To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department has allocated to the development of navigational aids and infrastructure in the maritime sector in the last 10 years. (269787)

The costs incurred by the General Lighthouse Authorities in developing aids to navigation are generally recovered in full from users of such aids through the system of light dues.

The Department for Transport has contributed £187,500 in each of the last three years towards the costs of the General Lighthouse Authorities’ eLoran project, in recognition of its potential contribution to an international agreement. eLoran is a land-based, high-powered precise terrestrial radio navigation system for all mariners that is fully independent of global navigation satellite systems such as GPS and delivers complementary levels of performance.

The funding has enabled further research into the potential for e-navigation, which if successful, would allow a significant reduction in the provision and associated costs of traditional aids to navigation.