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3 Feb 2009 : Column 1119W—continued
| 2008 | Number of targeted inspections on UK and dependent territory Ships (inspected in the UK) | Port state control inspections for foreign ships visiting UK ports |
Airports
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the National Policy Statement on airports to be published (a) in draft and (b) in its final form. [251812]
Jim Fitzpatrick: We have yet to take decisions on the timetable for preparing a national policy statement (NPS) on airports, but it is expected to be published in draft by 2011. The draft NPS will then be subject to public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny as set out in the Planning Act 2008 before it can be formally designated.
Aviation: EU Action
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) have taken place and (b) are planned to take place within the EU on widening the responsibility of the European Aviation Safety Agency; whether any discussions (i) have taken place and (ii) are planned to take place in the EU on Annex II to EC Regulation 216/2008; and if he will make a statement. [253492]
Jim Fitzpatrick: In June 2008 the European Commission published a regulatory proposal to extend the European Aviation Safety Agency's competence to cover the safety of aerodromes, air navigation service providers and air traffic management.
Negotiations on the proposal began in the technical working group of the council in July 2008 and are ongoing. The proposal was discussed at the Transport Council in December where Ministers agreed a partial general approach on articles concerning air navigation services, air traffic management and the proposal’s application to the military.
We understand that EASA, as part of a review into the regulation of light aircraft, may recommend future changes to Annex II.
Aviation: Risk Assessment
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what risk registers (a) are in use and (b) have been in use in the last two years in relation to projects within his Department’s Aviation Directorate; and if he will make a statement. [253211]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 2 February 2009]: The Department’s aviation directorate regularly uses risk registers to monitor all of its strategic projects. The directorate also uses risk registers to monitor non-strategic projects and business as usual activities relating to regulatory issues, airport capacity and operations, aviation and the environment, and aviation safety.
Aviation: Type Approval
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Civil Aviation Authority first received an application for the ELA O-7 gyroplane to be approved for use in UK airspace; what the reasons for the time taken to consider the application are; and if he will make a statement. [253645]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The CAA received an application for the validation of the Spanish certification of the ELA 07 gyroplane in April 2006. As part of the certification process the CAA had consulted the Spanish authorities on the differences between the Spanish and UK airworthiness codes for gyroplanes. Significant differences between the codes were identified. As a result, the CAA have been involved in discussions with the Spanish authorities and ELA, the manufacturer of the gyroplane, with a view to agreeing and approving the modification necessary to meet the UK requirements. The CAA last met with the Spanish authorities and the manufacturer in October 2008. All of the follow up action from that meeting rests with ELA. ELA has requested the CAA not to do any additional work on the validation until ELA and the Spanish authorities have agreed the way forward.
Coaches: Disabled
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to increase the accessibility of national and international coach travel to people with a disability. [252761]
Paul Clark: The Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations apply to all buses and coaches with more than 22 passenger seats operating to a published timetable. The Regulations require all buses to comply from the year 2015 to 2017 (depending on the type of bus) and 2020 for coaches used on scheduled services.
The European Commission have recently made proposals, relating to bus and coach passenger rights. The Department for Transport will be considering this in due course.
Crossrail Line
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the risk of contamination from (a) bubonic plague, (b) anthrax and (c) other biological agents as a consequence of the possible disturbance of burial grounds during the construction of the Crossrail project. [252334]
Paul Clark:
Crossrail, in common with all other major projects, has been the subject of a comprehensive environmental impact assessment. A significant part of this was the investigation of archaeological remains,
including burial grounds, along the route. This investigation was carried out by the Museum of London Archaeological Services. Although there are a number of burial grounds on the route, this is not generally an issue where the running tunnels are at some depth underground. There are issues, however, at the stations where excavation must of necessity be carried out from ground level.
Only one site was identified where this issue may arise. This is at the eastern end of the Farringdon station adjacent to the eastern end of the Smithfield meat market. A trial pit will be excavated as soon as Crossrail has obtained possession of the site, and the appropriate testing will be carried out. The techniques for dealing with these matters are well understood by archaeologists and the necessary specialist advice will be taken.
This matter was discussed at some length in the House of Lords Select Committee on the Crossrail Bill and subsequently with Lord James of Blackheath who was a member of the Committee. In the event that any contaminated remains are found these will be dealt with in the appropriate manner as set out in guidance from Government, English Heritage and the ecclesiastical authorities.
Cycling: Accidents
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effects on the (a) rate and (b) severity of cyclist casualties of legal requirements for cyclists to wear helmets. [253180]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The evidence indicates that cycle helmets provide protective benefits in the event of a collision and therefore prevent and reduce injuries. Research suggests that between one third and one half of pedal cycle casualties attending hospital sustained an injury to the head or face. (See DfT Road Safety Research Report Number.30.)
However, we do not know how many head injuries may have been prevented or reduced had the cyclist been wearing a helmet, since we do not know what level of protection is offered in different types of accidents.
The Department has recently commissioned a new research project-looking at a range of road safety and cycling issues. This is now under way and is being undertaken by a consortium led by TRL and including MVA, ITS Leeds, Simon Christmas Ltd, SHM and Arup. It will examine the following topics:
Road user safety and cycling data
Cycling infrastructure
Attitudes and behaviours of cyclists and other road users
Bicycle helmets, including an updated evaluation of their effectiveness.
The research project as a whole is likely to be three years in duration, but we are aiming to complete the review of cycle helmet effectiveness by the end of 2009.
Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Dartford River Crossing DART tags have been issued (a) in total and (b) to businesses since 1 November 2008. [253130]
Paul Clark: The number of Dart-Tags issued between 1 November 2008 and 26 January 2009 was 25,022, including tags for use in the local resident discount scheme. There are no records on the division of tags between personal and business users.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months. [252377]
Mr. Hoon: The spend on Ministers' offices in the last 12 months was £17,332. Most of this was spent on installing energy efficient lighting mechanisms and will be offset by lower running costs.
Departmental Consultants
Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost of his Department’ contracts
with management consultants was in each of the last five years. [251366]
Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 December 2008, Official Report, columns 386-87W, given to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O’Brien).
Departmental ICT
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which ICT projects initiated by his Department were abandoned before completion in each year since 1997; what costs were incurred on each project; who the contractors were; what the date of (a) commencement and (b) abandonment was in each case; and if he will make a statement. [251136]
Mr. Hoon: The Department for Transport does not hold centrally collected records on all ICT projects carried out by the central Department and its seven executive agencies. Available information shows that the following ICT projects were abandoned before completion since the Department was formed in 2002.
| Project | Start date | End date | Supplier | Cost (£) |
|
Integration of an Electronic document and records management system | ||||
None of the other four executive agencies had ICT projects abandoned before completion.
Departmental Internet
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what websites his Department has operated other than its main departmental website over the last five years; and what the operating budget for those websites was; [251355]
(2) what websites his Department operates apart from its main departmental website; and what the operating budget for each of those websites is in 2008-09. [251356]
Mr. Hoon: Tables have been placed in the Libraries of the House showing websites operated over the last five years and their operating costs. Total operating costs are not yet available for the current financial year.
Where annual operating costs are not available this is due to a number of reasons; either the site has only recently been available and costs are only applicable for the current financial year; the costs are part of a much larger contract and cannot be itemised; or the costs cannot be calculated without incurring disproportionate costs. Figures provided do not include staff costs.
The Department for Transport intends to measure website costs in line with the proposed guidance issued by the Central Office of Information, 'Measuring website costs (TG128)', starting from the financial year 2009-10.
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