| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
13 Oct 2008 : Column 889W—continued
Railways: Infrastructure
Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Government's policy is on encouraging separation of train and station operations from infrastructure maintenance and renewals. [223867]
Paul Clark:
It is generally accepted that the structures put in place at privatisation were flawed. The 2004 Rail White Paper and the Railways Act 2005 set out a new streamlined structure, which meets the requirements of
the European Commission's First Rail Package, to deliver safer, more reliable railways that work efficiently. The new arrangements provide much-needed stability for the industry as a whole.
Road Traffic
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to business of traffic congestion; and if he will make a statement. [225551]
Paul Clark: This cost is not routinely estimated by the Department. However, in 2006, the independent Eddington Study, which was sponsored by the Department for Transport and HM Treasury, did present forecasts of costs to business of congestion. The report noted that by 2025, congestion on England’s roads, if unchecked, will increase costs to business and freight by over £10 billion a year.
The full study is available at:
Roads: Safety Measures
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he has given to local authorities which wish to introduced shared spaces on how to integrate this with safe access for those with disabilities. [225420]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has not issued guidance to local authorities on the general topic of shared space. However, it has provided advice on shared surface schemes, a particular type of shared space known to cause difficulties for some people with disabilities.
This advice is contained in the Manual for Streets published in March 2007. It states that
“Consultation with the community and users, particularly with disability groups and access officers, is essential when any shared surface scheme is developed.”.
Sea Rescue: Lancashire
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many calls to HM Coastguard were made by residents of Lancashire in each year since 2000. [225405]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is not collected in the format requested.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, based at Liverpool has dealt with the following number of incidents in each year since 2000.
| Number of incidents | |
| (1) Not available because of industrial action. | |
Shipping: Pay
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) the recruitment and (b) the retention of British maritime professionals of the decision by HM Revenue and Customs to review the guidance on the vessels that do not qualify under the Seafarers’ Earnings Deduction income tax rules. [225630]
Jim Fitzpatrick: None. I am of course concerned about any changes which may affect employment prospects for UK seafarers. However, taxation policy is a matter for Treasury Ministers.
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of the reclassification of seafarers' earnings deduction on the recruitment and retention of British seafarers. [226149]
Jim Fitzpatrick: None. I refer to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) today (UIN 225630).
Tolls: Humber Bridge
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to review the level of toll charges on the Humber Bridge. [226707]
Paul Clark: The Humber Bridge Board has recently put forward a proposal to raise tolls under Section 10 of the Humber Bridge Act 1971. The Board have undertaken a consultation giving the opportunity for anyone to register objections with the Department for Transport. The deadline for objections was 6 October. The Secretary of State must now decide, in line with the relevant legislation, whether to order a public inquiry before considering a decision on Humber Bridge Board's application.
Tour Operators: Insolvency
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) for what reason his Department was not able to grant the necessary indemnities to allow the fleet operated by XL Airways to be used to repatriate customers stranded overseas by the entry into administration of the associated tour operator; and if he will make a statement; [226104]
(2) what recent discussions he has had with (a) the travel industry, (b) the aviation industry and (c) consumer representative organisations on protection for all pre-payments made in respect of travel arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [226105]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport, alongside the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), worked with the administrators to try to develop a contingency measure that would allow XL's aircraft to fly their customers home. However, in the short time available it was not possible to reach a solution which did not involve an unacceptable level of risk to taxpayers' money. This is a complex area because of the range of potential creditors and liabilities in the UK and abroad when an airline goes into administration.
In 2005 the Government decided not to extend statutory financial protection for air travellers beyond the current Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL) arrangements, which apply to package holidays, in accordance with European law.
The Government are keen to learn the lessons of, XL's failure and over the coming weeks officials and Ministers will be discussing a range of issues arising with stakeholders with a view to improving the experience of passengers in possible future airline or tour operator failures.
Tour Operators: Licensing
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what recent consideration he has given to the licensing of tour operators; and if he will make a statement; [226060]
(2) what assessment he has made of the financial effect on consumers resulting from the entry into administration of XL Airways; and if he will make a statement. [226061]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The European package travel directive came into effect in 1990, and requires the financial protection of passengers on package holidays, so that in the event of insolvency they are reimbursed advance payments or repatriated. This was implemented in the UK by the Package Travel Regulations 1992. Anyone who (other than occasionally) sells or offers for sale package holidays must comply with these regulations. Where a flight is part of the package, the financial protection requirements of the Package Travel Regulations are provided by the Air Travel. Organiser's Licence (ATOL) scheme operated by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Those of XL's passengers who were on, or who had booked, a package holiday will be fully protected against any additional financial cost through the ATOL scheme. Passengers whose travel arrangements were not part of a package holiday may face additional costs, to the extent that they are not protected through credit card arrangements or scheduled airline failure cover which can be part of some travel insurance policies.
The Government are keen to learn the lessons of XL's failure and over the coming weeks officials and Ministers will be discussing a range of issues arising with stakeholders with a view to improving the experience of passengers in possible future airline or tour operator failures.
Traffic Lights: Accidents
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents have been caused by failed traffic lights in the last five years. [225610]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of personal injury accidents in Great Britain for which a police officer attended the scene and recorded the contributory factor ‘defective traffic signal’ was 268 in 2005, 259 in 2006 and 256 in 2007. Information on contributory factors is not available prior to 2005.
The defective traffic signal factor is recorded in accidents in which the police officer’s opinion at the time of reporting is that a totally or partially defective automatic traffic signal contributed to the accident.
Transport: Environment Protection
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the National Transport Model Team (a) has taken and (b) plans to take on climate change; and if he will make a statement. [225506]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The National Transport Model estimates the impacts of transport policy on traffic and the associated carbon dioxide emissions. A number of analyses have been published providing the details of such work. Recent examples are:
Advanced motorway signalling and traffic management feasibility study, DFT, March 2008
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/network/policy/mtorsigntraf management/advancemotorsign
The Eddington Study annex: Transport Demand to 2025 and the Economic Case for Road Pricing and Investment, December 2006
Road Transport Forecasts for England 2007, October 2007
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/economics/ntm/071023_Annual Forecast07.pdf
We are planning to publish an update of the Road Transport Forecasts for England later this year.
Transport: Exhaust Emissions
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of tonnes of carbon dioxide produced on average each day by public transport. [225614]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table provides estimates of carbon dioxide emissions for buses, domestic aviation and railways. The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) is published annually by DEFRA and provides estimates of CO2 by transport mode, these annual figures for 2006 have been divided by 365 to give a daily rate.
| Estimates of average C O 2 emissions per day in 2006, UK | |
| Average C O 2 emissions per day (tonnes) | |
| Source: National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory 2006 | |
Transport: Finance
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role regional development agencies will play in the allocation of transport block funds currently allocated directly to local councils. [226374]
Paul Clark: Transport block funds are allocated to local authorities by the Department for Transport. However, the Government have sought advice from regions on their priorities for the allocation of a number of funding streams, including block grant. The guidance provided by the Government stresses that the advice should represent that of the whole region, and that regional development agencies, regional assemblies, leaders' forums (where they have been established) and local government will all have a key role to play in developing it. Final decisions on how block funds should be distributed remain with Ministers.
Transport: Schools
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving public service vehicles and minibuses carrying school children there were in each region in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [225534]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The numbers of reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one school pupil casualty on their way to or from school on a public service vehicle or minibus in each Government office region in 2003 to 2007 are given in the table.
| Government office region | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |