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7 Jun 2010 : Column 36W—continued
Office of Rail Regulation
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he plans to ensure the Office of Rail Regulation effectively represents the interests of passengers. [911]
Mrs Villiers: The Government have a commitment to turn the Office of Rail Regulation into a powerful passenger champion. We are currently investigating options for the implementation of this policy.
Official Cars
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants are entitled to use the Government Car Service; and how many will be entitled to use the service in the future. [107]
Mike Penning: Civil servants use public transport wherever possible although in some circumstances they can use a taxi-style service provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency, bookable on demand. Four senior civil servants currently have allocated Government cars and drivers, three of whom have notified their intention to cancel existing arrangements.
Public Expenditure
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the breakdown is of the planned £683 million reduction in his Department's expenditure. [359]
Mr Philip Hammond [holding answer 2 June 2010]: I have agreed to contribute £683 million to the £6 billion of in-year Budget reductions sought in the emergency Budget. The breakdown of these reductions is as follows:
Local authority grants -A £309 million reduction in the Department's specific grants to local authorities.
Transport for London -I am consulting with the Mayor on a proposed £108 million reduction in the Department's grant to Transport for London.
Network Rail will reduce spend by £100 million.
The Department is also making £112 million savings in its direct expenditure through a range of measures including a recruitment freeze, reduction in discretionary spend, and re-negotiation of contracts with major suppliers to reduce their cost.
It has also been necessary to defer £54 million that would have been spent on a small number of lower priority rolling stock and highway improvement schemes.
Railway Stations: Leeds
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department has allocated to the proposed new railway station at Kirkstall Forge; what recent discussions he has had on the allocation of that funding; and if he will make a statement. [760]
Mrs Villiers: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to the hon. Member today (UIN 765).
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has for the proposed new railway station at Kirkstall Forge in West Leeds; what recent discussions he has had on the building of that proposed station; and if he will make a statement. [765]
Mrs Villiers:
The Government's key priority at present is to tackle the budget deficit. The Department for Transport will consider the funding for local authority and Passenger Transport Executive major transport schemes as part of the Government's spending review, to be carried out by the autumn. The Department is not
therefore currently in a position to give any commitments on projects such as a new railway station at Kirkstall Forge.
Railways: Bus Services
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to implement his proposal to require Network Rail to refund a third of the ticket price if a passenger has to take a rail replacement bus service as a consequence of engineering work; and from what budget such refunds will be provided. [868]
Mrs Villiers: I have made no specific proposal. However, the Government have a commitment to reform Network Rail to make it more accountable to its customers. We are in the process of considering a number of options to implement this, and no decisions on specific measures have yet been made.
Railways: Construction
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the proposed High Speed Rail links to be operational; and if he will make a statement. [763]
Mr Philip Hammond: HS2 Ltd's report estimates that a high speed line from London to the West Midlands could be operational from 2026. As the Government review this work we will consider any options for accelerating this timetable.
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on the possible route of the proposed High Speed Rail link through Leeds; and if he will make a statement. [764]
Mr Philip Hammond: I have received no such recent representations, but I do support the inclusion of Leeds in a high speed rail network for the UK. Full consultation will take place before final decisions are taken on the preferred route for any section of the high speed rail network.
Railways: Electrification
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what railway lines the Government proposes to introduce railway electrification. [910]
Mrs Villiers: We are in the early stages of the new Government and Ministers are considering the full range of transport policy. The Government support rail electrification as it helps to reduce carbon emissions and cut running costs.
Railways: North West
Dr Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has allocated to capital expenditure on rail infrastructure in the North West in (a) 2010-11 and (b) each of the two subsequent financial years. [421]
Mrs Villiers:
Network Rail is responsible for delivering the majority of investment in rail infrastructure across the UK rail network. The High Level Output Specification (HLOS) developed by the Department for Transport that formed the basis on which Network Rail's income
was set by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) for the current regulatory control period (CP4) in 2008. This specifies a number of investments in the north-west of England that are designed to improve services in the region. These include extra capacity in Manchester and Liverpool, longer trains on the West Coast Main Line and improvements in operational performance for regional services. There are also other improvements to the rail network that are being undertaken outside of the north-west that will deliver benefits to the region.
