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19 Mar 2007 : Column 576W—continued
| Track | |||||||
| 1996-97 | 7997-98 | 7998-99 | 1999-00 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | |
| (1) East London Line was included with Jubilee line until 1999-2000. (2) Waterloo and City Line included with Central Line until 1999-2000. | |||||||
M6: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2007, Official Report, column 2261W, on the M6: Repairs and Maintenance, if he will place a copy of the internal review document of safety options in the Library. [128509]
Dr. Ladyman: I have arranged for copies of the internal review document to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Motor Vehicles: Testing
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles were tested at the Salisbury Vehicle Testing Station in each month of 2006, broken down by class of vehicle; and how many vehicles (a) passed and (b) failed. [127548]
Dr. Ladyman: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Parking
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many workplace parking schemes were established in each of the last 10 years. [125975]
Gillian Merron:
We do not collect or hold information centrally on the number and location of workplace parking schemes or workplace travel plans in the UK. Any information that is available would be
held by local authorities. Examples of good practice can be found in the Department's publications ‘Making Travel Plans Work’ and ‘A Travel Plan Resource Pack for Employers’.
Parking: Regulation
Dr. Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what restrictions apply to the parking of (a) large vans and (b) caravans (i) in residential streets and (ii) on private driveways. [125560]
Gillian Merron: The only national restrictions that apply to the parking of large vans or caravans in residential streets are that caravan lamps must be fully lit and not obscured when caravans are parked at night.
Parking control is generally a local issue and local authorities may make a Traffic Regulation Order regulating, restricting or prohibiting the on-street parking of different classes of vehicle, including caravans.
Operators of goods vehicles weighing over 3.5 tonnes are required to have an operator’s license, the conditions of which may require vehicles to be kept off the road when not in use.
There are no national restrictions that apply to the parking of large vans or caravans on private driveways.
Public Service Vehicles: Regulation
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring cost of implementing the Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment, Use and Certification) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [125619]
Gillian Merron: There were two sets of amendments to the Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment, Use and Certification) Regulations in 2002. The first, SI 2002 No. 335, was to bring the regulations into alignment with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations SI 2000 No. 1970, and the second, SI 2002 No. 489 changed the fees for inspections. There were no costs associated with the former, as the amendments did not introduce new requirements in addition to SI 2000 No. 1970. A Regulatory Impact Assessment for SI 2000 No. 1970 was placed in the House Library when these regulations were made.
The fees for inspections of large passenger vehicles are normally reviewed annually, and the costs to business arising from SI 2002 No. 489 coming into force until the next fee increase (August 2003) amounted to £39,496.
The Department for Transport is committed to better regulation. We aim to introduce new regulation only where absolutely necessary, and to simplify existing regulation to reduce burdens.
Public Transport: Contracts
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) quality contracts and (b) quality partnerships were established in each of the last five years. [125974]
Gillian Merron: Since the coming into force of the Transport Act 2000, quality contracts provisions have not been used. No statutory partnership schemes are currently in force, however in January 2007 a statutory quality partnership scheme for north Sheffield was formally signed by Sheffield city council and the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority and Executive. This will come into effect in July 2007.
Voluntary partnerships already exist widely across the country.
The Government's proposals, set out in ‘Putting Passengers First’ in December 2006, aim to make quality contracts a more realistic option and to increase the scope of quality partnership schemes.
Railways: Airports
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new (a) rail and (b) light rail links to airports have been built since 1997. [125976]
Gillian Merron: Heathrow Express, a direct rail service from London Paddington to Heathrow airport, was opened in 1998. The Docklands Light Railway was extended in 2005 to provide access to London City airport. Also in 2005, the Welsh Assembly Government funded the reopening of the Vale of Glamorgan line for passenger trains in order to serve Cardiff International airport (previously the line had been suitable for freight transport only).
Railways: Finance
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding is available to assist communities in opening and running branch railways. [126181]
Mr. Tom Harris: There is no specific fund for reopening branch lines, but such reopenings are eligible for funding through the Local Transport Plan process, the Transport Innovation Fund and the Communities Fund. The Government's community rail development strategy encourages local stakeholders to work together to support existing lines and services and the same principles can apply to reopenings.
Railways: Franchises
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2007, Official Report, column 2262W, on railways: franchises, what the timetable is for the decision to be made on extending c2c’s franchise beyond 2011. [128189]
Mr. Tom Harris: We would expect to complete this review within the next two years.
Shipping
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the availability of (a) British merchant seafarers and (b) British flagged merchant vessels to meet foreseeable strategic defence needs. [127929]
Dr. Ladyman: In 2004 the Department for Transport, jointly with Ministry of Defence, commissioned the London Metropolitan University to produce a quarterly assessment of the number of UK seafarers up to and including 2006. The Department for Transport also collate an assessment of militarily useful UK registered merchant shipping on a regular basis using an evaluation criterion provided by the MOD.
Travel: Business
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will promote the use of internet conferencing to businesses as an alternative to travel. [126629]
Gillian Merron: The Department encourages employers to develop workplace travel plans, which may include teleconferencing and teleworking, to reduce car use for the commute and during the course of work. We recognise the benefits of these and also the potential of internet conferencing in reducing the need to travel.
On 22 February 2007, we launched the National Business Travel Network to promote and support increased take-up of travel plans, particularly by the business community. Part of the work of this network is to encourage greater use of teleconferencing and teleworking. The network has so far been joined by 30 national companies as well as business groups and trade associations.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of (a) internal and (b) international same-day return flights made by businesses in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [126630]
Gillian Merron: The number of international day visits by UK residents for business purposes in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
The information requested is not available for internal visits. Information is available from the CAA Passenger Survey on domestic air travel but this survey is only carried out at a selected number of UK airports each year. Day visits abroad by UK residents for business purposes, 2001-05
| Day visits (thousand) | |
| Source: International Passenger Survey | |
Solicitor-General
Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2007, Official Report, column 1944W, on the Northern Ireland (Offences)
Bill, when the Attorney-General last met the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to discuss the subject of On the Runs. [128082]
The Solicitor-General: The answer referred to is at 22 February 2007, Official Report, column 884W.
The Attorney-General last spoke with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to discuss “On the Runs” in October 2006.
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