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26 Mar 2007 : Column 1241W—continued
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the cost per job placement of (a) the New Deal for Young People and (b) New Deal 25 plus. [111233]
Mr. Jim Murphy: We estimate that the average cost of helping someone into work through new deal for young people is £2,789 and through new deal 25 plus is £3,471. This data is for the period ending March 2006 and excludes administration costs.
Pensioners: Tees Valley
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners live in (a) Hartlepool borough council and (b) Tees Valley sub-region areas; how many are in receipt of council tax benefit; and what percentage this represents of the total number of pensioners living in each area. [129789]
Mr. Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
| Council tax benefit recipients by age and local authority, August 2006 | |||
| Local authority | Council tax benefit recipients aged 60 and over( 1) | Population aged 60 and over | Percentage of population aged 60 and over in receipt of council tax benefit |
| (1) Council tax benefit figures exclude any second adult rebate cases. Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. Council tax benefit caseloads are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages to one decimal place. 3. Population figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 4. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 5. “Aged 60 and over” is defined as benefit units where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 and over. Therefore figures will contain some claimants aged under60 where there is a partner aged over 60 years. Source: Housing benefit and council tax benefit management information system. Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in August 2006; and mid-2005 ONS population estimates | |||
Social Security Benefits
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy is on paying (a) social security benefits and (b) job seeker's allowance to people who live with a partner who works more than 24 hours per week; and if he will make a statement. [129601]
Mr. Plaskitt:
Income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance are non-contributory benefits. The full basis for entitlement is set out in regulations. The principal rule in relation to remunerative work is that, where the claimant works 16 hours or more a week or the claimant's partner works 24 hours or more
a week the claimant does not satisfy the conditions of entitlement. For those cases where the couple is obliged to make a joint claim for JSA, the 16-hour rule applies to both partners because both are claimants.
In cases other than joint claim JSA cases, where the claimant's partner is working between 16 and 24 hours a week, it may be possible for the couple to claim both working tax credit and either income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance. In such cases, there is an automatic entitlement to maximum working tax credit, but the claimant's entitlement to income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance will be reduced pound for pound by the working tax credit that is paid.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's policy is on paying (a) social security benefits and (b) job seeker's allowance to people who live with a parent who works more than 24 hours per week; and if he will make a statement. [129602]
Mr. Plaskitt: Both Income Support and income-based jobseeker's allowance are available to those who satisfy the qualifying criteria. The fact that a non-dependent young person may choose to continue to live in their parents' household does not in any way affect their entitlement to these benefits.
Transport
Departments: Ministers
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Ministers in his Department have had meetings with former Ministers of the Department in the last three months. [129826]
Gillian Merron: Department for Transport Ministers meet with ministerial colleagues and former ministerial colleagues in the course of performing their ministerial duties.
Departments: Official Engagements
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who has had access to the diaries of his Department’s (a) Ministers and (b) officials in the last three months. [129827]
Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport employs some 19,000 officials. Identification of who would have access to each official’s diary could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Access to ministerial diaries is limited to those who support the Minister in their ministerial duties
Departments: Security
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2007, Official Report, column 18W, if he will break down by commercial and industrial sector the 4711 passes issued to contractors and consultants by his Department. [129078]
Gillian Merron [holding answer 22 March 2007]: The Department's access control systems used to calculate the number of passes previously advised in the answer of 12 March 2007, Official Report, column 18W, do not contain any further information to provide a meaningful breakdown of those passes issued to commercial and industrial sectors.
Exhaust Emissions: Pollution Control
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the progress of motor manufacturers towards meeting the targets for new car emission levels set out in the 1998 agreement between the European Automobile Manufacturers Association and the European Commission. [129740]
Dr. Ladyman: For 2004 (the last year for which EU figures are available), the average new car efficiency for the EU was 163g/km (grams carbon dioxide emitted for every kilometre travelled). The agreement between the European Commission and the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) was for ACEA members to meet an efficiency target of 140g/km by 2008.
While the 2004 figure shows a 12 per cent. gain in efficiency since 1995 (the first year of the EU-manufacturer emissions agreements), it is also clear that the 2008 target is unlikely to be met. Because of this, the Commission recently announced its intention to legislate on emissions: by mid-2008, it will propose legislation requiring manufacturers to reach an emissions level of 130g/km by 2012 (with other measures taking the overall target to the equivalent of 120g/km). While details around the target level are still being considered, we welcome in principle the Commission's intention to bring forward mandatory proposals.
Galileo Satellite Navigation System
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his latest estimate is of the date when the Galileo satellite navigation system will be fully functional. [129919]
Dr. Ladyman: The latest information provided by the European Commission gives 2012 as the date for full operational capability to be achieved. This is subject to the successful conclusion of negotiations with the consortium bidding for the public private partnership (PPP) contract.
Heathrow Airport: Air Traffic
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of flights were delayed from landing by having to circle or stack at Heathrow airport in (a) the last 12 months and (b) the last three years; if he will determine what effect this has on (i) fuel consumption and (ii) pollution; what action is being taken to reduce these delays; and if he will make a statement. [129611]
Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport does not hold this information.
HGV Drivers
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers his Department has to ensure that foreign drivers unable to obtain HGV licences in the UK for medical reasons do not drive in the UK. [129861]
Dr. Ladyman: Driving unlicensed is an offence under the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 and the penalty reflects the seriousness of that offence. On conviction the driver is liable to disqualification from driving all vehicles. The police will continue to enforce the law.
Motor Vehicles: Registration
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons estimates of the number of foreign registered vehicles on UK roads are not available, as referred to in the answer of 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 28W, on vehicle registration. [129293]
Dr. Ladyman: Estimates of the number of foreign registered vehicles on UK roads are not available because comprehensive data of this nature are not collected.
However, an estimate of the number of foreign registered heavy goods vehicles entering GB is available from an ad-hoc survey undertaken in 2003. The report entitled “Foreign Vehicle activity in GB in 2003” was placed in the House of Commons Library and is also available online at:
Rapid Transit Systems
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many light rail projects his Department has considered since 1997. [125984]
Mr. Tom Harris: 18 schemes have been considered since 1997, some of which were considered more than once in different forms.
Road Charging
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2007, Official Report, column 1456W, on tolls, whether the (a) London congestion charge and (b) Durham congestion charge are compliant with the requirements of EU Directive 2004/52/EC. [129865]
Dr. Ladyman: Article 1(2) of the EU Directive 2004/52, states that the directive does not apply to road toll systems:
for which no electronic means of toll collection exists.
which do not need the installation of on-board equipment.
which are small, strictly local road toll systems for which the costs of compliance with the requirements of this directive would be disproportionate to the benefits.
Both the London congestion charge and Durham congestion charge are therefore exempt from the EU Directive 2004/52 as they do not require vehicles to install on-board equipment and do not use electronic means to collect the charge.
Road Traffic
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of the (a) motorway and (b) strategic trunk network have been widened to ease traffic bottlenecks since 1997. [125987]
Dr. Ladyman: The following table lists the schemes within the strategic roads programme which have been widened in order to ease traffic congestion since 1997.
| Length of scheme (Miles) | |
|
M5 Junctions 19-20 Northbound Climbing Lane (Tickenham Hill) | |
Tolls: Greater Manchester
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has selected Manchester as a location for a road user pricing pilot. [129094]
Dr. Ladyman: No decisions have been taken on areas to take forward local road pricing.
Greater Manchester is one of 10 areas to be awarded pump-priming funding to support the development of Transport Innovation Fund packages that address local congestion problems by combining demand management, including road pricing, with better public transport.
It is for the local authority to decide whether to propose such a scheme.
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