House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 1 Mar 2005 (pt 2)

1 Mar 2005 : Column 1018W—continued

East Coast Main Line

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the awarding of the East Coast Mainline Franchise. [218636]

Mr. Darling: An announcement is likely to be made in the next few weeks.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Advisory Committee on Aids to Transport by Rail, Road and Inland Waterway met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [217812]

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Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the series of Command Papers on prospects for the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm6450 laid in February 2005, which cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Advisory Committee for the Application of Legislation on the Development of the Community Railways met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [217813]

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Advisory Committee for the (i) application of uniform principles on costing for railway undertakings and (ii)harmonisation and comparability of the accounting and annual accounts of railway undertakings met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [218263]

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee (i) on the system of charging for the use of transport infrastructure, (ii) on the development of trans-European transport networks and (iii) for granting Community financial aid in the field of trans-European energy networks met; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [218364]

Mr. McNulty: (i) There were no meetings of this Committee during the period in question.

(ii) This Committee met three times during the course of the three presidencies, on 20 October 2003, 11 May 2004 and 17 November 2004. The meetings took place in Brussels and on each occasion the United Kingdom was represented by an official from the Europe Division of the Department for Transport.

(iii) Responsibility for representation on this Committee rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. I refer the hon. Member to the series of Command Papers on prospects for the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm6450 laid in February 2005,

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which cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.

European Aviation Safety Agency

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the activity of the European Aviation Safety Agency in the UK in the last 12 months; and if he will list its publications and newsletters published over that period. [215202]

Charlotte Atkins: Regulation (EC) No. 1592/2002 on common rules in the field of civil aviation safety and establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency makes a clear distinction between the safety responsibilities of the Agency and those remaining with member states' aviation authorities, such as the UK Civil Aviation Authority. However, the Regulation also allows the Agency to use the national authorities to carry out on its behalf tasks that need to be performed to meet its own responsibilities.

The Agency does not have a physical presence in the United Kingdom. While it has been recruiting staff to its offices in Cologne and establishing necessary procedures, all the necessary technical work to meet its responsibilities in the UK have been carried out on its behalf by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

In 2004, the European Aviation Safety Agency approved the following airworthiness-related items for United Kingdom companies and UK-registered aircraft on the basis of investigations and recommendations made by the UK Civil Aviation Authority:

Number

Modifications to aircraft 2,201

Repairs to aircraft 1,910

Airworthiness Directives and related items 60

Approval of organisations that design aircraft 27

Total 4,198

	Number
Modifications to aircraft	2,201
Repairs to aircraft	1,910
Airworthiness Directives and related items	60
Approval of organisations that design aircraft	27
Total	4,198

For some aircraft types operating on the UK register the Agency has assigned the airworthiness-related tasks in the categories above to other national aviation authorities, or to multi-national teams that include personnel from the EU national aviation authorities and, in some cases, employees of the Agency. As these tasks were undertaken in other countries, accurate information on the number and nature of approvals granted is not held in the UK.

The Agency does not have a publications service. During the last 12 months, the Agency has issued a considerable number of documents, including detailed consultations, information leaflets and the minutes of its Management Board's meetings, all of which can be accessed on the Agency's website at www.easa.eu.int.

Highway Schemes

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which highway schemes provisionally approved by his Department in the local Transport Capital Settlements announced in (a) December 2000, (b) December 2001, (c) December 2002 and (d) December 2003 have since been rejected. [218685]

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Charlotte Atkins [holding answer 28 February 2005]: No local major highway schemes that were provisionally approved between December 2000 and 2003 have since been rejected. However, the Bridgefoot Environmental Bypass provisionally approved in 2000 has subsequently been withdrawn by Warrington borough council.

Motor Cycles

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will announce the public consultation process for his Department's plans for a register for post-test motorcycle trainers; and if he will make a statement. [218533]

Mr. Jamieson: The consultation paper on developmental training for qualified motorcyclists is due to be published by the Driving Standards Agency in the early spring of this year.

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make provision for Safety Camera Partnerships to fund the Bikesafe scheme when the Motor Cycle Industry Association's grant-aid finishes; and if he will make a statement. [218534]

Mr. Jamieson: The Department welcomes the police's initiative in developing the Bikesafe initiative. The Government's Motorcycling Strategy", published on 22 February, recognised that Bikesafe is a legitimate component of roads policing promoting road safety, and police forces have the freedom to devote resources to the scheme.

The Safety Camera Programme has a specific purpose, provided for in the Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001, section 38 Unified power for the Secretary of State to fund speed cameras etc.". The programme provides police forces and highway authorities with extra resources to support the deployment and operation of safety cameras, from the fines for speeding and red light offences detected, over and above their main funding. The resources provided through the programme cannot be used for other purposes, not provided for in the Act.

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