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9 Jul 2003 : Column 801W—continued
Truancy
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on centrally funded projects and initiatives to reduce truancy in schools by his Department since 1997. [119435]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department has directly funded publicity materials aimed at parents, a number of practitioner conferences and the commissioning of research into truancy. Spending in these areas totals approximately £700,000. In addition it has supported a wide range of work at local level by local education authorities and schools to improve both behaviour and attendance through the Standards Fund. Local education authorities have made decisions about local priorities, and much of the funding has been delegated to schools.
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Since September 2002, the Department has also allocated £50 million of Behaviour Improvement Programme funding to 34 local education authorities to support work with targeted groups of schools in improving pupils' behaviour. One strand of this programme is focused on improving attendance. From April 2003, under the national Behaviour and Attendance strategy, initial payments totalling around £14 million have been made to all local education authorities in support of the strategy objective of providing training and support to every secondary school in England.
Because the aim of all these measures is to both improve behaviour and increase attendance—and action in respect of one will often have an impact on the other—it is not possible to identify separately the level of expenditure allocated to tackling truancy.
TRANSPORT
Emergency Vehicles
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many emergency service vehicles were involved in road traffic accidents in the UK during the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how many of these accidents occurred while vehicles were responding to emergency calls. [122009]
Mr. Jamieson: Information from the Department's database of personal injury road accidents in Great Britain shows that 344 ambulances and 88 fire engines were involved in road traffic accidents involving personal injury during 2001. It is not possible to distinguish those that were responding to an emergency call at the time of the accident. Corresponding information for police vehicles is not available from this database.
On a different basis, information on the total number of accidents involving police vehicles and fire appliances is available from the Home Office (for police vehicles), and the Scottish Fire Service Inspectorate and ODPM's Fire, Health and Safety Directorate respectively. Figures for the financial year 2001–02 are given in the following table. The figures relate to all accidents, whether or not personal injury was involved. The corresponding number of vehicles involved is not known. Comparable information for accidents involving ambulances is not available.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Accidents involving police vehicles | 18,010 |
| Accidents involving police vehicles responding to an emergency call | 5,173 |
| Accidents involving fire appliances(4) | 3,389 |
| Accidents involving fire appliances responding to an emergency call | 1,696 |
(3) Figures relate to all accidents, not just those involving personal injury
(4) Data not available for the Isle of Wight, Merseyside and Warwickshire
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Housing Development
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the statement on 25 February 2003 by the former Minister for Transport to the Select Committee on Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions, when he will make a statement on transport provision in the new housing growth areas. [124443]
Mr. McNulty: We are already committed to funding a considerable number of the priority schemes in the growth areas. More schemes are likely to be taken forward as a consequence of further announcements on transport studies which we are currently considering.
Motorway Accidents
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents took place on UK motorways during the hours of darkness in each year since 1997. [124072]
Mr. Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 2,476 |
| 1998 | 2,483 |
| 1999 | 2,608 |
| 2000 | 2,820 |
| 2001 | 2,704 |
| 2002 | 2,705 |
Railways
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2003, Official Report, column 336W, to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow), how many times each rail franchise holder has asked to exceed the prescribed maximum journey times; how many times these requests have been (a) approved and (b) denied; and if he will list the approvals granted. [123470]
Dr. Howells: The SRA may allow train operators to exceed the prescribed journey time in the Passenger Service Requirement (PSR) as part of the effective management of the network and for a variety of operational reasons including capacity constraints, maintenance and renewals work on the network, and amendments to service patterns to provide improved services. The answer given to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam on 19 June 2003, Official Report, column 336W, sets out the derogations for the current timetable on Thameslink. Information for previous timetables could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Details for the current timetable of approved journey time derogations relating to all TOCs will be placed in the Library of the House as soon as practicable.
DEFENCE
Aircraft Sales
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list aircraft sold to civilian
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(a) individuals and (b) companies by the Department in each of the last five years; and who the purchaser was in each case. [124257]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 8 July 2003]: All aircraft sold over the last five years by type of aircraft, the year in which the sale took place and the numbers are set out in the table. The table includes aircraft sold for scrap metal recovery. Our records do not differentiate between individuals and companies.
Details of purchasers of surplus equipment are a matter of commercial and customer confidentiality and I am therefore withholding details under Exemptions 12 and 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
| Year of sale | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft Type | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
| Jet Provost | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | |
| Jetstream | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | |
| Meteor | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Schleicher Valiant Glider | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | |
| Varsity | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Victor | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Andover | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| BAC 1–11 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | |
| BAE 146 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Bucaneer | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | — | |
| Bulldog | — | 6 | 28 | 73 | — | — | |
| Chipmunk | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | |
| Canberra | 1 | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | |
| Chieftan | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Devon | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Gnat | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | |
| HS 125 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 1 | |
| Harrier | 2 | 6 | — | 2 | 11 | 2 | |
| Hunter | 2 | 2 | 7 | — | 1 | — | |
| Jaguar | 2 | — | — | 3 | 2 | — | |
| Schempp-Hirth Janus-C | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | |
| Javelin | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Gazelle | 4 | 2 | 8 | 20 | 4 | 3 | |
| Lynx Helicopters | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | |
| Sioux Helicopters | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | |
| Wessex | 14 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | — | |
| Whirlwind | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | |
| VC10 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | |
| Lightning | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Shackleton | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Tornado | — | 1 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 4 | |
| Puma | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | |
| Hercules | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | |
| Sea King | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | |
| Viking Glider | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | |
| Phantom | 4 | — | 6 | 10 | — | — | |
Armed Forces Pensions
Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when contributory pensions were introduced for members of the armed forces; what criteria have to be met to qualify for a pension; and what changes have been introduced in these criteria since 1970. [124509]
Mr. Caplin: Members of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) pay no direct contribution towards their pension entitlement, although the independent Armed Forces Pay Review Body abates comparator pay, currently by 7 per cent. to take account of the value of the pension relative to those of selected comparator schemes. An individual qualifies for a preserved pension and tax-free lump sum of three times the pension at age 60, provided they have been members of the AFPS for
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at least two years. Immediate pensions are paid after 16 years (officers) or 22 years (other ranks) and a full pension after 34 and 37 years respectively, at age 55.
The only significant change to the criteria for members' pensions since 1970 has been the introduction of the preserved pension in 1975 for those leaving the Armed Forces too early to receive an immediate pension. Armed Service Pensions were awarded to those who served before 1975 but only to those who completed the necessary qualifying periods of 22 years (from age 18 for other ranks) and 16 years (from age 21 for officers). Prior to 1975 there was no requirement for pension schemes to preserve benefits for those who left the scheme early. The qualifying periods for the AFPS were much less than for most other schemes at that time and, in addition, those who left before qualifying for pensions, but who had completed nine years (for officers) or 12 years (other ranks), were paid a gratuity. The provisions were changed in 1975 to meet with the requirements of the Social Security Act 1973 but in keeping with the policy of successive Governments, the provisions were not made retrospective. A number of changes have been made to other scheme criteria, notably to the eligibility criteria for widows' pensions and recently those for unmarried partners.
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