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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 8 March 2005

TRANSPORT

Community Railways (Lancashire)

5. Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the development of community railways in Lancashire. [220406]

Mr. McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority published a Community Rail Development Strategy in November last year. The Strategy aims to involve local communities in the development of their lines, to increase patronage and to reduce the costs of the lines so that they will be sustainable for the longer term. Under the Strategy, seven lines in Lancashire have been selected for Community Rail designation.

Trunk Roads (Sussex)

17. Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on trunk road improvements in Sussex since 1997. [220418]

Mr. Jamieson: Since 1997 we have spent £28.9 million on major trunk road improvements, in Sussex. Information on expenditure on smaller trunk road improvements is not available.

Bus Services

19. Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that bus users are properly consulted about changes to the provision of bus services in their area. [220420]

Mr. McNulty: Regulations require the operator of a local bus service to provide the traffic commissioner and the local authority with at least 56 days notice of any change. We encourage all parties to work together to ensure the interests of passengers and the community are taken into account.

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what financial support he has made available for improved bus services in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) England in the last four years. [220407]

Mr. McNulty: In the period 2000–01 to 2003–04, the Department made available to English local authorities a total of £305 million in bus grants of which £5.43 million was allocated to Nottinghamshire.

Bus services throughout England will also have benefited from the Department's bus service operators grant and support for local transport capital expenditure.

Tonnage Tax

Mr. Wareing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had in respect of the tonnage tax. [220410]

 
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Mr. Jamieson: I have had several discussions recently with many of our social partners on this important topic. I am aware of the lobby of Parliament today that has been organised by the RMT union, and I have had the opportunity to meet their representatives in four different forums in the last three months to discuss tonnage tax. This includes my meeting on 22 February with the RMT parliamentary group which my hon. Friend attended.

Road Humps

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next expects to re-issue guidance on the use of road humps. [220415]

Mr. Jamieson: Current guidance remains good advice, and local authorities can design schemes that fit local circumstances. The Department aims later this year to publish a local transport note on the design and effectiveness of traffic calming measures including road humps, drawing together existing research and guidance.

Regional Air Services

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on public service obligations for regional air services. [220419]

Mr. McNulty: The Air Transport White Paper set out the Government's readiness to impose Public Service Obligations (PSOs) in certain limited circumstances in order to guarantee a minimum level of air services from UK regional airports to London.

Last year DfT consulted with stakeholders to clarify the circumstances in which this policy might be implemented. The consultation closed last November and officials are now analysing all views expressed both in the responses and meetings. Copies of the consultation responses and a short report summarising them have been posted on the DfT website.

A64

Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the evaluation study on the economic and environmental impact of dualling the A64 in North Yorkshire. [219516]

Mr. Jamieson: I am expecting to receive the full report of the study from the Highways Agency shortly. Once I have carefully considered the conclusions and recommendations I will make a decision on the best way forward.

Berwick upon Tweed Railway Station

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason and upon whose authority the entrance doors to Berwick upon Tweed railway station were closed to the public on Sunday 27 February at a time when the station was supposed to be open to the public and trains were stopping there. [219901]

Mr. McNulty: The station was locked due to an error on the part of GNER staff, and resulted in a 30 minute delay for passengers wanting to travel on the 0940 departure. GNER arranged for an additional stop to be made by the next train passing through the station.
 
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Iunderstand that this was an isolated incident, and that GNER have publicly apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.

Channel Tunnel (Freight Traffic)

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what restrictions there are on the volume of freight traffic using the channel tunnel; what the reasons are for each restriction; and what restrictions are in place at the request of the French Government. [220465]

Mr. McNulty: There are no restrictions in place on the volume of freight traffic using the channel tunnel.

Dangerous Cargoes

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the dangerous or harmful cargoes known to have been lost overboard in UK waters since 1 January 1990 which are not thought to have been recovered; [220601]

(2) if he will list the packages containing dangerous or harmful goods found in UK waters since 1 January 1997, broken down by (a) date, (b) source, (c) nature of the incident giving rise to the deposit of the package in the waters and (d) location; [220602]

(3) what reporting requirements there are in respect of the loss overboard (a) within UK waters and (b) from UK registered vessels of dangerous or harmful goods. [220603]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 7 March 2005]: Any vessel involved in a pollution event within UK controlled waters as defined by the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Limits) Regulations 1996 must immediately contact Her Majesty's coastguard and report the identity and position of the ship; the port of departure and next port of call; the number of people onboard; the date, time and details of the incident; and a contact point for further information about the cargo.

UK ships involved in an incident outside UK controlled waters but within Europe must report to the appropriate state responsible for the geographical area.

Data on reported discharges of dangerous or harmful cargoes (including oil) as defined by the internationally agreed Marine Pollution (MARPOL) Convention is collated by the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (ACOPS) on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). ACOPS collects data in addition to that reported to the coastguard. The data available is extensive and diverse, and I am placing copies of the annual ACOPS reports from 1990 into the House Library.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents there have been since 1 May 1997 of (a) anthrax and (b) other goods of military origin being washed up on UK shores, broken down by (i) date of reporting, (ii) nature and volume of the material and (iii) origin and retrieval points of the material. [220604]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 7 March 2005]: This information is not available in the form requested other than at disproportionate cost. However, I can confirm that there have been no reported incidents involving
 
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anthrax since 1 May 1997. In the same period, there have been 349 reports to Her Majesty's coastguard in relation to goods categorised as suspected ordnance (which might or might not be of military origin) found washed ashore, floating at sea, or discovered by fishermen.

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