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12 May 2006 : Column 644W—continued
Staff Development
David Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister what the total cost was of (a) staff away days and (b) staff team building exercises in his Office in each of the last three years. [69250]
The Prime Minister: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I have therefore asked my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Hilary Armstrong) to reply. A copy of the reply will be placed in the Library of the House.
Transport
A14
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the future development of the A14 around Kettering from (a) the East Midlands Regional Assembly, (b) the East Midlands Development Agency and (c) the East Midlands arm of the Highways Agency. [70187]
Dr. Ladyman: We have not received any specific representations from either the East Midlands Regional Assembly or the East Midlands Development Agency. Following our response to the recommendations of the London to South Midlands Multi-Modal Study in July 2003, the Highways Agency is currently investigating options to improve this section of the A14 and continues to work with the County Council and other local partners, including both the Regional Assembly and Development Agency. They hope to submit advice for Ministers to consider later this year.
Air Safety
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will commission research to review the extent of airline self regulation and assess the impact of commercial practices in the airline industry on operational safety. [67472]
Gillian Merron: All United Kingdom airlines are subject to safety regulation and oversight by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The authority's method of safety oversight is well established and is proportionate to the size and complexity of an airline's operation. Oversight includes periodic audit inspections in both commercial and maintenance disciplines. The audits and continued oversight activities are designed to ensure that an airline's commercial practices enhance rather than detract from operational safety. As a result, the Government do not consider that research is necessary.
Airport Security (Northern Ireland)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answers of 26 April 2006, Official Report, column 1089W, on airport security (Northern Ireland), and 4 May 2006, Official Report, columns 1733-4W, on airport security, what steps are being taken at each of Northern Ireland's three airports to reduce the number of incidents requiring investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority. [70462]
Gillian Merron: There is a robust regulatory regime in place to ensure the safe operation of aircraft in the United Kingdom. Both the Civil Aviation .Authority's Mandatory Occurrence Reporting scheme and investigations by the Department's Air Accidents Investigation Branch have key roles in this regime.
The CAA analyses Mandatory Occurrence Reports to identify any patterns or trends so that it can take any appropriate regulatory action. AAIB makes such safety recommendations as it considers necessary on a case by case basis to regulators and industry to prevent further accidents or incidents occurring.
Aviation Fuel
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of how many litres of fuel are bought in a year for use in turbine-powered aircraft. [69747]
Gillian Merron: The Government publish annually the tonnage of aviation turbine fuel consumed in the UK. In 2004 that figure was 11.9 million tonnes.
British Airways
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds were given to British Airways in each of the last 10 years. [67062]
Buses
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much bus subsidy has been provided in the (a) Greater Manchester, (b) Merseyside, (c) Tyne and Wear, (d) West Yorkshire and (e) South Yorkshire passenger transport authority area in each of the last 10 years. [66925]
Dr. Ladyman: The following table shows the totals for the last nine years of expenditure by the relevant passenger transport authority on support for local bus services and re-imbursement of concessionary travel fares on buses in each area. There is no comparable figure for 1995-96.
| £ million | |||||
| (a) Greater Manchester | (b) Merseyside | (c) Tyne and Wear | (d) West Yorkshire | (e) South Yorkshire | |
| Source: Local authority returns to ODPM, revenue out-turn (RO2). |
In addition, operators of local bus services receive Bus Service Operators Grant from this Department. This is paid direct to operators and is not attributed to a specific area.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people travelled on buses in (a) Greater London and (b) Greater Manchester in each year since 1985; and what percentage of the total population this represented in each case. [67253]
Gillian Merron: The number of bus passenger journeys is shown in the following table:
| Million | ||
| London | Greater Manchester | |
| Source: DfT Annual Surveys of PSV Operators, |
The figures in the table include journeys made by non-residents. The proportion of residents who used buses at least once a year is available from the National Travel Survey (NTS), as follows:
| Percentage | ||
| Greater London | Greater Manchester | |
The NTS has recorded the proportion of people using buses at county level only since 1998, and on an alternate-year basis only since 2002. Data for all available years are shown in the aforementioned table.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average age is of buses in (a) Leeds and (b) Kirklees. [68852]
Gillian Merron: This information is not held by the Department for Transport.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures his Department is taking to encourage bus operators to introduce higher quality modern vehicles. [69155]
Gillian Merron: In 2002, the Department agreed targets with the Confederation of Passenger Transport to improve services for bus users. The Confederation committed its members, among other things, to achieve and maintain an average bus fleet age of eight years or
less until 2010, and to ensure that 50 per cent. of buses are fully accessible by 2010.
The most recent surveys show that the average age of vehicles used mainly as local buses was 7.1 years (as on 1 July 2005) and that 46 per cent. of such vehicles were fully accessible (as on 31 March 2005).
Heathrow
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the maximum hourly landing rate at Heathrow. [68875]
Gillian Merron: The maximum number of arrivals at Heathrow is currently 44, with an hourly average across the day of 39.6.
Ice Falls (Aircraft)
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many ice falls from civilian aircraft there have been in Leicestershire in each of the last 20 years for which figures are available; where and when the incidents occurred; and what (a) injuries to people and (b) damage to property resulted. [66986]
Gillian Merron: The Civil Aviation Authority has received four reports of ice falls occurring in Leicestershire over the last 20 years. None of the ice falls caused any injury. The dates, location and property damage caused by the four reported ice falls are set out in the following table:
| Date | Time (UTC) | Location | County | Injuries | Damage to property |
It has not been possible for the Civil Aviation Authority to conclude definitively that the ice in these cases fell from civil aircraft.
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