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School Budgets
Lord Smith of Leigh asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in view of the delay in announcing the revenue support settlement for local authorities until the second week of December, they will suspend the requirements of the Education Act 2002 to declare school budgets by 31 December. [HL24]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Filkin): No. The deadline of 31 December 2004 for local education authorities to notify their proposed schools budget for 2005–06 is fixed in primary legislation and cannot be suspended or amended. We are conscious that authorities' members and officers, and local consultation arrangements, will be put under pressure by the announcement of the local government finance settlement on 2 December, and the department wrote to authorities on 25 November asking them to ensure that their decision-taking processes were reviewed to cope with the relatively compressed timescale. We are confident that local education authorities will be able to notify their school budgets in good time, and we look forward to full passporting of the increase in schools funding into school budgets.
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Gambling Bill
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What the impact of the proposed Gambling Bill will be on charitable giving and the National Lottery. [HL108]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey): The Government do not consider that the Gambling Bill should have any appreciable impact on charitable giving. So far as the National Lottery is concerned, the position remains as set out in paragraph 5.11 of A Safe Bet for Success, laid before Parliament as Cm 5397.
Eurostar: Maintenance Depots
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Statement by the Minister of State for Transport on 15 November (HC Deb, 68–69 WS), announcing the movement of Eurostar's maintenance depot to Temple Mills, whether they now have plans for the disposal of the North Pole depot sites; and whether it is envisaged that part of the sites could be used as a rail freight terminal. [HL21]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Assessment of options for the future use of the North Pole international maintenance depot and site will begin once the timing of Eurostar's relocation to new maintenance facilities at Temple Mills becomes clear.
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the recently announced Eurostar maintenance facility will cost £402 million, given that the recently constructed Thames Trains maintenance facility at Bedford cost £12 million and that for Virgin Trains near Birmingham cost £45 million. [HL22]
Lord Davies of Oldham: This is a maximum figure, which includes land acquisition and relocation costs, the construction of an access spur from Stratford International to Temple Mills, infrastructure modifications, design, procurement and project management costs. The construction cost of the depot building itself is less than half of the sum. The Temple Mills building is over 10 times the size of the Bedford depot because Eurostar trains are much longer than domestic rolling stock and because of the intensive maintenance regime required for these complex high-speed trains. The depot will also need to house specialist equipment which is required to maintain the multiple electrical and signalling systems installed on the trains.
The cost will be offset by operational efficiencies, avoiding works that would otherwise be required on the
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North London Line, and the value of Waterloo International Terminal and North Pole international depot asset as they become available for alternative use.
Railways: Suicides
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many reported suicides on the railways of England and Wales there have been in each of the past 10 years. [HL38]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The number of reported suicides for each of the past 10 years is set out in the table below and is taken from the Health and Safety Executive's annual rail safety reports, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House. The data are based on HM Coroners' reports. The data cover all railways, including Network Rail, London Underground and heritage railways.
| Reported suicides in England and Wales | |
| 2003–2004 | 55 |
| 2002–2003 | 110 |
| 2001–2002 | 118 |
| 2000–2001 | 124 |
| 1999–2000 | 115 |
| 1998–99 | 106 |
| 1997–98 | 143 |
| 1996–97 | 107 |
| 1995–96 | 124 |
| 1994–95 | 121 |
Parking Fees: Spending of Surpluses
Viscount Astor asked Her Majesty's Government:
How they will respond to the call by the National Parking Adjudication Service in its annual report that high-performing councils should not be able to widen the ring fence of their parking accounts to enable surpluses to be used for other council projects under the Traffic Management Act 2004 until they meet a set of standards for civil traffic enforcement. [HL52]
Lord Davies of Oldham: We do not intend to alter our policy announced in the local government White Paper Strong Local Leadership—Quality Public Services (Cm5237) to give local authorities greater freedom to set spending priorities. