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25 July 2006 : Column 1287W—continued
Transport
Advertising Campaigns
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advertising campaigns the Department ran between 2000 and June 2004; and what the (a) date and (b) cost was of each. [87054]
Gillian Merron:
The requested figures for financial years 2002-03 to 2004-05 are in the following tables. The majority of advertising investment by the Department is in support of the THINK! road safety campaign with investment (£750,000) into promoting the Transport Direct portal service in 2004-05. Among non-departmental bodies for which the Department is
responsible, and during the timeframe requested, major advertising investment has been by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, to explain changes to the car tax rules.
Further breakdown of agency-specific campaigns for the timescale requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Following departmental reorganisations, total expenditure figures for prior to 2002 would also involve disproportionate costs.
| Department for Transport (central) | |||
| £ | |||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | |
| Non-departmental bodies for which the Department is responsible | |||
| £ | |||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | |
Air Safety
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many near misses there have been in UK airspace in each of the past 10 years. [82313]
Gillian Merron: During the 10 years from 1996 to 2005 inclusive, the number of Airprox incidents recorded in UK airspace can be broken down by category by year are in the following table.
| Category of Airprox incidents | |||
| A | B | Total | |
A “risk bearing” Airprox is one that falls into category A (where an actual risk of collision existed) or B (where safety was not assured).
| Category of Airprox incidents | |||
| C | D | Total | |
A “non-risk bearing” Airprox is one that falls into category C (where no risk of collision existed) or D (where the risk cannot be determined).
Final reports into each event are available in hard copy, if required, from the UK Airprox Board. The more recent reports are also available from the UK Airprox Board’s website at:
www.airproxboard.org.uk.
Sir Alistair Graham
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to question 80515, how many days a year were expected from Sir Alistair Graham as (a) a member of the British Transport Police Committee and (b) Chairman of the British Transport Police Authority. [85988]
Gillian Merron: Sir Alistair Graham was appointed Chairman of the British Transport Police Authority on 1 July 2004. This is a part-time appointment equivalent to 60 days per year.
On 2 February 2004 he was appointed as a member of the British Transport Police Committee with the role of Chairman-designate of the British Transport Police Authority. No time commitment was specified.
Alternative Aircraft Fuels
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will examine options for development of alternatives to kerosene as a fuel for aircraft. [87928]
Gillian Merron: The UK project “The Potential for Renewable Energy Sources in Aviation” produced by Imperial College Centre for Energy, Policy and Technology in 2003 for DTI, studied the options for potential renewable fuels for civil aviation. The study examined a whole range of alternative fuels and energy sources. Any viable option would be significantly more expensive to produce than the cost of kerosene today. In general, renewable fuels are more likely to be used for road transport or electricity generation in preference to aviation.
The full report can be found at:
http://www.iccept.ic.ac.uk/pdfs/PRESAV%20final %20report%2003Sep03.pdf
Boat Safety Scheme
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will require holiday boat companies to display on all vessels a copy of the current Boat Safety Scheme certificate; and if he will make a statement. [85056]
Barry Gardiner: I have been asked to reply.
No. Vessels cannot be licensed (or registered) for use on the waterways unless a valid Boat Safety Scheme certificate is in force for those vessels to which the Scheme applies. There is therefore no need to require a copy of the certificate itself to be displayed.
Bus Companies
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bus companies there are in England. [87850]
Gillian Merron: Information on the number of bus companies is not collected centrally. However, there are approximately 1,700 bus companies or their subsidiaries currently claiming bus service operators grant from the Department.
Buses (No Smoking Policies)
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice his Department gives to bus companies on the operation of no smoking policies on their vehicles. [76670]
Gillian Merron: It is common practice today for local bus services to operate a policy which requires all buses to be smoke-free. Regulations do provide for enforcement where restrictions exist.
For the future, Part 1 of the Health Act 2006 will require all buses to be smoke-free from the summer of 2007.
The Department for Health launched a consultation on regulations under these provisions on 17 July and will be publishing guidance.
Criminal Offences
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many criminal offences his Department has created by Orders in Council in each year since 1997. [88467]
Gillian Merron: Since the Department for Transport was created in May 2002 it has sponsored 13 Orders in Council.
Of these, the only Order remaining in force which contains a criminal offence is the Air Navigation Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1970). That Order amended and restated provisions contained in earlier Air Navigation Orders.
Article 148 of the Order provides (across four separate paragraphs) that it is a criminal offence to contravene any provision of the Order, or any regulations made under the Order or under specified European legislation. This could be categorised as a single offence which can be committed in numerous ways or as numerous offences.
Article 3(5) of the Order provides for offences to be deemed to have been committed in respect of certain aircraft in certain circumstances. These could be considered to be separate offences, or to be an extension of the original offences.
The Department also sponsored the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Order 2006 (S.I.2006/1248). This Order does not create any offences itself. However, article 2 authorises the Secretary of State to make regulations for the purpose of giving effect to the Protocol of 1997 to the Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified. Article 3 provides that the Secretary of State’s regulations may provide for the contravention of those regulations to be criminal offences.
Delegated Examiners
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department maintains a register of Passenger Carrying Vehicle delegated examiners. [87846]
Dr. Ladyman: The register of delegated examiners authorised to conduct Passenger Carrying Vehicles is held by the Driving Standards Agency.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many approved Passenger Carrying Vehicle delegated examiners there are. [87847]
Dr. Ladyman: There are 75 approved Passenger Carrying Vehicle delegated examiners.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what checks are in place to ensure that Passenger Carrying Vehicle delegated examiners only test people who are employed by their own company. [87848]
Dr. Ladyman: The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) regularly checks the driving tests conducted by delegated examiners for consistency and fairness.
When the delegated examiners are quality assured by DSA supervising examiners, checks undertaken as part of the supervision are to confirm the eligibility of the candidates and delegated examiners.
In addition, regulations place the burden on the employers of delegated examiners to ensure that their examiners test only their companies’ own employees.
If there is suspicion of malpractice, an investigation by DSA would be conducted.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bus companies have Passenger Carrying Vehicle delegated examiners. [87849]
Dr. Ladyman: There are 74 bus companies which have delegated examiners testing for them. Of these, 70 have a substantive examiner, while the remaining four use examiners from a sister company.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the pass rate was of passenger carrying vehicle delegated examiners taking their training at Cardington for each of the last three financial years. [87854]
Dr. Ladyman: The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has no records of any Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) delegated examiners failing the training course at Cardington during the period specified.
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