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NATS

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment has been made by his Department of the changes which have taken place within National Air Traffic Services since the beginning of the PPP; and if he will make a statement. [46339]

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Mr. Jamieson: My Department, as a major shareholder in NATS, is in regular contact with the company itself and other interested parties regarding the development of NATS since the inception of the PPP. We are confident that the new NATS management will secure the necessary improvements in efficiency and project management.

UK Port Security

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what arrangements have been made for co-ordinating security measures for UK ports with the Royal Navy since 11 September 2001; and if he will make a statement; [52104]

(2) what assessment has been made of security risks regarding maritime container traffic since 11 September 2001; and if he will make a statement; [52105]

(3) what proportion of UK ports were not in receipt of TRANSEC advice prior to 11 September 2001; and if he will make a statement; [52108]

(4) what recent assessment has been made of measures required in respect of protective security for UK ports; and if he will make a statement. [52107]

Mr. Jamieson: Under paragraph 1 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, it is not the practice to disclose details of security matters.

Roads (Gloucestershire)

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what resources he will make available to Gloucestershire county council to upgrade the A436 prior to de-trunking the A40; and if he will make a statement. [52935]

Mr. Jamieson: The A436 is a local road for which Gloucestershire county council is the local highway authority. The Government have allocated £16,489,000 to the county council to maintain and improve the local transport infrastructure within the county in the 2002–03 financial year. It is for the county council to decide if it wishes to use part of this allocation to fund improvements to the A436.

Road Accidents

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries have resulted from road accidents involving (i) the Fire Service and (ii) police cars; and how much compensation has been paid, in each of the last five years. [52249]

Dr. Whitehead: Information on deaths, serious injuries and compensation, resulting from road accidents involving the fire service is not held centrally. Chief Fire Officers may be able to provide this information relative to their own brigades

Information relating to the police is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department.

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many road accident casualties involving (a) fatal injuries, (b) serious injuries and (c) slight injuries there were in

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(i) St. Helens Metropolitan Borough Council area, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) the Northwest in each year from 1992 to 2001. [51619]

Mr. Jamieson: The number of people killed and injured in road accidents in (i) St. Helens Metropolitan Borough Council area, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) the Northwest are shown in the following table.

Road accident casualties: 1999–2000

Year of accident	Fatal	Serious	Slight
St. Helens
1992	10	105	943
1993	10	99	961
1994	14	90	1,105
1995	8	89	952
1996	8	102	1,053
1997	6	99	1,107
1998	10	94	1,035
1999	13	98	1,192
2000	14	72	1,099
Merseyside
1992	77	993	9,071
1993	71	927	9,439
1994	76	847	9,228
1995	60	763	8,350
1996	66	792	8,793
1997	55	783	9,143
1998	50	713	9,051
1999	55	633	9,271
2000	71	688	9,139
North-West(2)
1992	501	4,875	37,602
1993	440	4,753	37,935
1994	426	5,389	39,421
1995	418	5,280	37,922
1996	389	5,110	39,318
1997	376	4,875	41,261
1998	355	4,237	41,223
1999	360	4,045	40,345
2000	370	3,931	40,213

⁽²⁾ Government Office Region (including Merseyside)

Note:

Figures are not yet available for 2001.

Rural Bus Challenge Fund

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will redesignate the Rural Bus Challenge Fund to include (a) taxis and (b) ferries. [52445]

Ms Keeble: The guidance issued to local authorities on the Rural Bus Challenge scheme already makes clear that the term "bus" will be broadly interpreted to cover a broad range of road-based public transport. It can include for example projects involving taxi buses or shared taxis and a number of such schemes have been supported with Challenge funding.

We however have no plans to extend the scheme to include non-road transport.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Further Education

9. Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she last met the Association of Colleges to discuss further education funding and delivery. [50354]

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Margaret Hodge: DFES Ministers have met representatives of the Association of Colleges (AoC) on a number of occasions in recent months. The Secretary of State met David Gibson and other representatives from the AoC on 11 February where a wide range of issues relating to FE was discussed. I last met the AoC on 11 April to discuss issues including FE pay and funding.

13. Ms Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has for increasing funding to further education colleges; and if she will make a statement. [50358]

John Healey: We are making available over £4.2 billion for further education in 2002–03, a 3 per cent. real terms increase. We are looking to the current spending review to deliver the resources we need to meet the Government's ambitions for further education in 2003–04 and beyond.

16. Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action her Department is taking to widen participation in further education in this financial year. [50362]

John Healey: Further education plays a key role in driving forward growth in participation and achievement, by providing high quality vocational and academic routes. This year we are investing over £4.2 billion in further education, a 3 per cent. real terms increase on last year and this will enable the Learning and Skills Council to fund a 2.9 per cent. growth in full-time equivalent students in the sector. The Council has recently submitted a report to the Government on its plans for widening participation and we will be working jointly with the LSC to implement this.

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what priority she gives to 16 to 18 education in (a) schools and (b) colleges of further education. [50353]

Mr. Timms: We assign an equally high priority to education in schools and colleges. My hon. and learned Friend will know that the 14–19 Green Paper sets out our aim that schools and colleges should collaborate to provide all young people with an extended range of opportunities from age 14.

School Funding

11. Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent representations she has received about Government funding for schools. [50356]

Mr. Timms: We have received a number of representations about education funding. We are currently working up a new funding system for introduction in 2003–04. Our aim is not only to make funding fairer, justified by the education needs of children, but to make it clearer as well. In the meantime, we are continuing to make significant increases in education funding overall.

Literacy and Numeracy Skills

12. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress is being made to reduce the number of adults lacking basic literacy and numeracy skills. [50357]

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John Healey: This Government recognise the vital importance of improving adult basic skills. Since Skills for Life, our national strategy, was launched last year, we have made significant progress. This includes piloting a number of new initiatives, including one in my hon. Friend's constituency, to determine what works best in helping adults improve their skills. Participation by adults in basic skills courses is increasing and from April to October 2001 over 91,000 adults improved their skills.

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