§ Mr. ProsserTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent forecasts of future trends in UK port traffic have been made by his Department; and what steps he is taking to ensure that sufficient port capacity will be available to meet predicted demand. [58832]
§ Mr. JamiesonI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 22 April 2002,Official Report, column 57W, in which I referred to our ports policy paper, "Modern Ports—A UK Policy", published in November 2000, and a discussion paper, "Recent developments and prospects in UK container ports", published in July 2001. Copies of both documents were placed in the Library. The Department plans to undertake shortly a further study like the one on containers on roll-on roll-off ferry capacity.
§ Mr. ProsserTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what studies his Department has carried out to assess the likely 623W contribution of port development to (a) integrated transport policy and (b) wider sustainable development objectives. [58833]
§ Mr. JamiesonI refer my hon. Friend to our ports policy paper, "Modern Ports—A UK Policy", copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House. The paper recognises the importance of ports in integrated transport and the importance of addressing this in regional planning guidance, and associated regional transport strategies.