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30 Jun 2010 : Column 551W—continued
Magistrates Courts: Greater Manchester
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of cases likely to be transferred to (a) Tameside magistrates court, (b) Stockport magistrates court and (c) Manchester magistrates court following the proposed closure of other magistrates' courts in the Greater Manchester area. [4660]
Mr Djanogly: In the Greater Manchester area, my Department is consulting on the closure of Rochdale magistrates court and Salford magistrates court. The Lord Chancellor will take all views expressed during the consultation process into account before making any decision.
No estimate has been made of the number of cases likely to transfer to each of these courts in the question. Should there be a decision to close Rochdale or Salford magistrates courts their work will move to other courts in the Greater Manchester area.
The volume of cases heard in 2009-10 in the Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood local justice area was 12,927. The volume of cases heard in 2009-10 in the City of Salford local justice area was 12,711.
Decisions on case transfer will not be made until after the Lord Chancellor makes decisions on which courts ought to be closed.
Prison Sentences
Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of those sentenced to prison for a term of six months served (a) six months, (b) three months or less, (c) six weeks or less and (d) none of that sentence in each of the last five years. [4675]
Mr Blunt: Prisoners who are sentenced to six months normally serve three months in prison. Adult prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months are not subject to supervision by the probation service on release from custody. However, they are 'at risk' of return to custody by the courts, to serve the unexpired portion of the sentence, if they commit an imprisonable offence before the expiry date of the original sentence. Young offenders (those under the age of 22 released from a term of detention in a YOI) are subject to a minimum of three months supervision. Juvenile prisoners sentenced to a detention and training order are supervised as part of the conditions of these sentences. These arrangements for release at the half-way point of sentence were introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 1991.
The actual amount of time served in prison, following sentence, will depend on a number of factors, including time spent as a remand prisoner or credit for time spent on tagged bail if directed by the court, any added days and release on either home detention curfew or end of custody licence.
For those prisoners discharged in 2004 to 2008 having been sentenced to six months, the amount of time served including remand is shown in the following table.
| 6 weeks or less | Over 6 weeks and up to 3 months | Over 3 months and less than 6 months | 6 months | Total | |
| Notes: 1. Numbers below 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers over 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Data for 2009 are due to be published in July 2010 and therefore are not yet available. 3. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. | |||||
Transport
Bus Services: Newcastle upon Tyne
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the likely effects of proposed reductions in the transport budget on the quality of bus services in Newcastle-upon-Tyne North. [3605]
Norman Baker: It is for local authorities to decide where their priorities and opportunities for efficiencies lie across the totality of their responsibilities, in order to protect front line services. The fact that certain grants have been chosen for reduction over others does not indicate that Government are imposing a national view on the relative importance of different areas. Nor do the Government expect there to be a direct correlation between grant reductions and local authority budget changes.
Electric Vehicles
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2010, Official Report, column 560W, on electric vehicles, if he will bring forward proposals for a national charging network for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. [4621]
Norman Baker: The mandating of a national charging network for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles remains a coalition commitment. We are carefully considering a range of delivery options, but decisions have yet to be taken.
Mersey Gateway Project
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse consequent on the time taken to make a decision on approval of funding for the Mersey Gateway project. [4385]
Norman Baker: No estimate has been made. As with other such schemes, the Government can give no assurances that it can fund this scheme until the spending review is concluded.
Motorcycles: Driving Tests
Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motorcycle test examiners were available to carry out module 1 of the motorcycle test in (a) Wales, (b) England and (c) Scotland on the most recent date for which figures are available. [3880]
Mike Penning: On 21 June 2010, 162 examiners were available to conduct module 1 practical motorcycling tests:
(a) 14 in Wales,
(b) 124 in England and
(c) 24 in Scotland.
The data comprise the number of examiners available to deliver module 1 practical motorcycling tests and were not on leave or absent through sickness on 21 June 2010. These examiners were also available to conduct module 2 practical motorcycling tests as well as other categories of test.
Examiners are not confined by national boundaries and are deployed to best meet local demand for tests.
Motorways: Speed Limits
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will end the operation of average speed camera readings on stretches of motorway where a 50 mph limit is in place on weekends and bank holidays when no work is taking place. [2526]
Mike Penning [holding answer 17 June 2010]: Reduced speed limits are used for the protection of road users and road workers. Where possible, speed restrictions are lifted when the risks to road users and road workers have been reduced.
The Highways Agency reviews the number and scale of road works, including the use of temporary reduced speed limits, at bank holidays to see how many can be reduced or removed temporarily.
Where narrowed lanes or contra flow systems have to remain in place, even when work is not being carried out, it may not be safe to remove the temporary speed limit. The Highways Agency is investigating the possible use of moveable barriers to address this problem.
