Written question asked by Lord Grayling (Conservative) on Monday, 30 January 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 February 2006. It was answered by Stephen Ladyman (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 February 2006 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Transport Staff (Alcohol/Drug Tests)

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) commercial and (b) recreational mariners have been tested for (i) drugs and (ii) alcohol since 2001; and what proportion have been found to be above the legal limit.

Answer: Responsibility for testing professional mariners under the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 for the effects of drugs and alcohol rests with the relevant local police force. These statistics are not collated nationally.Under existing legislation recreational mariners are not required to take such tests. The Department carried out a public consultation in 2004 entitled ‘Alcohol Limits for Non-Professional Mariners' on whether the Railways and Transport Safety legislation should be extended to include recreational mariners. The results of this exercise are currently being reviewed, together with other supporting evidence.

Secondary information