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Traffic Flows
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what is the peak traffic capacity of the Castledawson bypass; how many vehicles used it when it was first opened; what has been the number each year since opening on a daily basis; and what are the peak hourly flows this year; [17352]
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(3) if she will list the daily number of vehicles and the peak hourly traffic flow (a) currently and (b) five years ago over (i) Swanns Bridge, (ii) Roe Bridge Limavady and (iii) Dungiven Bridge over the River Roe; [17354]
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the daily and hourly peak traffic flows along (a) Linen Hall Street and (b) Connell Street Limavady (i) were in each of the last five years and (ii) are at present. [17358]
Mr. Paul Murphy:
Responsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Roads Service under its chief executive, Mr. W.S. McCoubrey. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from W. J. McCoubrey to Mr. William Ross, dated 24 November 1997:
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(2) how many vehicles pass over each of the bridges over the Lower Bann each day; in each case what is the hourly peak flow; and what were the figures five years ago; [17353]
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me to respond to your recently tabled PQs about traffic volumes at various locations.
PQ 1213--traffic volumes on Castledawson by-pass
The design capacity of the Castledawson By-pass, which opened in 1992, is 13,000 vehicles per day. Since then the average daily traffic volumes on the By-pass are as follows:
1992: 8,800
1993: 9,792
1994: 10,580
1995: 11,740
1996: 11,860
1997: 13,302
In 1997 the average peak hourly flows are: 1,040 (a.m), 1,169 (p.m).
PQs 1214, 1215, 1219
Whilst the precise information requested is not available, I have provided details in the attached tables.
I hope this information is helpful.
There are five road bridges over the Lower Bann river. The following table provides details, where available, on the average daily traffic volumes and average peak hourly flows (a.m and p.m) on each of the bridges as determined by:
(1) The most recent traffic survey carried out in each location; and
(2) 1992 traffic surveys (where carried out).
| (1) Most recent surveys | (2) 1992 surveys | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name of bridge | Year | Average daily traffic volumes | Average peak hourly flows | Average daily traffic volumes | Average peak hourly flows | ||
| AM | PM | AM | PM | ||||
| Toome Bridge | 1997 | 17,667 | 1,652 | 1,737 | 12,990 | 960 | 1,350 |
| Agivey Bridge | 1996 | 3,130 | 220 | 300 | 2,910 | n/a | n/a |
| Bann Bridge, Portglenone | 1997 | 8,500 | 663 | 696 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Sandleford Bridge | 1995 | 20,720 | n/a | n/a | 15,150 | n/a | n/a |
| Kilrea Bridge | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
n/a = Not available.
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The following table provides details, where available, on the average daily traffic volumes and average peak hourly flows (am and pm) on each of the bridges as determined by:
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| Most recent survey | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Year | Average daily traffic volumes | Average hourly peak flows | |
| AM | PM | |||
| Linenhall Street | 1991 | (5)8,874 | 933 | 951 |
| Connell Street | 1991 | No figures available | 748 | 1,065 |
(5) Based on a 10 hour count 1989.
Farmers and Farm-workers
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what studies she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the age structure of (i) full-time farmers and farm-workers and (ii) part-time farmers in Northern Ireland; how many (A) males and (B) females there are in each such category; and what were the figures (1) five, (2) 10 and (3) 15 years ago. [17356]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Information on the age structure of full and part-time farmers and farm-workers is collected in periodic EU Structure Surveys, the latest of which was carried out in 1997.
The numbers requested in part (II) of the question are:
| Full-time farmers and farm-workers | Part-time farmers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Male | Female | Male | Female |
| 1997 | 20,835 | 1,487 | 12,693 | 1,886 |
| 1992 | 23,680 | 3,133 | 10,675 | 3,334 |
| 1987 | 26,774 | 3,632 | 9,517 | 3,029 |
| 1982 | 28,759 | 4,641 | 9,181 | 2,902 |
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Remploy
Miss Melanie Johnson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on Remploy's performance against the targets set in its 1996-97 annual performance agreement. [17926]
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Mr. Alan Howarth:
Now that Remploy has published its Annual Report and Accounts for 1997 and audited figures are available, I am, on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, delighted to confirm that Remploy has exceeded its 1996-97 targets. The targets and achievements are listed in the following table. Copies of Remploy's 1997 Annual Report and Accounts are available in the Library.
| Target | Achievement | |
|---|---|---|
| The average number of disabled people employed by Remploy: | At least 9,400 | 9,662 |
| Average number of disabled people employed under the Interwork scheme: | At least 2,400 | 2,704 |
| The number of disabled employees to move from Remploy factories to Interwork having been employed there for at least 1 year, or from Interwork or factories to open employment: | At least 175 | 182 |
| Remploy will keep within a unit cost target (operating deficit per disabled worker) of: | £10,170 | £9,967 |
| The unit cost of Interwork to be no more than: | £4,540 | £4,230 |
| Remploy to keep within an operating deficit (including reorganisation costs) of: | £99 million | £98,9 million |
EU Education Council
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what were the outcomes of the Council of EC Education Ministers held on 20 November. [17927]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
The Council of Education Ministers, at which my noble Friend the Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment and my hon. Friend the Minister for Education and Industry, Scottish Office represented the UK, made a declaration on respect for diversity and the fight against racism and xenophobia. The Council agreed in principle the texts of a resolution on the early learning of the languages of the European Union; of conclusions on the evaluation of the quality of school education; and, subject to a UK Parliamentary scrutiny reservation, of a common position on a draft recommendation on European co-operation in higher education quality assurance. The Council gave a second reading to a European Commission proposal to increase the budget of the SOCRATES education programme. In
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this it restated its view that the programme budget should be increased from 850 million ecu 1 to 875 million ecu 2 over five years.
The Council heard European Commission presentations on the communication "Towards a Europe of Knowledge" and the EURYDICE publication "Key Data on Education in the European Union 1997".
After the Council, European Union Education Ministers held a meeting with Education Ministers of the associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe to discuss matters of mutual interest.
The Council minutes will be placed in the Library as soon as they became available.
Ms Stuart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will take steps to prohibit the charging of top-up fees by institutions of higher and further education. [17600]
Dr. Howells:
My right hon. Friend has made it clear that top-up fees play no part in the Government's plans for higher education and that no university or college should proceed on the basis of introducing such additional fees. We are considering whether or not it is necessary to seek legislation on this issue.
1 £580 million at £1 = 0.6.825 ecu.
2 £597 million at £1 = 0.6.825 ecu.
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