| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
17 Jan 2007 : Column 1154W—continued
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new speed cameras were installed on roads in Essex in each of the last five years. [115887]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department only holds information regarding the number of speed camera sites operated by Safety Camera Partnerships. Each site may have one or more speed camera enforcement locations within the approved site. The information in the following table relates to the number of fixed and mobile camera sites in each of the five calendar years for which full records are available.
| Speed cameras sites installed in the Essex Safety Camera Partnership area | |||
| Calendar year | Fixed | Mobile | Total |
Sir Rod Eddington
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much it has cost to employ Sir Rod Eddington as an adviser. [115698]
Gillian Merron: Sir Rod Eddington was asked in Budget 2005 to advise the Government on the links between transport and the economy. He reported on 1 December 2006 and has not been paid for the time that he spent working on the study.
South West Trains
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated to assist in ensuring that the determination of the franchise for South West Trains to Stagecoach is sustainable in the long term; and if he will make a statement. [115150]
Mr. Tom Harris: The franchising letting process undertaken by the DfT complies with EU Procurement Regulations. Stagecoach’s bid for the operation of the South Western franchise was assessed on their technical, financial and commercial abilities under the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). The EFQM excellence model includes consideration of the sustainability of the proposal over the term of the franchise. The EFQM assessment is undertaken by trained assessors both internal to the DfT and external advisors.
Street Works: Weybridge
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport why no notice was given of the engineering works which took place around Weybridge on 27 December 2006; whether the works were undertaken as a matter of urgency; what the purpose of the works was; and if he will make a statement. [116145]
Mr. Tom Harris: These are operational matters for Network Rail, as 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 question.
John Armitt
Chief Executive
Network Rail
40 Melton Street
London NW1 2EE
Traffic Management Act
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to implement the provisions of the Traffic Management Act 2004 regarding street works. [115457]
Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport is currently implementing several parts of the Act relating to new Street work regulations to a published timetable. (This is available at the following address).
The implementation dates for some later aspects of the timetable have yet to be finalised.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents/page/dft_roads_040926.hcsp
Traffic Penalties: Foreign Drivers
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable he has set for the enforcement of traffic penalties on foreign drivers who have left the UK. [115543]
Dr. Ladyman: The European Commission already has plans for a Directive on cross-border enforcement of traffic offences and is currently consulting on the subject. It is recognised that effective enforcement where an offender is not resident in the country where the offence was committed can benefit from co-operation with other member states, and that there is therefore a legitimate interest at European Union level. There will be careful scrutiny of any proposals that are brought forward and the timetable for their introduction will be dependent on that process.
For financial penalties, a European Union Framework Decision on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to financial penalties was adopted on 24 February 2005. It provides for member states to recognise and enforce fines imposed on their nationals and residents by other member states. It will close the loophole that allows an offender to effectively evade punishment by leaving the member state that imposed the financial penalty. The Government are taking the necessary action to implement this measure in the United Kingdom as soon as practicable.
In addition, in the Road Safety Act 2006, we introduced provisions to enable the introduction of a Graduated Fixed Penalty and Deposit scheme to help enforce penalties against offenders for traffic and roadworthiness offences such as overloaded lorries, where the offender cannot prove they have a satisfactory United Kingdom address at which a summons could be served. A deposit could be taken by either the police or VOSA enforcement officers in lieu of a fixed penalty notice or in more serious cases in lieu of a Court hearing. The offenders will therefore not be able to avoid paying the appropriate penalty by simply leaving the country as the sum will already have been taken. The Act also allows, in any case where a prohibition has been issued and where either the driver or vehicle is deemed unfit to continue with the journey, that both the police and VOSA enforcement officers will in future be able to immobilise a vehicle if they believe there is a risk that a driver will continue with his journey whilst under prohibition. The details of the schemes will be subject to a consultation in 2007 with a view to implementation later in the year.
