The full text of the Parliamentary Question and Mr Hill's answer is attached. The statistical report on port trends, Focus on Ports, is also published today. To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, to make a statement on the Government's ports policy. Mr Keith Hill A ports policy paper, Modern Ports , has been published today and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House. It is the first comprehensive statement of policy for many years on a wide range of issues relating to the UK ports industry.
Ports are vital to our economy and international trade.
They have an important role in integrated transport policy. The Government seeks to build on the many sound and well-established working relationships it already has with the industry. The paper identifies a number of specific initiatives we hope to pursue. A lot of Departments make regulatory demands on the industry and we will ensure that different regulators co-ordinate their overall demands. We will promote agreed national standards and good practice for port management and port operations alike.