House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 24 Oct 2006 (pt 0008)

24 Oct 2006 : Column 1753W—continued

Hazardous Freight

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many freight trains carrying (a) nuclear products and (b) hazardous material have travelled through (i) East Dunbartonshire and (ii) Scotland in each year since 1997. [96473]

24 Oct 2006 : Column 1754W

Dr. Ladyman: The Department does not hold or maintain such records. The transport of dangerous goods by rail, including radioactive material, is subject to strict regulation, based upon internationally agreed provisions, to minimise the risk to members of the public, workers and the environment.

Land Use

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the research report commissioned by his Department entitled Representing the Housing Market in Land Use/Transport Models—phase 1. [94688]

Gillian Merron: The phase one of Department's research to review the modelling of housing market has been completed and a copy has today been placed in the Library of the House.

Parking

Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the conclusions of his Department's most recent review of the powers available to the parking adjudicator; and if he will make a statement. [95625]

Gillian Merron: The Government have not undertaken a review of the powers available to the parking adjudicator. Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 gave the Lord Chancellor the power to make a number of regulations dealing with the notification, adjudication and enforcement of penalty charges. Draft regulations were consulted on by the Department for Transport in July. A summary of the responses will be published and the regulations put before Parliament, it is hoped, early in 2007.

Railways

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what opportunities he has provided to hon. Members to contribute to consultations on regional planning assessments for the railways; [96664]

(2) what consultations he has held with passenger transport authorities over regional planning assessment for the railways; [96667]

(3) what formal opportunities local councils have had to contribute to consultations about regional planning assessments for the railways. [96758]

Mr. Tom Harris: Typically in the development of the Regional Planning Assessments we have held a series of workshops which have included officers from regional planning and development bodies, local authorities and statutory rail passenger bodies. The Regional Planning Assessments have benefited from this constructive engagement which has been used to shape the findings. Where hon. Members have requested meetings then we have welcomed the opportunity to have these discussions. Where priorities have been identified for further development they will be considered in the Network Rail Route Utilisation Strategies and in the development of franchises and will then be subject to formal consultation.

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Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish submissions received from (a) elected councils, (b) passenger transport authorities and (c) regional assemblies before the publication of regional planning assessments for the railways. [96665]

Mr. Tom Harris: Although we routinely discuss regional planning assessments as they develop with regional and local interests, there have been no formal consultation exercises and therefore no formal submissions.

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what opportunities elected members of local authorities on regional assemblies have had to contribute to consultations on regional planning assessments for railways. [96905]

Mr. Tom Harris: We routinely discuss regional planning assessments as they develop with regional and local interests, though there have been no formal consultation exercises.

Safety Cameras

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what response he has made to the finding in TRL report number 595 (table 3.18) commissioned by the Highways Agency regarding the effect of the presence of fixed speed cameras on personal injury accidents near motorway road works. [95512]

Dr. Ladyman: TRL report 595—which is one of a regular series examining the safety performance of traffic management at major motorway works—found no significant difference in the overall personal injury accident (PIA) rate between the 17 sites with cameras and the 12 sites without cameras. There was a 1 per cent. decrease in the proportion of fatal and serious PIAs recorded at the sites with cameras when compared to the “without works” period at the same locations. The report also explains that sites with cameras had a non-works PIA rate significantly (5 per cent. level) higher than the rate for sites without cameras, illustrating that the two types of sites had different characteristics.

Overall, TRL report 595 showed that road works are becoming safer. Motorway road works sites previously had a much higher accident rate than motorways without road works. The report shows that we are now approaching a point where the risks are almost equal.

In 2005, five workers were killed and 12 were seriously injured in incidents on England’s motorways and major A roads. The Highways Agency shall therefore continue to take appropriate steps, such as using cameras to enforce temporary speed restrictions, to minimise the risks faced by the workforce as they carry out their difficult and essential work.

A more comprehensive evaluation of safety cameras, which examined some 4,000 sites, was published in December 2005, and found that there had been a significant reduction in casualties at camera sites overall.

24 Oct 2006 : Column 1756W

School Transport

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the level of support from (a) Hampshire county council, (b) Southampton council and (c) Portsmouth council for securing travel plans and safe routes to schools for schools in Hampshire; and if he will make a statement. [93334]

Gillian Merron: Local authorities have been required to report on the number of school travel plans implemented and the number of schools implementing first safe routes to schools schemes as part of the local transport plan annual progress reporting process.

