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12 Feb 2009 : Column 2124W—continued
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| Country | Weighed inspections | Overloading prohibitions |
Figures are from April 08 to January 2009.
Air Passenger Bonds
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the terms of the original Civil Aviation Authority insurance policy with American International Group on air passenger bonds. [253448]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Air Travel Trust Fund is currently structured to meet tour operator failure costs through a combination of cash, credit facilities and insurance. Cash is received primarily from ATOL Protection Contributions, and Barclays Bank plc provides credit facilities totalling £60 million, which includes a level of liquidity supported by a Government Guarantee.
The insurance policy placed by the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust with AIG UK Limited and Axis Specialty Ltd., is designed to provide the Air Travel Trust with access to funds in the event of a major tour operator failure where costs arising from refund and repatriation exceed £50 million in a year. The policy document is subject to a confidentiality agreement and the insurers have declined permission to disclose the terms of the policy.
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish details of the PricewaterhouseCoopers financial model on air passenger bonds prepared for his Department and the Civil Aviation Authority. [253449]
Jim Fitzpatrick: A detailed overview of the financial model, of the Air Travel Trust, was included in appendix 4 of the “Consultation on Reform of ATOL Bonding Arrangements and the Replenishment of the Air Travel Trust Fund”, published by the Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport in April 2007. The consultation document can be viewed at:
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/Consultation_ATOL_ Reform_2007.pdf
The model was produced by the Civil Aviation Authority (commissioned by the trustees of the Air Travel Trust), to assess the sustainability of a per passenger ATOL Protection Contribution in building up sufficient funds to meet potential refund and repatriation costs arising from the failure of tour operators, under different adverse scenarios. External forecasts from third parties such as travel companies, insurance firms and banks were used as the basis for assumptions. Information was received from a spread of ATOL license holders, including the four largest air travel tour operators, five medium sized operators and two online tour operators. The spread of firms accounted for more than half of all passengers covered by the ATOL protection scheme.
The Civil Aviation Authority engaged a professional services firm with expertise in economic modelling and the travel sector to review the model methodology, its fitness for purpose and a number of the underlying
assumptions. The detailed overview in appendix 4 of the consultation paper took into account the work undertaken by the firm appointed by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations (a) his Department and (b) the Civil Aviation Authority have received on the adequacy of cover for bonding arrangements for passengers travelling by aircraft, with particular reference to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report on Reform of Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing bonding arrangements. [253450]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The “Consultation on Reform of ATOL Bonding Arrangements and the Replenishment of the Air Travel Trust Fund”, was published by the Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport in April 2007. The consultation document can be viewed at:
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/Consultation_ATOL_ Reform_2007.pdf
There were 88 respondents to this consultation and a summary of the responses is available on the Department for Transport website at:
A large majority of responses supported the introduction of a £1 per passenger ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) to replace bonding as the main means of meeting costs from the failure of tour operators and to replenish the Air Travel Trust Fund. The decision to introduce the APC was announced to Parliament on 22 October 2007.
Biofuels
Mr. Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government is taking to foster the development of second generation biofuels. [256650]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) creates a market for first generation biofuels which in turn helps to set the right conditions for the development of commercially viable second generation biofuels. The UK will be required to modify the RTFO in order to implement the Renewable Energy Directive in 2010. The directive incentivises second generation biofuels through requiring member states to count their contribution towards renewable energy targets as twice those of first generation biofuels. We shall be consulting later this year about how to take forward the implementation of the directive in UK legislation.
In addition the Government have recently announced £20 million of funding for the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s (BBSRC) new Sustainable Bioenergy Centre. This is a £27 million initiative aiming to build UK capacity in bioenergy research. Among other things, it will target research on the development of second generation bioenergy and biofuels. Last autumn the Government also announced that the Department anticipates contributing up to £3 million per year over the next two financial years to the Carbon Trust’s Advanced Bioenergy Directed Research Accelerator. This will allow the Carbon Trust to further increase its advanced bioenergy research and development activities.
Bus Services: Chorley
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department provided to Chorley Borough Council for the purposes of concessionary bus travel in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [254733]
Paul Clark [holding answer 9 February 2009]: Before 1 April 2008, funding for the statutory minimum bus concession was provided exclusively through the Formula Grant system, which is administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG). The Department for Transport therefore provided no direct funding to Chorley borough council for concessionary bus travel in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
The Department did however provide Chorley borough council with £69,004 in 2007-08 for the cost of producing and issuing the new England-wide bus passes to all their eligible people. In 2008-09 DFT will provide Chorley borough council with special grant funding of £280,000 for the improvement to statutory concessionary travel; this is in addition to the existing formula grant funding from CLG. The Special Grant Funding represents a 33 per cent. increase in funding over and above Chorley borough council’s declared costs of £0.85 million for concessionary travel in 2007-08.
Delegated Examiners: Greater London
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many delegated examiners there are in the Greater London area. [256234]
Jim Fitzpatrick [Holding answer 11 February 2009]: There are 23 delegated examiners in the Greater London area working for fire and police authorities and bus and coach operators.
Heathrow Airport: Air Pollution
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of (a) nitrogen oxides, (b) carbon dioxide and (c) other greenhouse gasses recorded at Heathrow were caused by (i) aircraft, (ii) cars and (iii) each specified other source in each year since 1995; and what percentage he expects to be caused by each source in each year up to 2020. [250531]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 22 January 2009]: The following sets out the information available:
Nitrogen oxide (NO x ) emissions
The White Paper set out the following strict conditions from 2010, in line with the current European Union directive on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) related pollutants(1):
Hourly limit value for the protection of human health: 200micro/m3 NO2, not to be exceeded more than 18 times in a calendar year; and
Annual limit value for the protection of human health: 40micro/m3 NO2 annual average.
