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17 Oct 2005 : Column 679W—continued
Wild Birds
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate of the (a) sparrow and (b) buzzard population has been in each of the last five years. [16604]
Jim Knight: The latest (2000) figures from the Avian Population Estimates Panel suggest a GB buzzard population of between 36,000 and 51,000 pairs. The latest (2000) figures from the Breeding Birds Survey/Common Birds Census suggest a GB house sparrow population of between 2,300,000 and 4,100,000 birds. There are no annual counts, but buzzard population trends in the UK between 1994 and 2004 show a 53 per cent. increase, while house sparrow trends were down by 3 per cent. In England over the same period, buzzard populations show a 79 per cent. increase with house sparrow trends down by 10 per cent.
Annual population statistics do not exist for Buzzard. The most recent UK population estimates are set out as follows. The estimate for Buzzard is known to be a significant underestimate, but there has been no formal survey of its current UK population size.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will ban the importation of wild caught birds. [17460]
Jim Knight: No. Adequate powers are already available under existing EU legislation to enable the Secretary of State to protect wild birds from the consequences of unsustainable trade and ensure that the relevant health and welfare needs are properly addressed.
TRANSPORT
A1
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to tackle congestion on the A1 in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. [17763]
Dr. Ladyman:
Measures to address congestion on the A1 through Tyneside, were identified in the Tyneside Area Multi Modal Study. The Secretary of State, in his response to the study recommendations in 2003, encouraged the Tyne and Wear local authorities to develop measures to help alleviate congestion, and also asked the Highways Agency (HA) to look at other
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possible congestion relief measures, including widening. The HA has made substantial progress on identifying widening solutions but this needs to be linked to the predicted outcomes from the local authorities' demand management strategy. We have recently received a Transport Innovation Fund bid from the Tyne and Wear authorities, which if successful will allow them to develop their ideas on this strategy.
In Northumberland the HA is progressing two schemes to upgrade the A1 to dual carriageway standard. These are Morpeth to Felton and Adderstone to Belford. A preferred route has recently been announced on both these schemes.
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) road accidents and (b) road fatalities there have been on the A1 (i) in Tyne and Wear and (ii) Northumberland in each of the last 10 years. [17764]
Dr. Ladyman: The following table shows how many (a) road accidents and (b) road fatalities there have been on the A1 in (i) Tyne and Wear and (ii)Northumberland for the last 10 years.
A14 (Junction 7)
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the ability of junction 7 of the A14 to cope with the traffic demands of housing expansion in and around Kettering up to 2021. [18487]
Dr. Ladyman: Northamptonshire county council, with major stakeholders including the Highways Agency, is developing a transport model (North Northamptonshire Transport Model) to assess the impact of growth area proposals on the trunk road network (including the A14 around Kettering) and the local highway network. This modelling work will assist local planning authorities in developing their local development frameworks. It will also inform local delivery vehicles of the likely cost of any mitigation work on the highway network. This will assist all parties concerned in developing a way forward for achieving sustainable development in the Kettering area.
Cambridge Guided Bus Scheme
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce his decision on the Cambridge Guided Bus scheme. [18978]
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Dr. Ladyman: My Department is currently considering the inspector's report of the public inquiry into Cambridgeshire County Council's application for an Order under the Transport and Works Act (TWA). Our target is to decide TWA applications within six months of receiving the inspector's report, which in this case would be by the end of January. We will make every effort to resolve the case before then.
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to publish the inspector's report on the Cambridge Guided Bus scheme. [18980]
Dr. Ladyman: The inspector's report will be published when the decision is announced, in accordance with standard practice.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average carbon dioxide emissions per air passenger was in each year since 1990. [17351]
Ms Buck: The table below sets out the average annual carbon dioxide emissions per air passenger in kg of CO 2 per passenger for the years 1990–2003 (latest figures). The figures are based upon NETCEN data for emissions and relate to UK departures.
| Emissions per passenger | |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 364 |
| 1991 | 382 |
| 1992 | 375 |
| 1993 | 377 |
| 1994 | 358 |
| 1995 | 361 |
| 1996 | 366 |
| 1997 | 359 |
| 1998 | 367 |
| 1999 | 376 |
| 2000 | 387 |
| 2001 | 376 |
| 2002 | 358 |
| 2003 | 347 |
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the annual carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector were in each year since 2000; and what measures he has in place to reduce these. [17352]
Ms Buck: Information on emissions of carbon dioxide from all sectors is available via the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory at www.naei.org.uk. The figures for the transport sector are as set out in table1. 2003 is the latest year for which official figures have been produced.
(1)End user category emissions for transport also include a share of the emissions from combustion of fossil fuels at power stations and other fuel processing industries. Source category emissions do not.
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A summary of the measures currently in place to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector and other sectors was published in the December 2004 consultation document on the Review of the UKClimate Change Programme. This is available at www.defra.gov.uk. As part of the Review, the Government are considering the scope for additional policy measures to reduce emissions from all sectors. A revised UK Climate Change programme is due to be published by the end of the year.
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what methods his Department uses to assess the global environmental impact, including possible effects on meeting climate change targets, of proposals for new transport infrastructure. [18979]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department for Transport assesses new transport infrastructure proposals using the New Approach to Appraisal (NATA) guidance. This guidance is published on the web and can be found at:
NATA assesses the impacts of new transport infrastructure proposals in terms of the Government's five transport objectives, one of which is to protect the built and natural environment. As part of assessing the impact of new proposals' on the environment, NATA requires scheme promoters to assess the impact of their proposals on greenhouse gas emissions. As carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is considered to be the most important greenhouse gas, changes in CO 2 emissions are used as the key indicator for assessing the impacts of new proposals' on climate change.
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