In addition and as part of the “Travelling to School” project, the Department receives information from the Department for Education and Skills on the number of schools with approved school travel plans in each authority area. It is the published objective of the project for all schools in England to have an approved travel plan in place by March 2010 and there is an interim milestone for 10,000 schools (approximately 40 per cent.) to have a travel plan in place by the end of March 2006. 39.7 per cent. of schools in Hampshire, 55.5 per cent. of schools in Southampton and 61.5 per cent. of schools in Portsmouth had an approved travel plan in place at that date and all three authorities are therefore on course to achieve 100 per cent. coverage by March 2010.

Sustainability of Land use and Transport in Outer Neighbourhoods

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what financial contribution his Department has made to the Sustainability of Land Use and Transport in Outer Neighbourhoods research project. [94686]

Gillian Merron: The Department's overall expected financial contribution to the above project amounts to £117,495, of which £35,000 was funded by ODPM in 2004. To date £69,474.60 has been spent.

Traffic Congestion

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on the extra costs to British business of congestion on the road and motorway network. [95081]

Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 19 October 2006]: The Secretary of State for Transport is in regular contact with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on a range of issues. Sir Rod Eddington is currently studying the long-term impact of transport decisions on the UK's productivity, stability and growth, within the context of the Government's commitment to sustainable development.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department plans to take to reduce traffic congestion in (a) the West Midlands region and (b) Coventry. [95772]

24 Oct 2006 : Column 1757W

Dr. Ladyman: The seven West Midlands Metropolitan districts are jointly looking at congestion problems in the conurbation and the role that demand management, and specifically road pricing, could play in addressing them. They published a report of their initial findings on 22 September and are working with officials from the Department in taking this forward.

The Department for Transport has also been working with the Metropolitan districts to develop a five year ‘Urban Congestion Target’ to reduce the impact of traffic growth on the Metropolitan network, which includes targeting routes within Coventry. In the period up to 2011, the Metropolitan districts will receive over £230 million in Local Transport Plan settlements and were allocated over £90 million through the Regional Funding Allocations for major schemes that will deliver improved public transport.

Wales

Coal Industry

Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with senior executives in the coal industry in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [95230]

Mr. Hain: I receive regular updates from a number of executives within the coal industry.

The Government will convene the first Coal Forum on 14 November to bring together coal-fired generators, coal producers and suppliers, power plant suppliers, trade unions and small businesses, in order to help them find solutions to secure the long-term future of coal-fired power generation and coal production in the UK.

Government Social Research Service

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cost was of the Government Social Research Service in his Department in each of the last five years; how many projects have been completed by the service in that period; and how many people are employed in the service in his Department. [95846]

Mr. Hain: None. The role of the Wales Office is not to undertake strategic social research. For devolved matters in Wales this would be undertaken by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Hospital Waiting Times

Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 12 October 2006, to question 93595, how many patients were waiting for an NHS operation at a hospital in Wales for longer than 26 weeks in the last three years. [96830]

Mr. Hain: As at the end of August 2006 there were 61,616 patients waiting for in-patient or day case treatment in Wales.

Of that total, over 63 per cent. of the patients had been waiting for three months or less.

24 Oct 2006 : Column 1758W

Further details of the NHS waiting times for Wales at the end of August 2006 can be found on www.wales.gov.uk/statistics.

Steel Industry

Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with senior executives in the steel industry in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [95229]

Mr. Hain: I have had discussions with both the chief executive of Corus and the chairman of Tata Steel regarding the proposed acquisition of Corus by Tata, and have sought assurances regarding Corus’s commitment to Wales and the status of Corus workers and pensioners in Wales. I remain in close contact with both companies and will closely monitor the progress of the proposed takeover.

Education and Skills

Children in Care

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the number of children in care whose parents also spent time in care. [95626]

Mr. Dhanda: Information on the parents of children looked after is not collected centrally.

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many, and what proportion of girls in care became pregnant in each local authority area in the most recent period for which figures are available. [95627]

Mr. Dhanda: Information on the proportion of girls in care who became pregnant in each local authority is not collected centrally. However information on the number and proportion of girls in care who are mothers at 31 March 2005 is shown in the following table.

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24 Oct 2006 : Column 1762W

Mothers aged 12 and over who are looked after at 31 March 2005^{( 1,2)}
Number and percentage
	All females looked after aged 12 and over^{( 3)}	All mothers aged 12 and over^{( 4)}	The percentage of females looked after aged 12 and over and who were mothers
England	13,400	320	2
North East	640	10	2
Shire counties
Durham	90	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Northumberland	80	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Unitary authorities
Darlington	20	0	0
Hartlepool	20	0	0
Middlesbrough	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Redcar and Cleveland	30	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Stockton on Tees	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—

Metropolitan districts
Gateshead	50	0	0
Newcastle Upon Tyne	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
North Tyneside	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
South Tyneside	50	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Sunderland	80	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—

