HC Deb 19 January 1988 vol 125 cc694-6W
Mr. Nicholas Bennett

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the number of ports in the national dock labour scheme in 1958, 1968, 1978 and each year since 1983, and the percentage of all United Kingdom ports those figures represent in each of these years.

Mr. David Mitchell

The scheme, when first made in 1947, listed 80 ports in Great Britain to which it applied. One port has been added to the list and one deleted from it. Over time several of the other listed ports have fallen into disuse, have ceased to handle cargo, or have been amalgamated. There are now about 60 ports within the scheme. In total there are around 300 harbours or ports in Great Britain. Cargo is handled at about one third of them.

Mr. Nicholas Bennett

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list by each port in the United Kingdom(a) the total value of imports; (b) the total value of exports; (c) the total tonnage of imports and (d) the total tonnage of exports, in 1958, 1968, 1978 and for the latest available date; and if he will sub-divide the list into those parts within the national dock labour scheme and those outside it and show the total figures for each category in each of the above years in each sub-division;

(2) if he will give the percentage of traffic handled by (a) national dock labour scheme ports and (b) non-national dock labour scheme ports, as a percentage of total British foreign trade in 1958, 1968, 1978 and each year since 1983.

Mr. David Mitchell

Information on value is available only for Her Majesty's Customs and Excise trade ports which in many cases include both national dock labour scheme and non-scheme components.

Tonnages of export, import and coastal traffic are published annually, for each port in Great Britain with significant freight traffic, in "Port Statistics", copies of which are in the Library. In the latest volume, table 1.3 gives the total traffic through each port for 1965, 1970, 1975 and 1980 to 1986. Table 1.6 provides the import and export detail for the latest year.

Details for earlier years, and for the intervening years of table 1.3, can be found in earlier editions. Prior to 1980, corresponding information was published by the National Ports Council in the "Annual Digest of Port Statistics", but there are no data prior to 1965. In these tables the following are scheme ports:

  • London
  • Medway
  • Whitstable
  • Southampton
  • Poole
  • Plymouth
  • Fowey
  • Par
  • Falmouth
  • Bristol
  • Gloucester and Sharpness
  • Newport
  • Cardiff
  • Penarth
  • Barry
  • Port Talbot
  • Swansea
  • Liverpool
  • Garston
  • Manchester
  • Fleetwood
  • Barrow

Passenger Mileage on Public Transport within London and the South East
LRT Tube LRT Bus BR NSE
bn miles Percentage increase over 1980 bn miles Percentage increase over 1980 bn miles Percentage increase over 1980
1980 2.6 2.6 8.1
1981 2.5 -4 2.5 -4 8.0 -1
1982 2.3 -12 2.3 -12 7.0 -14
1983 2.7 4 2.4 -8 7.8 -4
1984
1984–85 3.3 27 2.6 7.5 -7
1985
1985–86 3.7 42 2.6 7.8 -4
1986
1986–87 3-9 50 2-6 8.3 2

  • Whitehaven
  • Workington
  • Silloth
  • Ayr
  • Clyde (including Ardrossan and Greenock)
  • Aberdeen
  • Dundee
  • Forth
  • Blyth
  • Tyne
  • Sunderland
  • Seaham
  • Tees and Hartlepool
  • Hull
  • Goole
  • Grimsby and Immingham
  • Boston
  • Wisbech
  • Kings Lynn
  • Great Yarmouth
  • Lowestoft
  • Ipswich

The percentage of all non-fuel seaport traffic (including coastal) tonnage handled by the ports listed above in 1965, 1968, 1978 and 1986 was 92, 89, 77 and 70 per cent. respectively.