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Telecommunications Masts
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long the Tetra telecommunications mast in Haverfordwest will remain in its temporary location on top of Haverfordwest police station. [482]
Hazel Blears:
The siting of Airwave masts is a matter for O2 Airwave, the network provider.
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Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued concerning the siting of Tetra communications masts in the vicinity of (a) special schools and (b) schools. [484]
Hazel Blears: None. There is no reason to treat Airwave masts any differently to any other mobile telecommunications masts. Airwave masts are subject to planning regulations, which are the responsibility of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Ticket Touts
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has played a role in drawing up arrangements to prevent ticket touts re-selling match tickets at inflated values (a) at cricket matches between England and Australia in 2005 and (b) at sports fixtures generally. [687]
Hazel Blears [holding answer 24 May 2005]: Home Office interest in ticket touting is limited to section 166 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which prohibits ticket touting in respect of regulated football matches. This is a public order provision which explicitly applies to football in view of the importance of segregation in reducing the potential for disorder between rival fans. The provision has not been extended to cover other sports as there is no comparable public order threat.
Traffic Wardens
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are taken to ensure that adequate numbers of traffic wardens are recruited in Leicestershire. [2015]
Paul Goggins: This is a local operational matter. Traffic wardens are employed by police authorities and act under the directions of the chief officer of police. Their role in enforcing parking restrictions is being reduced as decriminalised parking enforcement is becoming more widespread. Community Support Officers and accredited persons can also exercise certain traffic related powers and these are being extended by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. The recruitment of parking attendants to enforce civil parking infringements is a matter for the local authority.
Watch Schemes
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) Neighbourhood Watch, (b) Shop Watch, (c) Pub Watch, (d) Farm Watch and (e) Rural Watch; and what plans he has to improve co-ordination between such Watch schemes. [78]
Hazel Blears:
It is difficult to determine exactly the impact of Neighbourhood Watch (and other Watch activity) on reducing crime in isolation from other factors. The 2000 British Crime Survey found that 75 per cent. of respondents thought that Neighbourhood Watch schemes were effective in preventing crimes such as burglary. The information was published in 2001 as part of Home Office Research Findings 150. The Home Office has not made a separate assessment of the effectiveness of Shop Watch, Pub Watch, Farm Watch, Rural Watch or other Watch" schemes. Following a
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research and public consultation exercise in 2004, the Home Office is in the process of setting up a new national forum organisation which will act as an umbrella body for the Watch movement as a whole. The new organisation will be a registered charity and independent of Government. It will aim to share good practice within and between different Watch organisations and help to improve co-ordination between them.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Alcohol Education
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are taken in schools to educate children about alcohol. [1297]
Jacqui Smith:
All schools must teach about alcohol as part of the science curriculum. Schools are also expected to use the non-statutory framework for Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) to deliver drug, alcohol and tobacco education. At Key Stages 3 the framework
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states that pupils should learn basic laws and facts about alcohol and at Key Stage 4, they should learn about the health risks of alcohol.
The Department is supporting schools by offering a toolkit to support professionals deliver drug and alcohol education. Since April 2004, we have supported 3,000 teachers to complete the PSHE certificate which sets standards in the teaching of drug and alcohol education.
A-level Grades
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of students obtaining three or more A grades at A-level were from (a) grammar schools, (b) state schools and (c) independent schools in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of students obtaining such grades in (i)mathematics, (ii) foreign languages and (iii) sciences were from each kind of school in each year. [1738]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested on the proportion of students obtaining three or more A grades at A-level by school type is in the following table.
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