§ Mr. RapsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his Department's proposed study of municipal ports. [153354]
§ Mr. HillThe ports policy paper noted our intention to look at the existing management structures and practices and financial arrangements for municipal ports to make sure that they are playing a full and accountable part in the local and regional economy. We are keen to ensure that municipal ports have an opportunity to benefit from the same changes as are now being made in the trust port sector following out review of trust ports and publication of national standards of accountability and good practice in "Modernising Trust Ports—A Guide to Good Governance" (which we launched last year).
We are now about to commence the study and will be looking at: how effectively the Best Value initiative and the Modern Local Government White Paper are impacting on municipal ports: what, if any, constraints are posed to development, accountability and effective operation by municipal ownership and how these might be addressed; the advantages of municipal ownership for non-commercial municipal ports;
The study will also seek to benchmark performance of the municipal sector against other UK ports and will examine options and opportunities for the future role and status of municipal ports in England and Wales.
277WThere will be full consultation with the relevant local authorities, the ports sector, and port users. We aim to report the findings of this study and any recommendations by the end of the year.