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Teacher Vacancies (Somerset)

Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacancies there are for (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers in the Somerset LEA. [123581]

Mr. Miliband: There were two vacancies in maintained nursery and primary schools and eight in maintained secondary schools for full-time qualified teachers in Somerset LEA at January 2002. These are the most recent figures available at local authority level.

Provisional regional and national figures for January 2003 were published in statistical first release 10/2003 in April 2003. The total number of vacancies in maintained nursery and primary schools in the South West Government Office Region fell from 60 at January 2002 (a vacancy rate of 0.4 per cent., compared to a national average of 1 per cent.) to 40 at January 2003 (a vacancy rate of 0.3 per cent., compared to a national average of 0.6 per cent.). The total number of vacancies in maintained secondary schools in the south-west fell from 100 in January 2002 (a vacancy rate of 0.5 per cent., compared to a national average of 1.3 per cent.) to 70 in January 2003 (a vacancy rate of 0.4 per cent., compared to a national average of 1.1 per cent.).

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Teachers' Pay

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what level of additional funding pressures his Department has identified due to the shortening of the teachers' pay spine. [118126]

Mr. Miliband: Shortening the classroom teachers' main scale is estimated to have accounted for 0.4 per cent. of the overall teachers' paybill in England and Wales for 2002–03. It is estimated to account for 0.6 per cent. in 2003–04, was factored in when calculations resources schools needed.

University Bursaries

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his Department's estimate is of the income from bursaries that he has calculated with his proposals for university income after 2005/06. [123068]

Alan Johnson [holding answer 3 July 2003]: Universities will submit their plans for bursaries and other financial support as part of their access agreement, which the Office for Fair Access must approve in order for them to be able to charge higher fees from 2006.

TRANSPORT

Airport Consultation

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received (a) for and (b) against the Cliffe airport option as part of the consultation on the future development of air transport in the south-east. [123632]

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many responses to "The Future of Air Transport in the UK: Midlands", the Department received (a) in total and (b) during the extended period of consultation, broken down by region. [124269]

Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not available as we do not, as yet, have numbers of responses broken down by consultation option.

Many thousands of responses, questionnaires and petitions have been received. We are analysing these carefully. As soon as possible after completing the analysis, we shall set out our decisions in the air transport White Paper.

In due course all responses will be made available for public inspection, unless consultees have explicitly requested confidentiality.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what circumstances he will consider representations on the future of airport capacity in the south-east after the consultation deadline of 30 June 2003. [123633]

Mr. McNulty: We will consider all communications posted to the freepost consultation address and received by 4 July 2003 as responses to "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: A National Consultation". During the analysis of the

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thousands of responses received we may wish to approach stakeholders to clarify points in their submissions or to explore issues further.

British Midland (London-Belfast)

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to increase the number of slots for British Midland between London and Belfast. [124469]

Mr. McNulty: It is not Government policy to intervene in airlines' commercial decisions with regard to the flight frequencies operated on routes.

Departmental Policies (Battersea)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the impact on the Battersea constituency of his Department's transport policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [123671]

Mr. McNulty: The Government created the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) to give a strategic overview of transport in London. The Mayor and TfL are responsible for improvements to services within their control.

Government funding for transport in London has risen substantially under the 10 Year Plan for transport. For 2003–04 to 2005–06, funding for TfL is some £3.455 billion—averaging £1.15 billion per year, a 50 per cent. increase on the 2001–02 allocation and double the equivalent figure for 2000–01.

Bus patronage across London has grown by 13 per cent. over the past two years, with demand at its highest level since the 1970's. Between January and March this year, London buses travelled over 103 million kilometres—an 11 per cent. increase on the equivalent period last year.

Like all Londoners, the constituents of Battersea will benefit from the massive investment under the Tube PPP—£16 billion over 15 years.

On the railways, the new five-year South Central franchise, operated by Govia, commenced on 25 April 2003. It will deliver over £1 billion of improvements to the busy commuter routes between London and Surrey, Sussex and the south coast, including investment in new rolling stock and improvements in performance.

EWS

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the level of compensation required by Network Rail to reimburse EWS for the loss of contract after March 2004; [R] [123768]

(2) what impact the payment of compensation to EWS will have on (a) the Strategic Rail Authority's budget and (b) the Ten Year Transport Plan for rail and road targets; [R] [123769]

(3) how the move from rail to road by Royal Mail deliveries will affect the targets in the Ten Year Transport Plan; and if he will make a statement; [R] [123770]

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(4) when he was first informed that the Royal Mail would be terminating their contract for deliveries of mail by rail by EWS from April 2004; and what estimate he has made of the impact of transferring the delivery of mail from road to rail on (a) the number of road miles driven, (b) the length of journey times required and (c) the number of lorry journeys made; [R] [123771]

(5) what representations he has received on the delivering of Royal Mail post by road rather than rail after March 2004; and what estimate he has made of the likely impact of switching Royal Mail deliveries from rail to road. [123821]

Mr. McNulty: The terms of English Welsh and Scottish Railway's contracts with Royal Mail and Network Rail respectively are a matter for the companies involved. The Department for Transport was informed of Royal Mail's decision to withdraw from its contract with EWS shortly before its announcement. We have subsequently received a number of representations about the decision.

It is the Government's policy to promote a competitive and efficient distribution industry that supports economic growth while bringing benefits to society and the environment. Mail represents only a small part of total freight moved by rail. Royal Mail says that its new distribution strategy will reduce the total mileage covered by its road fleet and use around 2,000 fewer road vehicles.

The Strategic Rail Authority published its "Freight Progress Report" in May 2003, explaining achievements to date in facilitating more freight by rail and its plans for achieving the growth envisaged by the Government's Ten Year Plan for Transport. A copy of the report is in the Libraries of the House.

Greenhouse Gases

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on greenhouse gas emissions of predicted growth in air traffic; and if he will make a statement. [123675]

Mr. McNulty: Detailed information on aviation's environmental impact, with particular reference to greenhouse gas emissions, is contained in the joint Department for Transport/HM Treasury discussion document, "Aviation and the Environment: Using Economic Instruments", published on 14 March 2003.

High-speed Rail Network

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the timetable for the UK high speed rail network. [123284]

Mr. McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority is considering how to take this matter forward and will make a statement in due course.

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