Railways: Freight
Mr Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the economy of transporting one tonne of freight by rail instead of by road. [4431]
Mike Penning: The Department for Transport has not made a general estimate of the economic effect of a tonne of freight being taken by rail instead of by road because in the majority of cases industry choose the most efficient mode, thereby balancing the amount the carriage of the freight is worth with the cost of moving it by particular modes.
Where the Department intervenes in mode-choice, grants are given in order to account for impacts that do not necessarily figure in industry decision making. One of these impacts is road congestion and its associated economic impact, which can be reduced by taking freight by rail instead of by road. The costs of congestion vary by where on the road network a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) travels and detailed estimates of these costs for articulated HGVs were published in April 2009. Tables 4 and 7 in the report "Mode Shift Benefit Values: Technical Report" show estimates for different types of road and in different areas. The analysis found that on average the cost of congestion is 52p per mile for an articulated HGV. The document is available on the internet at the following address:
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding his Department plans to make available for the repair and maintenance of potholes in roads for which it is responsible in 2010-11. [509]
Norman Baker: Local roads in England are managed by local highway authorities. Funding is provided by central Government to local highway authorities to support investment in their roads. Local highways authorities have been advised of their allocations for 2010-11 from the £84 million provided to assist them repair potholes they consider were caused by severe weather this winter. On receipt, by the Department, of confirmation from an authority that they accept the terms and conditions of the grant, the authority will be entitled to their full allocation.
For the trunk road network in England, managed by the Highways Agency, no special funding has been provided for the repair of potholes as the costs for repairing potholes tends to be relatively small compared to the overall allocated maintenance budget. If potholes have safety implications, they are repaired promptly as part of the Highways Agency's routine and winter maintenance programme.
Defence
16 Air Assault Brigade: Pay
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many and what proportion of members of 16 Air Assault Brigade will have their pay frozen as a result of the decision to freeze the wages of public sector workers; [4572]
(2) how many and what proportion of members of the armed forces will have their pay frozen as a result of the decision to freeze the wages of public sector workers. [4577]
Mr Robathan:
It is not possible to calculate accurately the numbers affected by the pay freeze in April 2011 due to factors such as promotion, recruitment, retirement etc. However, it is estimated that about three quarters or some 140,000 service personnel are on salaries above
£21,000 and so would be subject to the public sector pay freeze next year. Most service personnel whether in receipt of a pay rise or not, will continue to receive annual increments on the anniversary of their seniority in rank and so will still get an increase in pay at some point. In addition, those personnel deployed on operations will continue to benefit from a range of additional allowances, for example the operational allowance, which was recently doubled, as well as the wider operational welfare package.
It is not possible to predict with any accuracy the proportion of particular Brigades that will be affected by the pay freeze in April 2011. If a similar pay freeze had come into effect in April 2010 we estimate between 70-75%of the 16 Air Assault Brigade would have been affected.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times an International Security Assistance Force helicopter in Afghanistan has been struck by insurgent fire in 2010. [3768]
Nick Harvey: I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of the armed forces.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2010, Official Report, column 119W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, what the percentage increase was in (a) new helicopters, (b) armoured vehicles and (c) protected vehicles delivered to Afghanistan in each of the last five years. [4708]
Nick Harvey [holding answer 28 June 2010]: I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces. I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Defence Secretary gave him on 22 June 2010, Official Report, column 119W.
We are continuously delivering improvements to our fleet of helicopters protected and armoured vehicles in Afghanistan to ensure that they meet operational requirements.
Ammunition
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the fissile material in each of the United Kingdom's 65 non-operational nuclear warheads has been removed from the weapons and stored separately. [4904]
Peter Luff: The warheads in question are necessary to sustain the operationally available stockpile. They are held to support routine logistic, maintenance and warhead assurance activities and therefore they retain their fissile material.
Armed Forces: Germany
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the Chief of the General Staff on restationing of British troops based in Germany. [4005]
Nick Harvey [holding answer 24 June 2010]: The Secretary of State for Defence regularly discusses a range of issues with the chiefs of staff.
The Ministry of Defence is examining its requirement for all overseas basing as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. However, this study has not yet reported to the Secretary of State.
Armed Forces: Horses
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many horses owned by the armed forces were sold upon their retirement in the last five years; and how much income was generated from such sales; [3584]
(2) how many horses have been retired from the armed forces in each of the last five years. [3587]
Nick Harvey: The numbers of horses retired from the armed forces in the last five calendar years, the number subsequently sold or gifted and the income generated from those sold are shown in the following table.
| Number retired | Number sold or gifted | Income (£) | |
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