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4 Jun 2008 : Column 944W—continued
Shipping: Freight
Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many freight facilities grants were provided to waterborne freight operators in each year since 2000; and what the value of such grants was in each year. [207541]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The freight facilities grants that have been awarded to support shifting of freight from road to water since 2000 are as follows:
| Number of grants | Value of grants (1) | |
Dr. Whitehead:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many freight facilities grants were partially or fully repaid by waterborne freight
operators as a result of (a) the proposed scheme failing to operate, (b) traffic passing through the facility failing to match the traffic commitment and (c) the grantee failing to provide information on the annual traffic carried through the grant aided facility in each year since 2000. [207542]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Between 2000 and 2007 the Department for Transport has partially recovered two grants only for failing to deliver the traffic commitment the grantees had undertaken.
One of the grants was for £1,021,187 awarded in 2000 and £244,620 was recovered in 2007. The other grant was for £503,032 awarded in 2002 and £472,471 was recovered in 2005.
Skipton to Colne Railway Line
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received about the proposed disposal of the section of trackbed between Colne and Foulridge on the former Skipton to Colne railway route. [207449]
Mr. Tom Harris: BRB (Residuary) Ltd consulted on the future of their disused track bed between Colne and Foulridge in 2007 in accordance with the guidance that Government announced to Parliament in July 2007. A number of representations were received by the company as a result.
Following that consultation, the autonomous Property Review Group agreed that the property should be offered for sale to Lancashire county council who have protected the route for transport in their Joint Lancashire Structure Plan.
Speed Limits: Fines
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was imposed in fines for speeding detected by speed cameras in (a) Humberside and (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [207224]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department only holds information about cameras operating under the National Safety Camera Programme for England and Wales which ended on 31 March 2007. The amount imposed in penalties for offences detected by speed and red light cameras in Humberside and the East Riding of Yorkshire during the programme's final year was £2,169,840. The Department does not hold details of the split between fines for speeding and those for contravention of a red light. Since 1 April 2007 the deployment of safety cameras has been the responsibility of individual local partnerships. The amount imposed in speeding fines since that time will therefore be a matter for the Humberside Safety Camera Partnership.
Thames Gateway Bridge
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have had with Transport for London on the proposed Thames Gateway Bridge. [207363]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Department for Transport officials have regular discussions with Transport for London regarding the proposed Thames Gateway Bridge, but there have been no recent discussions at ministerial level.
Transport
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when her Department's notes, LTN 1/04 and LTN 2/04, will be published; [206759]
(2) when her Department's cycling infrastructure design document will be published. [206760]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Publication of Cycling Infrastructure Design is planned for this summer. We are reviewing the need for LTNs 1/04 and 2/04 in light of the extended scope of the CID document since consultation.
Waterloo Station
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the conversion of the Eurostar platforms at Waterloo for use by suburban trains to be completed; and if she will make a statement. [207333]
Mr. Tom Harris: It is primarily the railway infrastructure outside Waterloo that limits the number of trains that can use the station rather than the number of platforms. Therefore the need is to run longer trains rather than more trains. So we are planning a large scheme to make sufficient platforms long enough to accommodate 10 and 12 car trains and to modify the junction layout on the approaches to the station. Such a scheme would allow the use of up to 50 per cent. longer trains than currently use the short platforms and would result in a large increase in capacity. The scheme also presents opportunities at Waterloo International to reconfigure the passenger circulation space and the interchange with other transport modes, and to better integrate the station into the surrounding area. Such an ambitious scheme requires very detailed planning to make the most of this unique opportunity.
In order to make the best use of the Waterloo International facility in the meantime, the Department is working closely with Network Rail and SSWT to finalise the design and costs of the partial conversion of Waterloo International to accommodate some domestic services. Therefore some services could use platform 20 of Waterloo International from the timetable change date in December 2008.
Following on from this, and linked to the delivery of the HLOS strategy and timescales, there will be a phased programme to lengthen services on the South Western network with Windsor line services extended to 10 cars and Reading line services extended to 12 cars. The 12 car Reading line services would utilise some of the Waterloo International platforms from 2010-12. For the next phase, the intention would be to extend mainline suburban services, (to destinations such as Shepperton, Hampton Court and Chessington), from eight to 10 cars. However, this will require complex reconfiguration of the infrastructure on the approaches to the station. As a consequence of the reconfiguration works, Windsor and Reading line services are expected to utilise the available platforms in the Waterloo International terminal. This is expected to be from 2012-14.
