§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made by his Department since 19 January 2001 of the(a) safety and maintenance standards and (b) works of the local authority ports at (i) Whitby, (ii) Gillingham, (iii) Torquay, (iv) Ramsgate New Port, (v) Sunderland. (vi) Scarborough, (vii) Bristol Royal Docks, (viii) Bridport, (ix) Portsmouth Commercial Port and (x) Weymouth Harbour; what financial support has been provided by the Department in each case; and what improvements have been achieved. [86107]
§ Mr. JamiesonSupplementary Credit Approvals (SCA) are available for local authority run ports to help to fund essential safety and maintenance work. The following SCA allocations been made to those listed in the question:
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SCA allocations for 2000–01 issued 28 September 2001 £ Port SCA Whitby 335,000 Gillingham 452,750 Ramsgate New Port 206,250 Sunderland 58,125
SCA allocations for 2000–01 issued 28 September 2001 £ Port SCA Scarborough 129,000 Bristol 166,500 Bridport 112,500 Portsmouth Commercial Port 244,625 Weymouth 182,160 Torquay surrendered a £200,000 allocation in 2000–01 as the work planned could not be carried out due to two World War Two embarkation ramps being declared buildings of historic interest (Grade II).
The final total allocation for 2000–01 was approximately £1.88 million.
SCA allocation for 2001–02 issued 30 September 2002 £ Port SCA Ramsgate New Port 75,000 Sunderland 7,500 Portsmouth Commercial Port 30,000
SCA Letters of intent for allocation for 2002–03 issued 2 April 2002 (formal allocation to be issued by 30 September 2003) £ Port SCA Ramsgate New Port 262,500 Portsmouth Commercial Port 34,250 Weymouth 8,275 The Department confirms with the ports that the relevant work has been carried out.
Since January 2001 Health and Safety Executive inspectors have visited the ports at Portsmouth, Scarborough, Sunderland, Ramsgate New Port, Torquay, Weymouth and Bristol. These visits were conducted as part of HSE's planned inspection programme, or to investigate accidents or complaints, and not directly related to the SCA funding.