The Department for Transport's 2007 ‘Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation’ document concluded that these conditions could be met.
Further information is available in the following documents:
‘Air Quality Studies for Heathrow: Base Case, Segregated Mode, Mixed Mode’ and ‘Third Runway Scenarios modelled
using ADMS’—Airport, 15 November 2007, Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants, Table 4.5-4.7; Table 4.12-4.13
‘Heathrow Airport Emission Summaries’, October 2007, AEA Energy and Environment, Table 4.1.4-Table 4.8.4 Annual emissions by source category, available at:
Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions
Published emissions data from DECC are at the national level only these are listed by source category, including breakdown by transport mode.
Published data at the UK national level can be found in Table 4a of ‘Estimated emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2 expressed as carbon dioxide) by IPCC source category: 1970-2006—last published 31 January 2008 at the following link:
Data based on fuel uplifted at Heathrow is reported—this is published in the Department for Transport's 2009 impact assessment ‘Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport’, where aviation carbon dioxide emissions attributable to flights departing from Heathrow in 2005 are estimated at 17.2 MtCO2 or 2.9 per cent. of total UK CO2 emissions.
Data are not available regarding CO2 emissions released specifically into the air surrounding Heathrow so the percentages by source are not available.
Other greenhouse gas emissions
Other greenhouse gas emissions are not currently reported specifically for the Heathrow area.
(1)The revised directive provides for later compliance (up to 2015) in certain circumstances
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average (a) nitrogen oxide and (b) carbon dioxide emissions per passenger mile (i) were and (ii) are predicted to be for average aircraft using Heathrow Airport in (A) 1990, (B) 1995, (C) 2000, (D) 2005, (E) 2010, (F) 2015, (G) 2020 and (H) 2025. [253935]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The following information sets out what information is available for: (a) NOx emissions; (b) CO2 emissions, and (c) other greenhouse gas emissions:
Nitrogen Oxides (NO x ) Emissions
The White Paper set out the following strict conditions from 2010, in line with the current European Union directive on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) related pollutants(1):
Hourly limit value for the protection of human health—200micro/m3 NO2, not to be exceeded more than 18 times in a calendar year; and
Annual limit value for the protection of human health—40micro/m3 NO2 annual average
The Department for Transport’s 2007 ‘Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport’ consultation document concluded that these conditions could be met.
Further information is available in the following documents:
Air Quality Studies for Heathrow: Base Case, Segregated Mode, Mixed Mode and Third Runway Scenarios modelled using ADMS-Airport, 15 November 2007, Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants, Table 4.5—4.7; Table 4.12—4.13
Heathrow Airport Emission Summaries, October 2007, AEA Energy and Environment, Table 4.1.4—Table 4.8.4 Annual emissions by source category, available at:
Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) Emissions
There is limited data regarding past CO2 emissions at Heathrow airport specifically. Published emissions data from DECC are at the national level only. However, data based on fuel uplifted at Heathrow are reported—this is published in the Department for Transport’s 2009 ‘Impact Assessment Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport’, where aviation carbon dioxide emissions attributable to flights departing from Heathrow in 2005 are estimated at 17.2MtCO2 or 2.9 per cent. of total UK CO2. emissions.
Average CO2 emissions from aircraft at Heathrow airport in 2005 are estimated from DfT modelling to be around 114 grams of CO2 per passenger km. This is in line with the air transport conversion factors published by DEFRA in 2008 and reflects the mix of aircraft used and flights made from Heathrow in that year.
For future years, the Government have announced a new target to get UK aviation carbon dioxide emissions in 2050 below 2005 levels for the UK as a whole.
Once aviation joins the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2012, CO2 emissions from all flights departing and arriving at airports in the EU will be capped at 97 per cent. of average 2004-06 levels, with the cap tightening to 95 per cent. of average 2004-06 levels from 2013 onwards (the cap applies at the EU level, and not at individual member state or airport levels). Any aviation emissions above this cap will need to be accounted for by airlines securing reductions from other sectors within the EU ETS. So any change in the capacity of Heathrow in future years will not lead to any net increase in CO2 emissions.
(1 )The revised directive provides for later compliance (up to 2015) in certain circumstances
Heathrow Airport: Greenhouse Gases
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what levels of (a) nitrogen oxide, (b) carbon dioxide and (c) other green house gases have been released in the air surrounding Heathrow Airport in each year since 1995; and what estimate he has made of the level of each at Heathrow in each year to 2020. [249897]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 21 January 2009]: The following information sets out what information is available for: (a) NOx emissions; (b) CO2 emissions, and (c) other greenhouse gas emissions.
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Emissions
The White Paper set out the following strict conditions from 2010, in line with the current European Union Directive on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) related pollutants(1):
Hourly limit value for the protection of human health—200micro/m3 NO2, not to be exceeded more than 18 times in a calendar year; and
Annual limit value for the protection of human health—40micro/m3 NO2 annual average
The Department for Transport’s 2007 “Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport” consultation document concluded that these conditions could be met.
Further information is available in the following documents:
“Air Quality Studies for Heathrow: Base Case, Segregated Mode, Mixed Mode and Third Runway Scenarios modelled using ADMS-Airport”, 15 November 2007, Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants, Table 4.5—4.7; Table 4.12—4.13
“Heathrow Airport Emission Summaries”, October 2007, AEA Energy and Environment, Table 4.1.4—Table 4.8.4 Annual emissions by source category, available at:
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