| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Public Transport
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to encourage the use of public transport by bus. [83123]
Gillian Merron: Within the context of delivering our long-term strategy for improving bus services across the country, the most recent steps taken by the Government include:
Providing local authorities in England with the resources to support their Local Transport Plan strategies, a large part of which are related to improving bus-related infrastructure (some £571 million invested by local authorities between 2001-02 and 2004-05 in bus improvements);
The introduction of free local concessionary fares for older and disabled people from April 2006, and the announcement of free national concessionary fares from April 2008;
Up to £200 million per year of the Transport Innovation Fund (from 2008-09) has been made available specifically to support packages of measures that will address congestion in towns and cities through demand management and public transport improvements, including better bus services;
Allocating £20 million to fund 43 Kickstart schemes to pump-prime promising local bus services;
£54 million available for 2006-07 to support rural bus services.
Providing capital funding for major bus schemes, such as the £42 million contribution towards the Greater Bristol Bus Network scheme.
Over the coming months we will be looking at the success of these, and other initiatives, with a view to developing future plans to encourage bus use.
Rail Fares
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passenger train operating companies permit the use of a cheap day return ticket all day. [82503]
Derek
Twigg: Most train companies have a few
cheap day return fares that are valid all day, usually well away from
urban areas or for travel in the opposite direction to the peak
passenger flow. Most cheap day return tickets carry a morning peak
restriction, and cheap day
returns set by at least five train operating companies also have an
evening peak restriction. Cheap day return tickets are not regulated,
so the Department does not collate information on these
restrictions.
Rail Timetables
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek a review of the time of early morning trains on the Gloucester to Bristol line. [83266]
Derek Twigg: The Department of Transport has no current plans to seek a review of the times of trains on the Gloucester to Bristol line.
Railways (Crime)
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many crimes have been reported at each train station in each of the last five years. [82600]
Derek Twigg: This information is not held by the Department for Transport. Information relating to crimes at railway stations is held by the British Transport Police who can be contacted at: British Transport Police, 25 Camden Road, London NW1 9LN.
Reading-Taunton Freight Line
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will take steps to ensure that freight traffic from the Mendip quarries is re-routed via Bristol to enable essential repair work by high-output machinery on the Reading to Taunton line; and if he will make a statement; [83528]
(2) what discussions he has had with the owners of (a) Whatley and (b) Merehead Quarry on their use of freight trains at times when repairs could be effectively carried out to the Reading to Taunton line by high-output machinery; [83529]
(3) if he will ensure that the high-output machinery for repairing and improving rail track is used on the West country route between Reading and Exeter and not transported to other parts of the rail network until the work is completed. [83532]
Derek Twigg [holding answer 10 July 2006]: These are operational matters for Network Rail, the owner and operator of the national rail network. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail’s chief executive at the following address for a response to his questions.
John Armitt
Chief Executive
Network Rail
40 Melton street
London NW1 2EE
Rural Bus Services
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rural bus services have been lost in Suffolk in each of the past five years. [82727]
Gillian
Merron: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) do
not keep the statistics requests by
county. They do, however, compile this information according to traffic
area. The number of new and cancelled bus services by traffic area from
1998-2005 were provided in an answer give by my predecessor on 16
February 2006, Official Report, columns 2505-6W.
The following table shows the figures for 2005-06 which are now available.
| Traffic area | New | Cancelled |
Traffic Commissioners
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to include the monitoring of the operation of bus services in the remit of the Traffic Commissioners. [82822]
Gillian Merron: The Traffic Commissioners do already have powers to monitor local bus services. They can and do take action against operators who fail to run a bus service in accordance with the registered details of the service.
Education and Skills
Alcoholism
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support his Department provides for children and families affected by alcoholism in (a) England, (b) the north-east, (c) the Tees Valley and (d) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency. [79325]
Beverley Hughes: The Government are taking robust action to reduce significantly the numbers of young people affected by substance misuse, (including alcohol). The Department for Education and Skills, the Home Office and Department of Health agreed a joint approach to the development of universal, targeted and specialist services to prevent drug harm and to ensure that all children and young people are able to reach their potential. This will often cover a wide range of substances, including alcohol and volatile substances and is supported by a ring fenced budget—The Young People's Substance Misuse Partnership Grant.
In addition, the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, led by the Home Office, aims to minimise harm caused by alcohol and tackle adult problem drinking. The strategy includes a work theme on young people and parents.
Arrangements for safeguarding children and promoting their welfare have been strengthened through the Every Child Matters reform. The Children Act 2004 places a duty on local authority children's services departments to protect children from significant harm, including from alcohol misusing parents.
Over the past two years the Government Office for the North East's Drugs and Crime team has led a major regional initiative aimed at developing effective multi-agency responses for children and families affected by parental substance misuse. All 12 local authorities are participating in this and many have developed local networks to plan and implement effective support services.
