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15 July 2009 : Column 382W—continued
Aircraft: Air Conditioning
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether he plans to require cabin air quality monitoring systems to be installed on passenger aircraft. [286904]
Paul Clark [holding answer 14 July 2009]: UK passengers travel on a range of global airlines. Within Europe, we suggest that any mandatory system to be fitted to commercial passenger aircraft would have to be required and approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency, on the basis of evidence that it was necessary and fit for purpose i.e. capable of detecting any specific items of concern in the circumstances where these might occur. In the UK we are conducting research to ascertain what substances are in cabin air, and at what concentrations, both in normal circumstances and during occasional "fume events". When we have obtained and assessed this information, it may be appropriate for the UK to recommend some kind of detection systems.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what procedures are used to quantify and investigate instances of air contamination on board commercial aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [286905]
Paul Clark [holding answer 14 July 2009]: The principal procedure is the Mandatory Occurrence Reporting scheme which the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) established in 1976. Its objectives are to ensure that the CAA is advised of any hazardous, or potentially hazardous, incidents and defects (occurrences), and that appropriate action is taken. All reports are disseminated to the relevant specialists in CAA. The Head of the Aviation Health Unit will see any where health effects are reported.
Should an individual wish to bypass his employer in reporting an incident, a separate procedure exists whereby details can be sent to the Confidential Human Factors Incident Reporting Programme.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the responsibilities of (a) his Department, (b) the Civil Aviation Authority and (c) the Health and Safety Executive are in relation to the health of persons on board commercial aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [286906]
Paul Clark [holding answer 14 July 2009]: The functions of the Secretary of State for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) with respect to health are set out in section 8 of the Civil Aviation Act 2006.
S8 (2) amends the functions of the Secretary of State in the Civil Aviation Act 1982 to include a "general duty of organising, carrying out and encouraging measures for safeguarding the health of persons on board aircraft".
S8 (3) amends the functions of the CAA to include the "health of persons on board aircraft".
S8 (4) requires the CAA to provide assistance to the Secretary of State in relation to the function.
The CAA established the Aviation Health Unit in 2003 as a centre of expertise on aviation health matters. It provides advice to the UK Government and other stakeholders; and suggests and oversees research on relevant aviation medical issues.
Separately, the CAA has specific health and safety regulatory responsibilities under the Civil Aviation (Working Time) Regulations 2004 for crew members (flight and cabin crew) of UK public transport aircraft. The Regulations require employers to ensure that each crew member is provided with adequate health and safety protection and prevention services or facilities appropriate to the nature of his employment.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the enforcement of health and safety legislation in Great Britain and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) applies within British air space. A memorandum of understanding exists between the CAA and the HSE to reduce regulatory duplication of effort. Similar arrangements exist for Northern Ireland.
Aviation: Exhaust Emissions
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport (1) what discussions his Department has had with (a) Lord Turner of Ecchinswell and (b) other members of the Committee on Climate Change on the effect on lifeline flights of proposed targets for aviation emissions; [285958]
(2) what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of the Committee on Climate Change on the effect on plans to expand Heathrow Airport of the proposed aviation emissions targets. [286068]
Paul Clark:
The Committee on Climate Change will provide independent advice to the Government by December 2009 this year on the 2050 UK aviation carbon dioxide emissions target. The Committee is currently undertaking analysis of a range of factors that might contribute to meeting the target. The Department
for Transport meets from time to time with the Committee on Climate Change at ministerial and official level in order to provide information in support of the Committee's analytical work on the 2050 target.
No discussions have taken place with the Committee on the effects of the target on specific aviation policy initiatives. The Government will develop their approach to achieving the target once they have received the Committee's advice.
