Written Answers to Questions
The following answers were received between Monday 10 September and Wednesday 12 September 2007
Transport
Aviation: Security
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reasons are for UK aviation security policy differing from that aviation security policy recommended by the EU; and if she will make a statement. [155137]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The UK is required to implement the measures mandated in European aviation security legislation, which also acknowledges member states' freedom to set more stringent requirements where they judge this to be warranted. The UK aviation security regime reflects the Government's assessment of the measures appropriate in this country.
Departments: Recruitment
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been appointed to her Department outside civil service grades in the last 30 days. [153214]
Jim Fitzpatrick: In the period 27 June to 26 July, the Department for Transport appointed one non-executive director, who does not have a civil service grade, in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
In addition, the Department publishes information annually on appointments for which it is responsible in its annual report. The 2007 annual report was published in May 2007.
Departments: Reviews
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Gateway reviews were undertaken by her Department in each of the last five years. [155153]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport was formed in the summer of 2002. Information on DFT projects is only held from that point in time.
The Department for Transport can confirm that the following number of Gateway Reviews have been carried out since summer 2002:
| Number | |
| (1) Summer to end of the year( 2) To 6 September 2007. | |
Highways Agency: Finance
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the Highways Agency's regional directorates over-spent on their budgets in each of the last five years. [154925]
Mr. Tom Harris [holding answer 10 September 2007]: The agency's two major spending directorates, Traffic Operations and Major Projects, include several regional-based operating units. The numbers of units have changed as the agency has developed. The following table summarises the position:
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
Similar performance data are not available for 2002-03 and 2003-04.
Budgets are set prior to the beginning of each financial year and are not adjusted in year. The agency actively manages the budget by reallocating resources where necessary to deal with new pressures and changing priorities to ensure that the overall budget is fully utilised. Hence there are managed over and under-spends against budget at lower levels. In each of the three years in the previous table the agency has utilised over 99 per cent. of its overall budget, with no overall overspends:
| Resource budget | Capital budget | |||||
| Budget | Outturn | Variance | Budget | Outturn | Variance | |
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on each of the 21 projects listed currently as on hold on the Highways Agency website. [154926]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 10 September 2007]: The 21 projects listed as “on hold” on the Highways Agency website comprise eight major schemes which were being prepared to enter the Government's national roads programme and 13 route management strategies.
The major schemes and their respective expenditure are as follows:
| £ million | |
| Project | Spend to date |
Following the regional funding allocations (RFA) announcement in July 2006, the above schemes were not prioritised for funding by the relevant regions.
The remaining 13 listed as on hold are studies known as route management strategies (RMSs). The strategies were intended to develop route based plans for future investment in the maintenance, operation and improvement of the network. With the growing emphasis on regional planning, transport decisions are linked to regional objectives and priorities. In response to this the Highways Agency is developing its forward planning on a regional basis through the recent publication of the regional network reports (RNRs) available on the Highway Agency website. A total of £301,712 has been spent on RMSs.
Roads: Accidents
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many recorded accidents there were on the A264 between Lington Green and Rusthall in each of the last 10 years. [155197]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of reported personal injury road accidents on the A264 between Langton Green (at the junction with The Green) and Rusthall (at the junction with Rusthall Road) are given in the following table:
| Number of accidents | |
Children, Schools and Families
Academies
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what representations he has received from teaching unions on his Department’s academies programme; and if he will make a statement. [155251]
Jim Knight: The Secretary of State has received a number of representations from the teaching unions on a range of subjects including the academies programme.
Children: Examinations
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research he has commissioned into the impact of assessments and testing on children’s future engagement with education. [155166]
Jim Knight: The Department for Education and Skills part-funded a review by the EPPI-Centre on the impact of summative assessment and testing on students’ motivation for learning. The review’s report was published in 2002 and can be accessed at www.eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/
City Academies
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to his answer of 2 August 2007 to question 152922, on City Academies, when officials from his Department first discussed with Essex local education authority the possibility of establishing city academies in (a) Essex and (b) Colchester. [155301]
Jim Knight: Officials first met with officers from Essex county council on 18 March 2005 to discuss the vision of establishing an academy within Essex. The first meeting to discuss an academy in Colchester was on 5 January 2007.
Departments: Catering
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of (a) beef, (b) sheep meat, (c) pork and (d) dairy products used in his Department in the most recent period for which figures are available were imported products. [150798]
Jim Knight: For the period 1 January to 30 June 2007 the percentage of imported beef, sheep meat, pork and dairy products used within DCSF Headquarters buildings was 84 per cent. of beef, 93 per cent. of lamb, 76 per cent. of pork and 7 per cent. of dairy products.
Departments: Manpower
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of staff formerly employed by the Department for Education and Skills are now employed by his Department. [153471]
Jim Knight: 84 per cent. of staff in the former Department for Education and Skills are now employed by my Department.
Education Maintenance Allowance: Tamworth
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students in Tamworth claimed education allowance in each year since it was introduced, broken down by ward of residence. [148792]
Jim Knight:
This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and hold the
information about take-up and payments under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council’s Chief Executive, has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 20 July 2007:
I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question 148792 that asked; “How many students in Tamworth claimed education allowance in each year since it was introduced, broken down by ward of residence.”
Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and received education maintenance allowance (EMA) is available at local authority level, but not at ward level. EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year.
EMA take-up for Staffordshire local authority area during each academic year since inception is as follows:
2004/05—3,632
2005/06—6,393
2006/07—7,803 (to end of June)
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