§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been killed while travelling on board United Kingdom ferries over the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [40303]
§ Mr. NorrisFour.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff are employed on ferry safety inspections; and if he will make a statement. [40304]
§ Mr. NorrisThis is an operational matter for the Marine Safety Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mr. Graham Allen, dated 2 November 1995:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your Question about the number of staff employed on ferry safety inspections.All Marine Safety Agency (MSA) surveyors, with the exception of fishing vessel surveyors, are available to carry out port state and flag state inspections, but the number of surveyors engaged on inspections will vary from district to district according to the availability of ships for inspection and other duties. Surveyors are not restricted to carrying out inspections within one district. Concentrated inspections involve surveyors from outside the region in which the inspection takes place and the team inspecting fish factory ships anchored off Lerwick may be comprised of surveyors from regions outside Scotland. For this reason, it is more accurate to give figures not by district, but for the MSA as a whole.In 1994/95, 75 MSA surveyors were engaged in survey and inspection work, out of a total of 129 surveyors in post.