§ Mr. CarmichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of savings that could be made by reducing the number of coastguard stations around the Scottish coast. [166773]
§ Mr. JamiesonThere are no plans to reduce the number of Coastguard Co-ordination centers in Scotland and no assessment of savings has been made.
§ Mr. CarmichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on coastguard services in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK in each of the last five years. [166774]
§ Mr. JamiesonCoastguard expenditure in Scotland and the UK in the last five years is shown below:
(3) what assessment he has made of the effect the delay in the announcement of the East Coast Mainline Franchise upon (a) the purchase of new rolling stock and (b) planned upgrades to the track; [166434]
(4) what assessment he has made of the implications of the delay in the Announcement of the East Coast Mailine Franchise on rail services to Harrogate and Knaresborough. [166435]
§ Mr. DarlingThe existing East Coast Main Line Franchise expires in April 2005. The SRA invited expressions of interest from operators in January 2004. The process is continuing.