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23 Oct 2007 : Column 234W—continued
Road Works: M18
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason roadworks have commenced at the northernmost part of the M18 motorway on both carriageways while roadworks are still taking place just beyond the southern end of the M18 motorway on the M1; why such roadworks could not be phased so as to take place consecutively rather than concurrently; and if she will make a statement. [159659]
Mr. Tom Harris: Work commenced at the northernmost part of the M18 motorway on both carriageways to carry out essential maintenance to replace worn out carriageway. This is running concurrently with ongoing roadworks already in progress beyond the southern end of the M18 motorway on the M1. Where necessary to avoid unnecessary delays and congestion, such work is scheduled to take place consecutively. However, during preparation of the project, traffic analysis techniques were used to ensure that the M18 work would not adversely impact on the M1 widening project. Evidence on site to date suggests that this has been the case.
Roads: Cameras
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has plans to allow safety camera partnerships to have access to (a) information on whether a vehicle is (i) insured and (ii) has an MOT and (b) other driver or vehicle information. [160086]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The police, who are an integral part of safety camera partnerships, already have access to such information.
Roads: Safety Measures
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps the Government have taken to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the roads. [159520]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport is taking a great many steps to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads, working with a wide range of partners. We published in February 2007 the second review of the Government’s road safety strategy, which sets out what we have done, the progress that we have made, the issues which are our top priorities and how we intend to tackle those. A copy is in the Library of the House.
Speed Limits
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will list the locations of (a) existing 20 mph zones and (b) 20 mph zones under construction in England. [159430]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Local authorities are responsible for setting local speed limits and have had powers to introduce 20 mph speed limits and 20 mph zones without seeking the approval of the Secretary of State since 1999.
The Department does not therefore hold information on the locations of existing 20 mph zones or 20 mph zones under construction in England.
Speed Limits: Safety Measures
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of 20 mph zones in reducing the incidence of child casualties and improving road safety; and if she will make a statement. [159763]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Transport Research Laboratory Report 215 “Review of Traffic Calming Schemes in 20 mph zones”, published in 1996, found that self enforcing 20 mph zones achieved an average 9 mph reduction in vehicle speeds, that accident frequency fell by 60 per cent. and that the number of accidents involving children reduced by 67 per cent.
Speed Limits: Schools
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will list the schools in England which have 20 mph zones outside them, broken down by local authority; and what percentage of schools in England have such zones outside. [159431]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 October 2007, Official Report, columns 772-73W. The Department does not hold information on which schools fall within 20 mph zones or the percentage of schools that have 20 mph zones outside them.
Transport: Tickets
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the change in the cost of train tickets in real terms since 1997; and what assessment she has made of the reasons for the change. [158713]
Mr. Tom Harris [holding answer 16 October 2007]: The Office of Rail Regulation monitors fares nationally and publishes these quarterly in National Rail Trends at the following link.
Regulated fares are on average, 1.6 per cent. cheaper in real terms than 10 years ago. Regulated fares are increased by an average of RPI+1 per cent. Where fares are unregulated, train operators must price these competitively against other operators and other modes.
Work and Pensions
Departments: General Elections
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contingency preparations his Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs of those preparations were. [156990]
Mrs. McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband) on 15 October 2007, Official Report, column 823W.
Departments: Official Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in the last 12 months. [158907]
Mrs. McGuire: The estimated spend on Hospitality for the Department for Work and Pensions for the period October 2006 to September 2007 (inclusive) is £93,000.
Any expenditure on hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Propriety and Regularity.
Departments: Redundancy Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on redundancy payments in the last 12 months. [153190]
Mrs. McGuire: In the 12 months ending financial year 2006-07, £55.8 million was spent on early release payments. Over this period there were no compulsory redundancies.
Early release payments relating to financial year 2007-08 are not available until the end of the reporting period.
Employment: Business
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the selection criteria were for those organisations invited to sign up to his Department's jobs pledge; whether steps were taken to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the scheme; what monitoring was undertaken of the impact of the scheme; and if he will make a statement. [159669]
Caroline Flint: Local employment partnerships (LEPs) are open to all employers willing to make the commitment to open up more job opportunities to disadvantaged people. However, a managed approach has been taken to our engagement with employers. Our initial focus has been on those major national companies who have demonstrated their commitment to working with us on recruiting those often overlooked in the labour market. We are now also targeting those larger local employers who have demonstrated the same commitment.
LEPs are available to small and medium-sized employers provided they are able to offer opportunities to those at a disadvantage in the jobs market and to work with Jobcentre Plus, and its partners, on delivering the specific measures that are agreed. Each LEP agreement is different, tailored to the needs of the individual employer.
It is too early to evaluate the impact of LEPs, but evaluation of the initiative is included in the project plan. A system has been put in place to measure progress towards the target of finding work for 250,000 disadvantaged people through LEPs by the end of 2010.
Employment: Pensioners
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 September 2007, Official Report, columns 2283-84 on employment: pensioners; how many of those working beyond retirement age (a) gave financial reasons as the explanation for continuing to work and (b) said they would prefer not to work. [155990]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We do not have data on numbers, however our extensive quantitative research provides us with proportions that are representative of the group.
There is no fixed retirement age, but our survey showed that of those working after state pension age:
37 per cent. said they did so because they enjoyed their job/working;
13 per cent. said they wanted to keep fit and active;
22 per cent. said they did so to improve their financial position;
7 per cent. said they could not afford to retire earlier;
5 per cent. said they wanted to improve their pension.
We do not have data to show how many would prefer not to work.
Source: Factors affecting the labour market participation of older people, DWP Research Report 200, CDS 2003.
Fuel Direct Scheme
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average level of fuel direct payment was for (a) gas and (b) electricity to each supplier in the last full year for which figures are available. [159935]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is in the following tables.
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