for Transport. It is a condition of the permit that the airline should be operated in accordance with international safety standards established by ICAO.
If we have doubts about whether an aircraft or airline complies with international safety standards we will arrange for the aircraft to be inspected by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Permits may be refused, and existing permits suspended or revoked by the Secretary of State. This may occur where there is a breach of a permit condition, which would include non-compliance with international safety standards; however action can also be taken for reasons other than safety. Permit decisions will be reviewed in the light of new information or changed circumstances.
Currently the Secretary of State has refused or would refuse to issue permits to aircraft operated by the airlines listed below because of evidence that they are not receiving adequate regulatory oversight from their national aviation authorities.
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Any airline from Equatorial Guinea
Any airline from Gambia
Any airline from Liberia
Any airline from Tajikistan
Star Air Ltd. (Sierra Leone)
Central Air Express (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Air Universal (Sierra Leone)
Air Mauritanie (Mauritania)
It should be noted that these airlines may be permitted to offer services to the UK, and issued with a permit, if these services are contracted out and operated by another airline. For example, Gambia International Airlines has services to the UK which are operated on their behalf by a Spanish airline.
Departmental Annual Report
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many copies of his Department's and predecessor Department's annual report were printed in each year since 1997; how many were sold in each year; and what the (a) publication cost and (b) sales revenue were. [183881]
Mr. McNulty: ISO Ltd. published and printed the Annual Reports of this department and its predecessors until 2003–04. The number of copies they printed and sold and the revenue they made is commercial in confidence and the Department therefore does not know these details.
The costs to the Department for the past four financial years are set out as follows. Given Departmental changes, the costs of publication for the years 1997–2000 could be identified only at disproportionate cost.
The DETR Annual Report cost £52,000 in 2000–01;
the DTLR's Annual Report cost £37,761.14 in 2001–02; and
the Department for Transport's cost £23,156 in 2002–03.
In 2003–04, the Department changed its procedures and directly contracted a printer to print 1,100 copies of the Annual Report. 700 copies were provided to the publisher, TSO Ltd. The cost of publication was £34,112.76.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) renovation and (b) maintenance projects on buildings (i) owned and (ii) rented by his Department were undertaken in each of the last five years; and what the associated costs were of each. [163945]
Mr. McNulty: Following Machinery of Government Changes the Department was formed on 29 May 2002. The following table provides details of renovation and .maintenance projects, excluding minor works and day-to-day maintenance.
(15) Rented
(16) Freehold
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Departmental IT Projects
John Thurso:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) costs and (b) time scales are of IT
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projects which are being undertaken by his Department and agencies; and if he will list the (i) start date, (ii) planned completion date, (iii) expected completion date, (iv) planned cost and (v) current estimated cost of these projects. [180840]
Mr. McNulty: The requested information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The details below relate to the key IT projects that are monitored centrally and reported on to the e-Government Unit.
| Completion date | Cost | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project | Cost | Time scale | Start date | Planned | Expected | Planned | Estimated |
| Traffic Control Centre: PPP Service; providing co-ordinated real time information on traffic conditions across most strategic road network | £160 million over 10 years | 2.5 years implementation | August 2001 | August 2011 | August 2011 | £160 million | £160 million |
| — | 7.5 years operation | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Transport Direct Portal | £45 million | 3.8 years | March 2002 | December 2005 | December 2005 | Portal £28 million | Portal £27 million |
| — | — | — | — | — | Total £52 million | Total £52 million | |
| Electronic Service Delivery of Abnormal Loads (ESDAL) | £8.6 million development | 3 years development | April 2004 development | August 2006 development | August 2006 development | £8.6 million development | £8.6 million development |
| £1.2 million operation | 2 years operation | August 2006 operation | July 2008 operation | July 2008 operation | £1.2 million operation | £1.2 million operation | |
| Tax Disc Renewal—EVL (Electronic Vehicle Licensing) | £38 million | 2 years | November 2002 | June 2004 | November 2004 | £38 million | £38 million |
| Disability: electronic booking, returning and confirmation of driving assessments/electronic linking between mobility centres | £l million | 2 years | August 2003 | March 2005 (roll-out) | March 2005 (roll-out) | £1 million | £l million |
| Driver Licensing—DRP (Drivers Re-engineering Project) | £35 million | 2.5 years | June 2003 | December 2005 | December 2005 | £37 million | £35 million |
Departmental Publications (Storage)
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many departmental publications are in storage; and where they are located. [183876]
Mr. McNulty: As of 9 July 2004, the Department was storing 226 different posters and 627 other publications at its storage and fulfilment contractor: Two-Ten Communications in Wetherby, West Yorkshire.
A further 169 titles are stored by TSO Ltd., in their premises at Nine Elms Lane in London, while 90 titles are printed on demand rather than being stored physically. The Department has established a contract whereby an increasing number of titles can be printed on demand economically to maintain a printed document service in parallel with its increasing use of the internet.
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