§ Mr. GoodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department. [145994]
430W
§ Mr. McNultyThe UK has one of the most rigorous safety regimes in the world and plays a leading role in seeking to raise international safety standards.
Any airline from outside the EU or EEA which wishes to pick up or put down passengers or cargo in the UK requires a permit from the Secretary of State. It is a condition of the permit that the airline should be operated in accordance with international safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. If we have evidence that international standards are not being met a permit may be refused or revoked. Permits may also be refused for other reasons, such as non payment of fines for offences under immigration legislation.
Since 1 January 2000 a number of airlines have had applications for permits turned down, or would have had an application turned down if one had been received, because of failure to meet ICAO standards or other concerns. These are listed in the table as follows.
§ Mr. McNultyStatistical information about senior civil servants with disabilities is available on the Civil Service Statistics web-site at: http://www.civil-service. gov.uk/statistics/documents/pdf/disability-oct03.pdf
As there are less than five members of the senior civil service in my department with a disability, the actual number is not published in order to protect the privacy of the individual in line with exemption 12 of the "Code of Practice on Access to Government Information".