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Underground Power Lines (Thames Gateway)
Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with (a) the utility companies, (b) ministerial colleagues and (c) local regeneration agencies on undergrounding power lines in the Thames Gateway. [160005]
Mr. Timms: The Department of Trade and Industry is fully committed to regeneration and growth in the Thames Gateway and are aware that it contains an unusual concentration of overhead power lines. My officials have been working closely with ODPM, other Government Departments and the local regeneration agencies to consider whether some of these might be undergrounded or re-routed. They have also had meetings with the utility company responsible for most of the lines involved and with developers working in the Gateway. Ministers have been kept regularly informed of progress and have had discussions with counterparts in other Departments.
Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the cost of undergrounding power lines in the Thames Gateway; and what resources she has made available to help with the cost of undergrounding power lines in the major development sites in the Thames Gateway. [160006]
Mr. Timms: Discussions regarding estimates of the costs of undergrounding some sections of the power lines in the Thames Gateway have been taking place between developers working in the Gateway and the utility companies involved. These discussions are continuing. The Department of Trade and Industry has no provision for the cost of undergrounding lines.
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Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her strategy is for undergrounding power cables on the major development sites in the Thames Gateway. [160007]
Mr. Timms: Undergrounding is one of the options being considered for power lines in the Thames Gateway. Others include re-routeing and keeping lines in situ. The developers working on the major sites in the Gateway are preparing an analysis of those sections of line where they consider undergrounding to be important. As soon as this is available it will be discussed with the various Government bodies involved and the relevant utility companies. This approach will enable a more strategic view to be taken across the Gateway than an approach based on ad hoc consideration of the position on individual sites.
Wind Turbines
Mr. Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will investigate how far away wind turbines are required to be sited from houses in (a) Denmark, (b) Germany and (c) the United States to avoid the risk of ill effects on their inhabitants, and then report to Parliament the implications for the United Kingdom. [159896]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 11 March 2004]: We are investigating availability of the information requested with the International Energy Agency and will provide a response once received.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Disability Discrimination Act
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures his Department is taking to prepare education institutions for the implementation of the parts of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which come into effect later this year. [160690]
Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 11 March 2004]: The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes provision in Part 2 about discrimination in the employment field; in Part 3 about discrimination by providers of goods, facilities and services to the public or a section of the public; in Part 4 about discrimination in the education field (Chapter 1 deals with schools and Chapter 2 with Further and Higher Education); and Part 5 about public transport.
The DDA will shortly be amended by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 ("the 2003 Regulations") coming into force on 1 October 2004. These Regulations largely implement the requirements of the disability strand of the Employment Directive (Directive 2000/78/EC). Substantial amendments are made to Part 2 of the DDA and also in one area of Part 3, namely that of employment services. The 2003 Regulations do not, however, implement the Directive's requirements in relation to qualifications, vocational guidance and vocational training insofar as those requirements impact on areas covered by Part 4 of the DDA. Separate Regulations implementing the Directive in relation to Part 4 will be made by the
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Secretary of State for Education and Skills in due course. Therefore, with regard to the 2003 Regulations, educational institutions, as providers of education, will not be affected by the changes which come into force on 1 October 2004.
The DDA was amended by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA), which largely addresses the requirements of the Employment Directive in relation to vocational training in education institutions. The next amendment under SENDA, in relation to education, is not due for implementation until 2005 when a duty in further and higher education regarding 'premises' comes into force. At this point only the implementation of the DDA Part 3 affecting premises of service providers (but excluding education institutions) will remain. DfES will consult on any proposed changes needed to bring the Employment Directive fully into effect, but will not bring those amendments in before the final SENDA provisions are implemented in 2005.
The Department of Trade and Industry is responsible for taking measures to prepare employers for the changes under part 2 of the DDA.
Foundation Degrees
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) participation rates in and (b) drop out rates from higher education were in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local education authority. [150464]
Alan Johnson: Participation rates at constituency level are not held centrally. The available information on participation rates by Local Education Authority (LEA) is taken from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and covers 18-year-old applicants who were accepted to full time undergraduate courses in the UK. Figures for the latest year are in the table.
Non-completion rates by student domicile are not calculated by the Department. The available information on non-completion rates by institution of study is published annually by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in the publication 'Performance Indicators in Higher Education in the UK', a copy of which is in the House Library.
Notes:1. The effect of year on year fluctuations on a small population mean that this method of calculating participation rates is unreliable for the City of London.Participation rates have been calculated using the 17-year-old population from the previous year to reduce the distortion caused to LEA populations by the migration of students to their place of study. However, any migration, for whatever reason, at age 17 will affect the rates shown here, particularly between authorities that are geographically close, for example in the London area.Accepted applicants with unknown English domiciles are excluded from the figures.Population figures relate to persons aged 17 as at 31 August in the year prior to entry, counts taken at the following 1 January; accepted applicants are aged 18 at 30 September in the year of entry.
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