I and the Irish Transport Minister jointly undertook in February 2006 to work together to initiate cooperation between the United Kingdom and Ireland on one another’s driving disqualifications. Once initiated, this would mean that a resident of Ireland, disqualified from driving in the United Kingdom, would not escape the consequences of that disqualification when he returned home. It would also mean that similar measures applied to a resident of Great Britain or Northern Ireland disqualified in Ireland for a motoring offence committed there. We plan to take this step within the framework established by the 1998 European Union Convention on driving disqualifications. We had originally intended that this practice should be initiated in the early part of 2007. There has been some unavoidable delay to this work, but I remain committed to bringing such mutual recognition into effect as soon as practicable. Officials from all three jurisdictions are working closely together to this end and we expect to consult on details in the course of 2007.
Education and Skills
Apprenticeships
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many apprenticeships there were in (a) North East Lincolnshire and (b) North Lincolnshire in each year since 1997. [110031]
Phil Hope: Figures for those participating in apprenticeships funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) can be derived from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). The work-based learning (WBL) ILR was first collated in 2002/03 and consistent figures are only available from that year.
The following table shows the average number of apprentices in learning in the local LSC area of Lincolnshire and Rutland based on the home postcode of the learner.
| Lincolnshire and Rutland | |
| Apprentices | |
| Note: Figures rounded to nearest 100. | |
Children in Care
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received on the number of children in care who would qualify for tier (a) one, (b) two and (c) three, as described in the Care Matters Green Paper. [113506]
Mr. Dhanda: The consultation on the Care Matters Green Paper is ongoing and it is therefore too early to provide useful information about the representations received on this issue. Once the consultation period has ended a summary of responses will be published.
Children's Centres
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what children’s centres are located in East Sussex constituencies. [116550]
Beverley Hughes: There are currently 10 Sure Start children’s centres in East Sussex constituencies; these are listed at annex A. There are a further 18 planned. Nationally, 1,051 children’s centres are now reaching over 800,000 children and their families. The strong engagement of local authorities and local partners means that we are making good progress towards our target of 3,500 children’s centres—one for every community—by 2010.
| Annex A: Sure Start children’s centres in East Sussex | |
| Name of children’s centre | Constituency |
Every Child a Reader Scheme
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what research his Department considered when deciding to provide additional funding for the Every Child a Reader scheme; [110173]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Every Child a Reader scheme; [110174]
(3) what assessment his Department has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) scientific basis of (i) Every Child a Reader and (ii) alternative schemes. [110299]
Mr. Dhanda: Two evaluations of the first year of the Every Child a Reader pilot have been published. They are, “Every Child a Reader: the results of the first year” and “Evaluation of Reading Recovery in London schools: Every Child a Reader 2005-2006.” Results from the first year of the pilot showed that showed that children made an average gain of 21 months in reading age in 4-5 months of teaching.
The pre-Budget report announced that the Every Child a Reader scheme would be rolled out nationally to benefit over 30,000 children a year by 2010-11. In rolling out Every Child a Reader, we will improve its effectiveness still further by ensuring that it takes full account of the recommendations of Jim Rose’s review of the teaching of early reading, and the systematic use of phonics as the prime strategy for the teaching of reading.
GCSE Engineering
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to improve the level of achievement in GCSE Engineering; and how many candidates achieved each grade in GCSE Engineering in each of the last five years, broken down by sex. [114872]
Phil Hope: The Department has actively supported the teaching and learning of the GCSEs in vocational subjects by working closely with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), the Learning and Skills Network (LSN) and awarding bodies to provide training and guidance materials to support teachers delivering the new courses.
We continue to fund awarding bodies' support which has been expanded to include: provision of exemplar materials; feedback on the 2004 and 2005 external assessments; senior examiner and moderator centre visits focusing on schools' individual requirements.
Vocational GCSEs were not included in the achievement and attainment tables before 2004 and so data for all of the last five years are not available.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |