23-10-02
“Time running out on air consultation” says Barrett
John Barrett MP, the Scottish Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Cross Border Transport, today voiced concern over new statistics that showed worryingly low numbers responding to the Government's consultation on air transport expansion in Scotland.
Mr Barrett today released new information, attained through answers to parliamentary questions to the Department of Transport, which showed that to date 37,122 copies of the "The Future Development of Air Transport - Scotland" consultation document have been issued.
However, only 449 responses to have so far been received, marking a response rate of only 1.2%
John Barrett MP said:
"These figures are very worrying. The Air Transport Consultation Paper offers a number of options for the expansion of Scotland's air transport industry and will have major implications, especially for those living close to Scottish airports.
"With the deadline for responses only a few weeks away, it is concerning to see so few have fed in their comments either through the paper questionnaires or via the Department of Transport's website.
"Only through a large number of responses and from across Scotland will the Government get a true picture of the feelings of the general public and other interested parties. I would encourage as many as possible to respond before the 30th November deadline and make sure their voices are heard at the beginning of what is a crucial debate on the future of Scotland's air transport."
ENDS
Notes to Editors to follow Notes to Editors
* The following answers to parliamentary questions were received by Mr Barrett
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many responses have been received in response to the Future Development of Air Transport consultation document, broken down by region.
Mr. Jamieson: We have received to date around 6,065 responses to the NOP questionnaire and 15,728 letters. This is set out by region in the table below.
| Region | NOP Paper Q're Returns | NOP Web Responses | Total to Date | Letters Received |
| Scotland | 292 |
128 |
420 |
29 |
| South East | 1,956 |
1,311 |
3,267 |
5,121 |
| Midlands | 527 |
657 |
1,184 |
10,500 |
| North England | 430 |
219 |
649 |
39 |
| South West | 415 |
61 |
476 |
24 |
| Wales | 14 |
11 |
25 |
7 |
| N. Ireland | 19 |
15 |
44 |
8 |
| Total | 3,663 |
2,402 |
6,065 |
15,728 |
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many copies of the consultation documents, Future Development of Air transport in the United Kingdom-Scotland, were requested by (a) telephone, (b) e-mail and (c) letter; and how many such documents were issued in total.
Mr. Jamieson: As of today around 37,122 copies of The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: A National Consultation Document-Scotland have been distributed or accessed as set out in the table below. We do not have a breakdown on how the requests for hard copies were received.
| Scotland | |||
| Main Document | Summary Document | Total | |
| Hard Copies Issued | 4,890 |
10,014 |
14,904 |
| Downloads from website | 9,425 |
12,793 |
22,218 |
| Total | 14,315 |
22,807 |
37,122 |