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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.
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.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passenger carrying vehicle delegated driving examiners had their licence removed by the Driving Standards Agency in each of the last six financial years. [87856]
Dr. Ladyman: There is no record of any passenger carrying vehicle delegated examiner being removed from the DSA register of delegated examiners in any of the previous six years.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the pass rate was in each of the last three financial years for driving tests conducted by the Driving Standards Agency approved passenger carrying vehicle delegated driving examiners; and how many drivers passed in each year. [87857]
Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is in the following table:
| Pass rate (Percentage) | Passes | |
Departmental Correspondence
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2006, Official Report, columns 489-90W to the hon. Member for Edinburgh East, on departmental correspondence, what the cost was of processing returned letters where the addressee has moved away or died. [88930]
Gillian Merron: No information is available other than for the costs involved in the investigation and handling of undelivered vehicle Registration Certificates. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency estimate that the cost of handling all undelivered Registration Certificates is approximately £160,000 annually. This amount relates to all undelivered, Certificates including those returned where the addressee has moved away or has died, which together account for approximately 13.5 per cent. of the total undelivered.
Departmental Data
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2006, Official Report, columns 490-1W, to the hon. Member for Edinburgh East, on departmental data, with which other (a) departments and (b) public sector organisations his Department shares data. [88934]
Gillian Merron: The Agencies listed in the answer given on 10 January 2006 share data with other (a) departments, and (b) public sector organisations, on the following basis:
Government Departments that have statutory powers to obtain information from DVLA include:
HM Revenue and Customs for tax related purposes
Child Support Agency to trace absent parents
Court Service for enforcement of fines etc
Environment Agency for investigating criminal offences
Criminal Case Review Commission for investigating criminal cases
Department of Work and Pensions for investigating benefit fraud
Other Department of Transport Agencies
What information is released and for what purpose is prescribed in the applicable legislation.
Public Sector organisations that receive information include:
Local Authorities investigating an offence or a decriminalised parking contravention
Trading Standards offices investigating vehicle related offences
Transport for London for the enforcement of congestion charging schemes
Local Authorities/Housing Associations dealing with abandoned vehicles
Regulations permitting the release of information to public sector organisations apply only to information held on the vehicle register. Information held on the driver register is not released.
Data is currently shared on a regular basis with DfT and all of its Agencies, including DVLA.
On a case-by-case basis, information has also been released to the following Government Departments and Public Sector bodies
HM Revenue and Customs
Department for Work and Persons
Child Support Agency
Traffic Commissioners
Passport Office
Immigration Service
Public Carriage Service
Environmental Health Department
NHS Fraud Investigators
Police
Local Authorities
The Agency does not share data with other Departments or Public Sector organisations as a matter of routine, although specific requests from law enforcement bodies are considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Agency does not share data with other Departments or Public Sector organisations.
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