Full details of how Network Rail propose to deliver these are set out in their business plan which is available on their website at:
That said, Government funding for the railway is not allocated on a regional basis. It is for Network Rail to deliver their obligations to individual regions as set out in the HLOS within the funds that have been made available to them by the ORR. The sources of these funds come from train operators and direct grants from the Government. Full details of the funding allocation are set out in the ORR's income determination for CP4. Copies of this document are available in the Libraries of the House.
Railways: Overcrowding
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is for reducing overcrowding on trains. [908]
Mrs Villiers: We are assessing our policy for managing crowding on the rail network in the light of likely spending constraints over the next few years. Proposals by the previous Administration for the purchase of additional carriages will be reappraised and assessed for affordability. It is also the Government's aim to improve efficiency in procurement practices in relation to rolling stock.
Rapid Transit Systems: Tees Valley
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of a Metro system for the Tees Valley area; and whether he plans to allocate funding to such a system. [507]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has not made an assessment of any plans for a Metro system for the Tees Valley area. Nor has it received a formal funding request for such a proposal.
Transport: Finance
Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanism he intends to use to review regional transport board expenditure in 2010-11. [579]
Norman Baker [holding answer 2 June 2010]: The Government do not allocate capital funding for transport projects to regional transport boards, although regions have advised the Secretary of State on the priorities for allocating capital funding to local authorities for major transport schemes in 2010-11.
The Government have made clear their most urgent priority is to tackle the UK's record deficit. The first step to achieve this was announced by the Treasury on 24 May, setting out details of how the Government will save £6.2 billion from spending during this financial year by cutting waste and low value programmes.
Local government will take its fair share of these savings, resulting in a reduction of £1.165 billion in grants paid to local authorities during 2010-11 of which £309 million will be from regional and local transport grants. The Government will shortly announce in more detail the implications for individual grants.
Education
Building Schools for the Future
18. Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the Building Schools for the Future programme. [000818]
Michael Gove: I am currently reviewing the methods by which capital has been allocated to ensure we can build schools more effectively and cost-efficiently in the future.
19. Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his plans are for the Building Schools for the Future programme in the metropolitan borough of Trafford; and if he will make a statement. [000820]
Michael Gove: I am currently reviewing the methods by which capital has been allocated to ensure we can build schools more effectively and cost-efficiently in the future.
All-through Schools
20. John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the performance of three-to-18 schools. [000821]
Michael Gove: There are currently 35 schools nationally operating as all-through, 26 of which have opened in the last three years. It is therefore too soon to make a detailed assessment of their performance, but we will keep under review their progress and the lessons that can be learned.
Free Schools
21. Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of implementation of the free schools policy. [000822]
Michael Gove: Decisions about the level of funding available to set up and run new schools will be dependent on the outcome of the spending review in the autumn. But the clear principle is that we will fund free schools on a comparable basis to other state-funded schools and that, as now, money should follow the pupil.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of free schools which will be established in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [248]
Mr Gibb: The number of free schools established over the next few years will depend on the level of demand from parents and communities.
Academy: Gloucester
22. Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the establishment of a new academy school in Gloucester; and if he will make a statement. [000823]
Michael Gove: This Department has been planning to open a new academy in Gloucester in September 2010. The academy, sponsored by Prospects Education Services as lead sponsor and Gloucestershire college as co-sponsor, has been planned as a merger of two predecessor schools, the Central Technology college, a boys-only school, and Bishops' college, a co-ed school. The academy has been planned to be a mixed secondary school with sixth form provision, and will offer specialisms in digital technology, computing and vocational education.
Academies
23. Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent progress has been made on the academies programme; and if he will make a statement. [000824]
Michael Gove: There are currently 203 academies open in 83 local authorities. More academies will open in September, with numbers continuing to grow each year now that the programme has been opened up to all schools. For the academies with results in 2008 and 2009 the increase in the proportion of pupils achieving at least five A*-C GCSEs including English and maths is 5.0 percentage points, an increase on last year's academy improvement rate of 4.3 percentage points and double the average national increase.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the number of parent governors allocated places on the governing body of any Academy school. [258]
Mr Gibb: We value the role of parental engagement in schools; however no decisions have yet been taken on the number of parent governors allocated places on academy governing bodies.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the publication of financial accounts by Academy schools. [259]
Mr Gibb: All academy trusts (which includes charitable trusts running more than one academy) are required to publish annual accounts in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which organisations administer two or more Academy schools; and how many Academy schools each such organisation administers. [262]
Mr Gibb: The requested information is shown in the following table.
| Name of sponsor | How many open academies do they sponsor |
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