North West	2,100	40	2
Shire counties
Cheshire	130	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Cumbria	120	0	0
Lancashire	280	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Unitary authorities
Blackburn and Darwen	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Blackpool	50	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Halton	30	0	0
Warrington	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—

Metropolitan districts
Bolton	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Bury	50	0	0
Knowsley	60	0	0
Liverpool	190	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Manchester	330	10	4
Oldham	80	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Rochdale	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Salford	120	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Sefton	80	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
St. Helens	50	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Stockport	70	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Tameside	50	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Trafford	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Wigan	80	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Wirral	130	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—

Yorkshire and The Humber	1,400	30	2
Shire counties
North Yorkshire	90	0	0
Unitary authorities
East Riding Yorkshire	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Kingston Upon Hull	110	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
N E Lincolnshire	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
North Lincolnshire	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
York	30	0	0
Metropolitan districts
Barnsley	50	0	0
Bradford	160	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Calderdale	50	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Doncaster	90	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Kirklees	60	0	0
Leeds	300	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Rotherham	80	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Sheffield	140	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Wakefield	90	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—

East Midlands	770	10	2
Shire counties
Derbyshire	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Leicestershire	90	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Lincolnshire	110	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Northamptonshire	100	0	0
Nottinghamshire	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Unitary authorities
Derby	80	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Leicester	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Nottingham	90	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Rutland	⁽⁵⁾—	0	0

West Midlands	1,400	30	2
Shire counties
Shropshire	50	0	0
Staffordshire	130	0	0
Warwickshire	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Worcestershire	90	0	0
Unitary authorities
Herefordshire	30	0	0
Stoke-on-Trent	90	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Telford and Wrekin	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—

Metropolitan districts
Birmingham	400	10	3
Coventry	110	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Dudley	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Sandwell	110	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Solihull	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Walsall	80	0	0
Wolverhampton	90	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—

East of England	1,200	20	2
Shire counties
Bedfordshire	80	0	0
Cambridgeshire	90	0	0
Essex	260	10	2
Hertfordshire	200	10	4
Norfolk	180	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Suffolk	130	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Unitary authorities
Luton	90	0	0
Peterborough	70	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Southend	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Thurrock	50	0	0

London	3,100	120	4
Inner London	1,400	60	5
Camden	110	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
City of London	⁽⁵⁾—	0	0
Greenwich	130	10	9
Hackney	110	10	7
Hammersmith and Fulham	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Islington	110	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Kensington and Chelsea	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Lambeth	160	10	8
Lewisham	160	10	4
Southwark	190	10	4
Tower Hamlets	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Wandsworth	70	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Westminster	80	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—

Outer London	1,700	60	3
Barking and Dagenham	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Barnet	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Bexley	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Brent	90	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Bromley	70	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Croydon	200	10	3
Ealing	110	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Enfield	70	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Haringey	150	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Harrow	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Havering	50	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Hillingdon	160	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Hounslow	70	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Kingston Upon Thames	30	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Merton	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Newham	160	10	6
Redbridge	50	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Richmond Upon Thames	30	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Sutton	30	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Waltham Forest	90	0	0

South East	1,700	20	1
Shire counties
Buckinghamshire	60	0	0
East Sussex	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Hampshire	230	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Kent	300	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Oxfordshire	120	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Surrey	190	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
West Sussex	170	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Unitary authorities
Bracknell Forest	20	0	0
Brighton and Hove	90	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Isle of Wight	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Medway Towns	80	0	0
Milton Keynes	40	0	0
Portsmouth	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Reading	30	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Slough	30	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Southampton	70	0	0
West Berkshire	30	0	0
Windsor and Maidenhead	10	0	0
Wokingham	10	0	0

South West	1,100	30	2
Shire counties
Cornwall	140	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Devon	140	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Dorset	80	0	0
Gloucestershire	100	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Isles of Scilly	0	0	0
Somerset	90	0	0
Wiltshire	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Unitary authorities
Bath and N E Somerset	20	0	0
Bournemouth	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Bristol	130	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
North Somerset	30	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Plymouth	110	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Poole	20	0	0
South Gloucestershire	40	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Swindon	50	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
Torbay	60	⁽⁵⁾—	⁽⁵⁾—
⁽¹⁾ Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. ⁽²⁾ This is the first year of data collection and some authorities have reported difficulties in recording this information. ⁽³⁾ All females in care aged 12 and over. ⁽⁴⁾ All mothers in care aged 12 and over. ^{(5 )}Small numbers suppressed to preserve confidentiality. Normally this will be a number between 1 and 5 inclusive, or a percentage where either the Numerator is between 1 and 5 or the Denominator is between 1 and 10 inclusive.

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