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Railways: Freight
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, bearing in mind the lack of clarity as to whether heavy goods vehicles pay the full cost of access, and other costs, associated with road use and foreign registered vehicles may pay little or nothing, it is appropriate that the Office of Rail Regulation should consider doubling access charges for rail freight. [HL72]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is still working with the industry and the Government on freight costs and charges as part of the 2008 periodic review. It intends to retain the current basis for setting variable freight track access charges, which complies with European Directive 2001/14/EC.
Roads: Advertisements
Lord Harrison asked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to encourage local authorities to take action against illegal and unsafe roadside billboards, including those found on Britain's motorway network. [HL138]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Government are working with local planning authorities to set up a database of persons or organisations successfully prosecuted for unlawfully displaying advertisements or selling illegal advertising alongside motorways and trunk roads. A new circular will remind local planning authorities of their powers to remove unlawful advertisements displayed in contravention of the Control of Advertisements Regulations when new regulations are made early next year.
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Schools: Nursery Education
Baroness Morris of Bolton asked Her Majesty's Government:
In which 20 local authority areas they are piloting the extension of the weekly entitlement to free nursery education to 15 hours; and what is the current political control of the authorities concerned. [HL117]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Adonis): The 20 local authority areas piloting the extension of the weekly entitlement to free nursery education to 15 hours and their current political control are set out in the table below.
| Local Authority | Political Control |
Baroness Morris of Bolton asked Her Majesty's Government:
On what statutory basis business costs should not be apportioned equally across all the hours in which nursery education is offered by private providers. [HL119]
Lord Adonis: It is for individual providers as part of normal business planning to determine how they apportion costs across their opening hours. In doing so, we expect them to take account of the requirement that the early education entitlement for three and four year-olds should be completely free at the point of delivery.
Baroness Morris of Bolton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the average cost per head of providing nursery education in maintained settings by local authority area; and [HL118]
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Whether they will provide in tabular form for each local education authority in England (a) the value per child eligible for the nursery education grant of the total payments made to the local authority in respect of nursery education; and (b) the level of nursery education grant per head paid by each local authority to private and independent providers in respect of nursery education pupils in their area. [HL120]
Lord Adonis: The information requested is not collected centrally. Local authorities receive funding for all pre-16 provision through the dedicated schools grant (DSG). This is a ring-fenced DfES grant provided to local authorities to fund educational provision in all types of setting, including private, voluntary and independent settings offering free early education. Funding for under-fives is not identified separately within the DSG. The DSG guaranteed unit of funding (for each full-time equivalent pupil aged three to 15) should not be seen as the level of funding for each pupil but as a mechanism for distributing the total quantum of DSG to local authorities.
Local authorities are responsible for deciding how best to apply the total funding across different age groups and between different types of provider taking account of local needs and circumstances. The Code of Practice on the Provision of Free Nursery Education Places for Three and Four Year Olds makes clear that local authorities should fund all providers delivering the free early education entitlement equitably, fairly and transparently.
Baroness Morris of Bolton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why no regulatory impact assessment was undertaken before the issuing of the Department for Education and Skills Code of Practice for Nursery Education Provision for Three and Four Year Olds 2006; and how the decision that there would be no impact on providers as a result of issuing the code was reached. [HL121]
Lord Adonis: The single substantive change to the delivery of the free early education entitlement, set out in the 2006 code of practice, was the extension of the minimum free entitlement from 33 to 38 weeks. Following the consultation, we made clear our recognition that not all providers would be able to extend their provision to 38 weeks and that, at the relevant local authority's discretion, they could be funded for the provision they actually delivered. All local authorities received additional funding to support the extension to the free entitlement. As a result, we concluded, there should not be a substantive regulatory impact. A regulatory impact assessment was therefore not required.
Baroness Morris of Bolton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have received any representations from private and voluntary providers against the Department for Education and Skills Code of
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Lord Adonis: In the past six months, ministerial colleagues have held a number of meetings with representatives of private, voluntary and independent childcare providers. These meetings have been opportunities to celebrate the progress that we are making together towards the delivery of our 10-year childcare strategy commitments and to discuss issues of concern. Ministers and officials have also received a range of correspondence from providers, including on the code of practice.