Children, Schools and Families
Absenteeism
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of unauthorised school absences resulting from family holidays taken in term-time. [206933]
Kevin Brennan: Our policy is to discourage all avoidable absence, including term-time holidays, because of the increased risk of underachievement or harm to children. We trust head teachers to judge whether any given absence is justified, such as a family crisis or when a parent's employer cannot or will not release them during normal school holidays. Head teachers can grant up to 10 days’ holiday absence from school for special reasons, and longer periods in exceptional circumstances.
Apprentices
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) apprenticeships and (b) advanced apprenticeships there were in (i) his Department and (ii) the agencies for which he is responsible in the most recent year for which figures are available. [206838]
Kevin Brennan: In the Department, in the most recent financial year (2007/08), there were 23 people completing advanced apprenticeships and five people completing apprenticeships.
The Department has no agencies.
Child Care: Greater London
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many foster care placements there were in (a) Greater London and (b) the London Borough of Bexley in 2007; [207124]
(2) how many children were adopted in (a) Greater London and (b) the London Borough of Bexley in 2007. [207125]
Kevin Brennan [holding answer 21 May 2008]: The following information is taken from the Statistical First Release (SFR 27/2007) entitled “Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2007”. The SFR is located at:
The number of looked-after children in foster care placements at 31 March 2007 in (a) Greater London was 7,950 and (b) the London borough of Bexley was 170.
The number of children looked after that were adopted during the year ending 31 March 2007 in (a) Greater London was 490 and (b) the London borough of Bexley was five.
Children: Day Care
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of daycare settings in the (a) 15 per cent. most deprived and (b) 15 per cent. least deprived local authorities were awarded ratings of inadequate following an Ofsted inspection for each year for which figures are available. [206163]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 16 May 2008]: The rating of regulated childcare is a matter for Ofsted. The DCSF does not have this statistical information. The Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, will write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Christine Gilbert dated 4 June 2008:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as her majesty’s Chief Inspector, for reply.
Our source for identifying the most and least deprived local authorities is the Government’s ‘Indices of Deprivation 2007’ (an index published once every three years), as taken from the website of the Department for Communities and Local Government www.communities.gov.uk. The deprivation index for each of three available inspection years ahs been used to identify providers falling into both the 15 per cent. most and least deprived local authorities. This information is presented in Table A.
A copy of this reply has been sent to the right hon. Beverley Hughes, MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
| Table A: Inspection data for day care providers between 1 April 2005 and 31 march 2008 | ||||||||
| Inspections between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2006 | Inspections between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2007 | |||||||
| LA Deprivation Level | Total d ay care at 1 April 2006 | Total inspected 2005-06 | Total inspected 2005-06 inadequate | Proportion inadequate 2005-06 | Total day care at 1 April 2007 | Total inspected 2006-07 | Total inspected 2006-07 inadequate | Proportion inadequate 2007-08 |
| Inspections between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008 | ||||
| LA Deprivation Level | Total Day care at 1 April 2008 | Total inspected 2007-08 | Total inspected 2007-08 inadequate | Proportion inadequate 2007-08 |
| Notes: All inspection data from the regulatory support application (RSA) database as of 1 April 2008. Active provider data taken from the RSA database as of 6 April 2006, 30 March 2007 and 1 April 2008 respectively. LA deprivation level based on ‘Indices of Deprivation 2007’ on the website of the Department for Communities and Local Government (www.comunities.gov.uk). The majority of the data underpinning the ‘Indices of Deprivation 2007’ represents 2005 although some data covers a number of years, for example an average of 2003-05. | ||||
Children: Disadvantaged
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much will be made available to train the additional 5,000 practitioners to deliver outreach services under Chapter One of the Children's Plan; and what mechanism will be used to determine eligibility for this funding. [208273]
Beverley Hughes: Rather than committing the Department to funding training of an additional 5,000 practitioners, the Children's Plan states that we will improve outreach services by establishing core principles and standards for an effective and comprehensive outreach service supporting this with:
training materials and courses; and
providing additional funding for practitioners without other sources of funding.
This package will potentially enable some 5,000 practitioners to take up new training opportunities.
As stated in response to your named day reply (8 May 2008), the DGSF has now started the relevant work on outreach. This is a three-stage project which will take place between 2008 and 2011. Stage one, a scoping study to gather information on outreach services, is designed to inform how the additional funding for training on outreach should best be spent. Stages two and three, development of core principles, standards, materials and delivery of training, will follow between 2009-11. We are currently in the process of commissioning researchers to take forward the first stage scoping study.
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