HC Deb 22 May 2002 vol 386 cc346-7W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if Humber Pilots Limited were consulted in the preparation of the document The New Humber Pilotage Service. [58349]

Mr. Jamieson

The paper was prepared following extensive representations from and on behalf of former Humber pilots, and several meetings with them and officers of Humber Pilots Ltd. The paper is an account of the Department's independent assessment of the new pilotage arrangements—it was not prepared to represent the views of the former pilots or other parties, although those that were expressed to the Department are fully reflected in the concerns that the paper discusses.