Departmental Information
Paul Holmes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the cost to his Department of press office staff other than press officers has been in each year since 1997. [283069]
Chris Mole: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which Minister approved the 2009 pay remit for his central Department; on what date that remit was (a) sent to that Minister, (b) approved by the Minister and (c) sent to HM Treasury. [286977]
Chris Mole: The Secretary of State for Transport approved the final version of the 2009 remit of the central Department on 3 June 2009 having been sent to the Minister that day. The final remit was submitted to HM Treasury on 4 June 2009.
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the job titles are of the senior managers who approved the 2009 pay remit for his central Department; and on what date (a) that remit was sent to and (b) approved by those managers. [286978]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport (DfT) (C) Executive Committee discussed the pay remit for DfT (C) at its meeting on 28 April 2009.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Alistair Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many applications for vehicle excise duty refunds from (a) private owners and (b) motor dealerships have been processed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each month since January 2008; and what the monetary value was of the refunds made in each such month. [286791]
Paul Clark: The following table provides the total number and value of vehicle excise duty refunds processed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) since January 2008. Separate figures are not available for private owners and motor dealerships. However, since January 2009 only the current or previous registered keeper would receive a refund of vehicle excise duty and then only after informing the DVLA why the vehicle no longer requires a valid tax disc:
| Month | Volume | Value (£000) |
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what plans he has for levels of staff recruitment to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency; and if he will make a statement. [286979]
Paul Clark: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is committed to efficiency and will continue to critically assess that to reflect the economic situation and customer need, including contributing fully to future public spending rounds. We anticipate that it is likely that there will continue to be turnover, for example in a number of specialist vacancies such as Accountants and Procurement Specialists that will need to be recruited. Fixed term and temporary appointments are also used to manage fluctuating business demands.
Railways: Franchises
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much funding his Department will allocate to rail franchises in revenue support in financial year 2009-10. [286901]
Chris Mole [holding answer 14 July 2009]: The Department for Transport maintains financial forecasts of anticipated revenue support payable to Train Operating Companies. However, this information is commercially confidential and market sensitive.
Shipping
Andrew George: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many incidents of ships losing hazardous cargo overboard resulted in (a) court actions and (b) fines since 1979; and what the (i) nature of the conviction and (ii) financial penalty was in each case. [286298]
Paul Clark: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has recorded this information centrally since 2001. There have been no court actions or fines against ship owners for losing hazardous cargo overboard since then.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Abandoned Vehicles
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abandoned vehicles were recorded in England in each year since 1997. [286451]
Dan Norris: The numbers of abandoned vehicles reported by local authorities in England to DEFRA between 2000-01 and 2003-04 in the Municipal Waste Management Survey, and from 2004-05 onwards via WasteDataFlow, are available on the DEFRA website at:
National figures prior to 2000-01 were not collected by DEFRA.
Circuses: Animal Welfare
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the report of the Circus Working Group on the future use of wild animals in travelling circuses will be published. [287097]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The report of the Circus Working Group on wild animal acts in travelling circuses was released on 20 November 2007.
Following the publication of that report, which found that there was no existing evidence that justified banning wild animal acts in circuses, DEFRA launched a feasibility study to look at the possibility of regulating the use of such animals in circuses.
The feasibility study is due to report later this year.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department plans to update its web browsers from Internet Explorer 6. [285016]
Dan Norris: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) provides Internet Explorer 7 to staff via our internal office system.
Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information the Waste Improvement Network has provided to local authorities on the procurement of containers for the collection of household waste. [286526]
Dan Norris: The Waste Improvement Network (WIN) exists to share information between councils and publish guidance from all available sources in one place on waste management issues. It does not issue advice directly to councils. However, WIN promotes existing framework contracts which can be used to procure bins, and provides links to general information, guidance, advice and case studies from available sources on both procurement and waste collection strategy.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will direct the Bird Management Unit of the Food and Environment Research Agency to conduct research into the effect on the prevalence of (a) vermin and (b) insects of different modes of collection of household waste. [286530]
Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA currently has no plans to commission research into the effect on the prevalence of 'vermin' or insects of different modes of collection of household waste.
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