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Wincanton Bypass
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 28 March (WA 32-33), when the A303 Wincanton bypass is next due for resurfacing. [HL1629]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty): The Wincanton bypass is not in the current three-year programme for resurfacing. However, the bypass will be surveyed later this year as part of the Highways Agency's routine condition surveys. This data will be used to determine whether there is a need to include works in the programme as it is rolled forward.
Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations
Earl Attlee asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the provisions of the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 will require some imported vehicles to be modified after they have been safety tested and approved for entry into service under the Single Vehicle Approval Scheme in a way which could invalidate that approval. [HL1643]
Lord Whitty: Some imported vehicles will require modifications after the Single Vehicle Approval test to comply with the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001. Provided any necessary modifications are made properly and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 and the Road Vehicles (Lighting) Regulations 1989, a Single Vehicle Approval would not be invalidated.
Earl Attlee asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether automatic number-plate readers are capable of reading number plates with a font size of 64mm by 44mm as approved for use with motorcycles. [HL1644]
Lord Whitty: Automatic number-plate reader systems are able to read number plates of various font sizes, including that approved for motorcycles. The degree of success in reading plates varies mainly according to the type of system used and the prevailing road and weather conditions.
Earl Attlee asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they were advised by the European Commission to include left-hand drive vehicles in the list of specialist vehicles allowed to use the smaller font size (64 millimetres by 44 millimetres) in the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulation 2001. [HL1645]
Lord Whitty: In January 2001 the European Commission commented on the draft regulations on the display of vehicle number-plates and requested that a special category of left-hand drive vehicles imported in low volume from other member states be created in the definition of "specialist vehicles" to exempt them from the obligation to fit standard size number-plates. The Government are currently considering the implications of such an exemption.
Earl Attlee asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the European Commission has again written to them to ask whether they have taken into account the Commission's advice on the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001; whether the Commission has set a deadline for responding to such a letter of one month; and whether the Commission has warned that it will take legal action when it has an example of the regulations affecting intra-community trade.[HL1646]
Lord Whitty: Her Majesty's Government have not received further written communication from the European Commission.
Foot and Mouth Disease: Cancellation of Events
Lord Jopling asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether their policy of opening up activities in the countryside during the current foot and mouth outbreak, where it is safe to do so, is compatible with the policy of the British Horseracing Board set out in its letter to racecourses stating that "Any racecourse which from this moment forward (10 am, 14 March) itself elects not to stage a forthcoming fixture will have to be seen by us as having decided not to race for the duration of the outbreak".[HL1671]
Lord Whitty: Her Majesty's Government have issued guidance to help people responsible for events and attractions in the countryside decide how to operate during the foot and mouth outbreak. Expert veterinary advice provided to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is that most events may safely go ahead. It is for the organisers of events to decide what to do in the light of the guidance, and Her Majesty's Government are not responsible for the British Horseracing Board's advice. In general, however, excessive caution in cancelling events and closing rights of way, even where the risks of spreading disease are very remote, is seriously damaging the economy of rural England.
NHS Commissioning Arrangements
Earl Howe asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 27 September 2000 (WA 186-87) that the annual reports for the new regional specialised commissioning arrangements will be published locally in mid-September 2000 and the annual report of the National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group in early October 2000:
(a) on which date these reports were placed in the Library of the House;
(b) to which organisations the reports were disseminated and when;
(c) what comments on the reports were received by the National Health Service specialised services users organisations;
(d) what follow-up action has been taken since that time; and
(e) what plans they have to develop specialised services and improve patients' access to them.[HL1528]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Copies of the annual reports for the regional specialised commissioning groups (RSCGs) and the Annual Report for the National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group (NSCAG) were placed in the Library of the House of Lords on 10 April 2001.
Each region disseminated its RSCG annual report to a local regional audience during October and November 2000. Copies of the NSCAG Annual Report, which contained a chapter summarising the main lessons learned from the RSCG's annual reports, were disseminated in November and December 2000 to a wide audience, including several hundred voluntary and professional organisations.
We have no information on comments received by the NHS specialised services users organisations on the annual reports.
The 2000-01 RSCG annual reports, due to be published this autumn, will give an account of the
second year of operation, including follow-up action from year one and plans to develop specialised services and improve patients' access.The 2000-01 NSCAG (fifth) Annual Report, the fifth NSCAG report, due to be published this autumn, will give an account of those highly specialised services commissioned nationally.
Young Unemployed People Setting Up a Business
Lord Harrison asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What action they will take to help those young unemployed people who are dissuaded from starting their own businesses through the Prince's Trust Scheme on the grounds that the eight weeks' leeway in remaining on benefit is insufficient for some clients whose preparation for work may involve protracted negotiations on acquiring premises.[HL771]
The Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment (Baroness Blackstone): Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) Regulations require those who are claiming benefits relating to unemployment to be actively seeking work.
However, unemployed people who commit themselves to setting up their own business (including those young people being supported through the Prince's Trust scheme) are allowed a single eight-week period where they can be treated as actively seeking employment. This flexibility acknowledges that for some people self-employment is the most appropriate route back to work. It releases them from the requirement to seek employed earners' employment during this period so they can concentrate their efforts upon building and implementing their business plan.
For the small number of clients who do not manage to complete their preparations in this time, they can continue to claim JSA as long as they are able to meet the basic entitlement conditions. Actively seeking employment and, indeed, short-term employment is not a barrier to the longer-term objective of establishing a business.
New Deal: Training and Self-employment
Lord Mason of Barnsley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many people have opted for training and self-employment within the New Deal, giving figures separately for England and South Yorkshire.[HL1610]
Baroness Blackstone: Latest figures show that from January 1998 to the end of January 2001, 91,700 young
people had started full-time education and training option of New Deal in Great Britain, of which 76,000 were in England. Of these, 4,760 were in South Yorkshire. All of the New Deal options contain an element of training.In the same time period, 3,180 young people started stage 3 of the self-employment routeway across Great Britain, of which 2,850 were in England. One hundred and twenty-six of these were in South Yorkshire.
Four year-olds: Free Nursery Education in Rural Areas
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How they propose to provide free school places for all four year-olds living in rural areas.[HL1612]
Baroness Blackstone: Since September 1998, all four year-olds throughout England have had access to a free nursery education place.
This commitment is delivered through various types of settings, including nursery schools, nursery classes in primary schools, voluntary and private pre-schools and childminders within a registered childminding network. The latter is particularly important in rural areas.
The Secretary of State announced in September last year that all three year-olds would also be entitled to a free nursery education place by September 2004.
Winter Fuel Payments: Severely Disabled People
Lord Ashley of Stoke asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What would be the cost of extending the winter fuel payment to severely disabled people under the age of 60.[HL1494]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security (Baroness Hollis of Heigham): The cost of extending the winter fuel payment to people under 60 receiving the middle or higher rate care component or the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance is estimated to be around £200 million a year.
1. Based on DLA administrative data, May 2000, and Family Resources Survey 1999 data.
2. Costs rounded to the nearest 10 million.
3. Costs based on a winter fuel payment rate of £200.
4. Severely disabled has been taken to mean people in receipt of DLA middle or higher rate care component or higher rate mobility component.
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