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TRANSPORT

2012 Olympics (Transport Access)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to promote an additional access road for Canvey Island for use during the 2012 London Olympic games. [19052]

Ms Buck: There are no plans for an access road for Canvey Island for use during the 2012 London Olympic games, as it does not currently feature in Olympic plans as a venue and is not likely to be subject to significant additional traffic due to the Olympics.

Air Traffic Control (Computer Malfunction)

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the National Air Traffic Control Service's computer has malfunctioned in the last three years. [19563]

Ms Buck: This is an operational matter for National Air Traffic Services Ltd. (NATS). I have asked the Chief Executive of NATS to write to the hon. Member.

Aircraft Flights (Buckinghamshire)

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the trend in the number of aircraft flights over Buckinghamshire during the last five years. [19304]

Ms Buck: None. The Future of Air Transport White Paper stated that air travel had increased five-fold over the past 30 years, and demand was projected to be between two and three times the current levels by 2030. There were no specific figures for Buckinghamshire or any other part of the UK.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the likely future trend in (a) the number of aircraft flights and (b) level of aircraft noise over Buckinghamshire during the next 10 years. [19305]

Ms Buck: No such estimates have been made.

Aviation Subsidies

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what aviation public service obligation subsidy applications have been received from the Welsh Assembly Government. [17968]

Ms Buck: The Department has recently agreed to support an application from the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) for a public service obligation (PSO) to be placed on a new air route between Cardiff and RAF Valley on Anglesey.

Officials are now working with WAG to take forwards the PSO process with the European Commission.

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) airlines and (b) routes receive public service obligation subsidies in the United Kingdom. [17969]

 
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Ms Buck: At present, two airlines operate services which receive public service obligation (PSO) subsidies. They currently operate 15 routes within Scotland.

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on public service obligations subsidies to airlines in the United Kingdom. [17970]

Ms Buck: The imposition of public service obligations (PSOs) is governed by European legislation laid out in Regulation 2408/92. This regulation sets out a number of criteria which must be met in order for a PSO to be imposed.

Applications to create a PSO are considered by the Department for Transport against these criteria. The Secretary of State then decides whether to impose a PSO on that route. The only PSOs currently in operation are in support of 15 lifeline air services to remote communities in Scotland.

Bus Lanes

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of priority bus lanes have been created in Southend since 1997. [19998]

Ms Buck: Southend borough council has not installed any priority bus lanes since 1997. The borough council has implemented a range of other bus priority measures including real time bus information displays at bus stops, bus priority at junctions and improved interchange facilities.

Civil Aircraft Noise

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the monitoring of the compliance of civil aircraft noise levels with international noise certification standards. [19303]

Ms Buck: Aircraft operating into the UK have to comply with noise standards agreed through the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Compliance for those aircraft on the UK register will be verified by the Civil Aviation Authority; for non-UK aircraft it will be by the state of registry. Airports may seek information from airlines on the noise certification status of aircraft in the event of uncertainty.

Cleaner Fuels

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action is being taken to increase the use of cleaner alternative fuels to reduce carbon emissions. [19606]

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to secure increased use of cleaner alternative fuels. [19607]

Dr. Ladyman: The Government support the use of clean, low carbon fuels primarily by means of fuel duty incentives. The rationale for decisions on the level of Government support for different fuels is set out in the Alternative Fuels Framework published in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's 2003 pre-Budget report. We have also been considering whether some form of Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation might be an
 
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appropriate means of increasing the use of renewable fuels in the transport sector. We are due to publish a detailed feasibility study on this shortly.

In addition, this Department has recently launched a new grant programme to help meet some of the additional costs of installing refuelling infrastructure for certain clean alternative fuels, the details of which are available via www.est.org.uk/fleet

Coastguard Services

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on coastguard services in (a) Essex and (b) the UK in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [20000]

Dr. Ladyman: The information is as follows.
£

	Essex	UK
1999	1,020,204	28,892,893
2000	1,036,381	32,031,655
2001	1,111,544	33,390,008
2002	1,212,651	34,473,643
2003	1,350,647	35,639,554
2004	1,375,103	39,108,456

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) was formed in 1998 and information is only available from 1999.

Departmental Vehicles

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles for which the Department is responsible are fitted with retreaded tyres. [17980]

Ms Buck: Of the vehicles which the Department is responsible, 15 have been fitted with retreaded tyres.

For information on the use of retread tyres in vehicles provided to the Department by the Government Car and Despatch Agency I refer the hon. Member to the letter of 11 October 2005 which he received from the Chief Executive of the GCDA, reference UIN15087 and UIN15088. Copies of this letter are available in the Library.

Driving (Right-hand Side)

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will undertake a study into the advantages and disadvantages of driving on the right-hand side of the road. [19324]

Dr. Ladyman: There are no plans to undertake such a study. A study of the implications of changing to driving on the right was considered some time ago and was rejected on both safety and cost grounds.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received in favour of driving on the right-hand side of the road. [19325]

Dr. Ladyman: None.
 
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First Class Rail Fares

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment the Government have made of the level of take-up of first class rail fares by (a) private and (b) corporate customers. [19080]

Derek Twigg: Data on the nature of travel for every first class rail journey are not held centrally by the Department. We are aware that the majority of first class corporate travel takes place at the full, flexible fare. The national Rail Travel Survey to be launched by the Rail Passengers Council under the Railways Act 2005 will capture the business/leisure split in future years.

An analysis of ticket types sold in the year to August 2006 shows that 75.4 per cent. of first class travel was full open fare type, compared to 24.6 per cent. of advance purchase, Apex and other promotional fare offers.

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