Some private sector providers have suggested that the funding they receive from local authorities to fund delivery of the free entitlement does not cover their costs, and expressed concern that, in their view, the code of practice prevents, for the first time, the charging of top-up fees for hours covered by the free entitlement. In responding, Ministers have been clear that local authorities have discretion over their use of funding from the dedicated schools grant, including the rates at which they fund early education in all types of setting. They are encouraged to fund early years provision equitably across settings in accordance with local circumstances. Ministers have also emphasised that the position on top-up fees has not changed and that previous iterations of the code of practice have made this clear. The Government remain committed to a universal free early learning entitlement that benefits all children regardless of their parents' income or ability to pay.
We conducted a full public consultation on the 2006 code of practice, to which 585 responses were received, the majority from private providers. Most respondents were content with the extension of the free entitlement to 38 weeks in all sectors. None expressed concern about the requirement to ensure that the entitlement is entirely free at the point of delivery.
Schools: Sport
Baroness Verma asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they intend to undertake a comprehensive assessment of school sport and recreational facilities to ensure that their policy that every school should have access to playing fields and better sports facilities is achieved; and when they expect all schools to have access to such facilities. [HL90]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Adonis): The Government are committed to improving PE and sport in schools. All schools in England and Wales must comply, unless there are exceptional circumstances, with the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999, which prescribe minimum areas for school playing fields for pupils over 8 years of age.
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The department’s capital investment programmes—Building Schools for the Future, which aims to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school over the next 15 years, and the Primary Capital Programme, starting in 2008—provide funding to build well designed PE and sports facilities where they are needed.
The department has published Building Bulletin 98, Briefing Framework for Secondary School Projects,with recommended area standards for internal and external sports facilities and inspirational design for PE and sports facilities to encourage schools and local authorities to design and use their facilities in the most effective and creative way.
Baroness Verma asked Her Majesty's Government:
What negotiations the Chancellor of the Exchequer has had with his colleagues in Scotland and Wales to ensure that all schools in the United Kingdom will offer children within the curriculum at least four hours of sport by 2012; and when they provided that commitment. [HL192]
Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Chancellor has had no discussions with Ministers in the devolved Administrations on these matters, as sport and education are devolved matters.
Security Industry Authority
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 2 November (WA 73), how the Security Industry Authority will meet the deficit of £3.1 million incurred in 2005-06; and how the authority will meet the projected deficit of £3.7 million in 2006-07; and [HL79]
Whether they intend to provide any resources to offset the deficits incurred by the Security Industry Authority (SIA); and, if not, how and when the SIA will become a self-supporting organisation. [HL80]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): The Home Office covered the Security Industry Authority's (SIA) deficit in 2005-06. The SIA has a projected deficit of £3.7 million in 2006-07, which it has already reduced from a forecasted deficit of £4.5 million.
The SIA has been asked to identify areas where it can make further savings. A further discussion with the authority will take place once this analysis has been received.
Shipping: Seamen Recruited Abroad
Lord Harrison asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Seamen Recruited Abroad Order 2003 introduced any racial discrimination in respect of foreign national seafarers, particularly in relation to remuneration rates.[HL140]
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Lord Davies of Oldham: No. The Seamen Recruited Abroad Order 2003 amended Section 9 of the Race Relations Act 1976 to reduce the scope of the exemption applying to seafarers employed on ships registered at a port of registry in Great Britain, on the grounds of race, ethnic or national origin, or colour.
Shipping: Tonnage Tax
Lord Harrison asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of the tonnage tax on merchant shipping introduced in 2000 and, in particular, its effect on employment levels of British officers and British ratings. [HL139]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Inland Revenue (now HM Revenue and Customs) and the Department for Transport carried out a post-implementation review of the tonnage tax in 2004. This showed that, since the introduction of the tax, the deadweight tonnage of ships on the UK register had increased nearly threefold. It also showed that around 12,500 seafarers were employed on the ships in tonnage tax, officers and ratings numbering more than 6,000 each. Approximately 39 per cent of these seafarers were UK nationals.
The introduction of the tonnage tax has had a positive influence on the climate for British shipping, but its effect on the employment levels of British seafarers is not easily measurable. The Government are continuing to look at ways to increase employment opportunities for UK seafarers, while maintaining the competitiveness of the UK shipping industry.
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