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14 Oct 2008 : Column 1028W—continued
Spend for other requested areas could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
An answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost, as OPG does not serve defined administrative areas.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will reply to Question 220173, on staff, tabled on 15 July. [226922]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice answered this question on 13 October 2008, Official Report, column 872W. I am very sorry for the delay.
Young Offenders: Sentencing
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of sentence was for young offenders convicted for offences involving (a) violence against a person, (b) burglary, (c) robbery, (d) sexual offences and (e) illegal drugs where a custodial sentence was handed down in the financial year 2005-06. [226833]
Maria Eagle: The requested information is contained in the following table.
Statistics are provided on a calendar year basis for 2006.
| Average length of immediate custodial sentence( 1) for various offence groups by age group, all courts, England and Wales, 2006 | |||
| Average length of sentence (months) | |||
| Age group | |||
| Offence description | Juveniles 10-17 year olds | Young adults 18-20 year olds | 10 - 20 year olds |
| (1) Months. Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Source: OMS Analytical Services | |||
Transport
A1: Elkesley
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable he has established for the construction of the A1 flyover at Elkesley. [224820]
Paul Clark: Following the Preferred Route Announcement in July 2008 the next stage of the process is the publication of the draft statutory orders in spring 2009.
Further progression is dependent on the outcome of the statutory process and the possible need for a public inquiry. On this basis construction is unlikely to start before late 2010.
A38
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what decisions have been made on (a) the closure of and (b) improvements to road junctions on the A38 between Marsh Mills, Plymouth and South Brent following the recent review. [222417]
Paul Clark:
The Highways Agency continues to monitor the performance of the A38 between Marsh Mills, Plymouth and South Brent to improve its operation and safety. This includes discussion with key stakeholders
including Plymouth city council. The closures and improvements detailed in this answer have evolved from this process.
Between (and including) Marsh Mills junction and South Brent junction, a distance of approximately 20 kilometres, there are seven eastbound and eight westbound locations where access to or egress from the A38 trunk road is possible. The current position at these locations is:
(a) The Highways Agency has recently consulted on the permanent closure of the A38 Voss Farm eastbound access slip road and is in the process of making an order to authorise its permanent closure. This access slip road has been temporarily closed since June 2007. Although the accident data do not support the closure of the Voss Farm westbound slip roads, their possible closure will be considered as part of improvements required to accommodate additional development growth for Deep Lane.
The current accident data for the other locations do not support further slip road closure.
(b) A recent accident study for Marsh Mills recommends improvement to the signing, lining and skid resistance of the road surface at this junction and this work is currently being designed.
At Deep Lane, the junction improvement work has been undertaken. This consists of the installation of traffic signals and realignment works to accommodate the construction of the Langage Power Station. The westbound access slip safety study will be completed this autumn. In addition, the major improvements to this junction to accommodate the Sherford and other additional development growth emerging from the Regional Spatial Strategy, continue to be pursued.
Safety improvements to the Lee Mill westbound egress slip road were implemented during spring 2008. Improvements consisted of narrowing of the westbound egress slip and realignment of the roundabout on the county road.
No improvements have been identified as necessary at any of the other locations on the A38 between Marsh Mills and South Brent.
Airports: Security
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines have been issued to airport authorities on the appointment of security personnel. [224645]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport places directed obligations on aerodrome managers, aircraft operators, regulated cargo agents, and in-flight catering companies regarding the vetting and training of aviation security personnel as part of the National Aviation Security Programme (NASP). Best practice guidance on the physical and other attributes of security personnel is also included in the NASP.
Crossrail: Construction
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what disruption to roads he expects to take place during the construction of Crossrail; and if he will make a statement. [225126]
Paul Clark: The likely construction impacts of Crossrail are described in the environmental statement (ES) for the project that accompanied the Crossrail Bill and was considered during the lengthy parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill. Construction of Crossrail will be subject to the environmental minimum requirements for the project (including a construction code and the many undertakings and assurances given by the Secretary of State during the Bill's passage) as well as the safeguards in the Act itself, to ensure that the impacts of the project do not exceed what has been assessed and described in the ES. Many of the detailed arrangements for how construction will affect roads and traffic will be subject to approval of the relevant local highways authority and consultation within traffic liaison groups which will be established along the whole route.
Cycling: Standards
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to ensure that all school children have access to cycling proficiency lessons before they attend secondary school. [224725]
Paul Clark: While the nature and level of cycle training provision is a matter for schools and local authorities, the Government have increased significantly the resources for cycling provision to £140 million over three years. Among other initiatives this funding will give an extra 500,000 children the opportunity to undertake national standard training by 2012, over and above the training already provided by schools and local authorities.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on schools providing cycling proficiency lessons for children; and if he will make a statement. [224732]
Paul Clark: The Government are keen to encourage children to travel to school in a sustainable way and therefore supports the provision of cycle training in schools. The nature and level of such training is a matter of choice for schools and local authorities. However, the Government have made funding available to give an extra 500,000 children the opportunity to undertake national standard training by 2012, over and above the training already provided by local authorities.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many schools in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point provide cycling proficiency lessons. [224733]
Paul Clark: The Government do not hold data on the provision of cycle training by individual schools. We monitor delivery of training courses by local authorities and school sports partnerships who are awarded Government grants to fund national standard cycle training in schools. Local authorities monitor outputs from their own schemes.
Essex county council has been awarded £10,000 for 2008-09 to provide 250 national standard training places. School Sports Partnerships in Essex have been awarded £64,000 to provide a further 1,600 places, including 75 in Castle Point and Rochford.
These funding allocations represent part of the significant increase in overall allocations of £140 million over the years. Further and within Essex, Colchester and Southend have been awarded ‘Cycle Demonstration Town’ status.
In addition to this, Essex county council funds and delivers the Essex Cyclist Training scheme (ECTS). It is available to all primary schools for children aged 10 years and above. Last year 3,080 pupils were trained, of which 80 were in the Castle Point district. Although this training is not currently equivalent to the national standard, Essex stated in their 2008-09 Cycling England grant bid their aspiration to transfer training to national standard by 2015.
Departmental Telephone Services
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what agencies or units for which his Department is responsible require the public to make telephone calls to them on numbers which charge more than the national call rate; and how much income each such agency derived from such charges in each of the last three years. [225639]
Mr. Hoon: The information requested is as follows, for the last three financial years and rounded:
Inland Waterways: Finance
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of his Department's budget was spent on British waterways in the last period for which figures are available. [225612]
Jim Fitzpatrick: British Waterways is sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in England and Wales and by the Scottish Executive in Scotland.
In February 2007, the Department for Transport (DfT) offered British Waterways a Freight Facilities Grant of £1.37 million towards the capital costs of constructing a lock and associated works at the Prescott Channel in east London. In that year, the Department's budget for Freight Facilities Grants was £7 million of which 19.6 per cent. was allocated to British Waterways.
Level Crossings: Accidents
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many serious injuries have occurred on level crossings in the last five years. [225700]
Paul Clark: The information requested is contained in the following table:
| Serious injuries on British level crossings, 2003-07 | |||||
| Fatal injuries | Major injuries( 1) | Over Three day injuries( 2) | Hospital treatment( 3) | Total | |
| (1) This category only applies to railway employees. (2) This category only applies to injuries to railway employees that required a three day or over absence from work. (3) This category only applies to members of the public injured at a level crossing and taken directly to hospital for treatment. | |||||
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