Specifically within Tees Valley, five authorities have developed a range of services for children and families affected by parental substance misuse.
Middlesbrough have just established a project—Families First—dedicated to supporting families where parental alcohol or misuse threatens the safety and well-being of the children in the family. The Government are funding on evaluation of the project in order to develop the evidence base on interventions with these young people.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much the Department has spent in providing support for children and families affected by alcoholism in each of the last five years. [79326]
Beverley Hughes: DfES do not provide specific funding for this area of work. However, local partnerships have used a range of funding streams to develop and support children and families affected by alcoholism, including the Adult Pooled Treatment Budget, Young People's Substance Misuse Partnership Grant, High Focus Area capacity building fund, Neighbourhood Renewal Funding and mainstream funding for children's services.
Comprehensive Spending Review
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with (a) the Treasury and (b) the Cabinet Office regarding the pre-comprehensive spending review report; and if he will make a statement. [82838]
Alan Johnson: I have had and will continue to have wide-ranging and regular discussions with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury about preparations for the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, as a matter of key importance to my Department's medium and long-term planning.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2006, Official Report, column 666W, on the Comprehensive Spending Review, what the key challenges and issues for his Department are for the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. [84108]
Alan
Johnson [holding answer 10 July 2006]: As my
Department prepares for the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007, I will
be seeking to continue our drive to improve outcomes for all children,
and in particular the most disadvantaged; enhance the protection of
vulnerable children (including those with special
educational needs); improve school standards; and to improve the quality
and choice of courses available to young people between the ages of 14
and 19. It will also be crucial that our Further and Higher Education
systems are able to deliver the world class skills and culture of
learning that will increase the nation's international
competitiveness.
Dyslexia
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to allow children with dyslexia to be given extra time in public examinations; and if he will make a statement. [83919]
Jim Knight: The regulation of public examinations in England is the responsibility of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). The QCA requires awarding bodies to have arrangements in place for candidates with special requirements, including dyslexia. It is the responsibility of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) on behalf of the awarding bodies to co-ordinate a common set of access arrangements. Candidates with dyslexia are able to benefit from extra time when taking public examinations if they fulfil the criteria set out in “Regulations and Guidance relating to Candidates who are Eligible for Adjustments in Examinations”, which is produced by the JCQ.
Examination Standards
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received on standards in grading of (a) GCSEs and (b) A levels; and if he will make a statement. [84254]
Jim Knight: The Department, working closely with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, has been in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders to take forward our proposals to look at ways of increasing stretch and challenge to test the abilities of the brightest students, as set out in our 14-19 White Paper on Education and Skills.
Further Education Courses
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students did not complete further education courses they had started in each year since 1997. [84255]
Bill Rammell: Figures on students failing to complete courses are best expressed as percentages. Some poorer quality data are excluded, so although rates are accurate, numbers are less so.
Retention rates in Further Education (FE) institutions and completion rates in Work Based Learning (WBL) are published annually in a Learning and Skills Council Statistical First Release:
(http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000649/index .shtml)
FE figures for 1999/00 (the earliest year for which comparable data are available) to 2004/05 (the latest year for which data is published) are shown in the following table:
| Percentage of proportion of courses not completed in FE institutions | |
WBL figures for 2000/01 to 2004/05 are shown in the following table:
| Percentage of proportion of full frameworks not completed in WBL | |
Gap Years
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the university non-completion rate is of students having taken (a) a deferred entry gap year, (b) a non-deferred entry gap year and (c) no gap year. [84646]
Bill Rammell: Since 1996/97, information on projected non-completion rates for higher education students has been published annually, initially by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and latterly by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), in “Performance Indicators in Higher Education”. The latest available figures giving overall non-completion rates for students starting full-time first degree courses in England are shown in the table. Figures that separately identify students who have taken gap years are not available. Figures published in 2005 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed that in 2003 the UK had one of the lowest higher education non-completion rates among OECD countries.
Higher Education (Staff Pay)
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department has estimated the likely cost to public funds of the proposed pay offer to higher education staff in each of the next three years; how much of the additional funding of this sector over the next three years the pay award will account for; and if he will make a statement. [81758]
Bill Rammell: Pay and conditions of service are subject to negotiations between the HE employers, their staff and their representative trade union bodies. The Government play no part in this. As such, determining the cost of the pay offer is a matter for individual institutions. Higher education receives funding from a variety of public and private sources. It is a matter for institutions, as autonomous bodies, to determine how they use the resources available to them. Public funding for 2008-09 and beyond will be determined through the comprehensive spending review.
The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) has included estimates of the pay offer on its website (http://www.ucea.ac.uk/). UCEA’s calculations estimate that the current pay offer will exceed the total additional income from variable fees, in steady state which we estimate will be £1.35 billion by 2010.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |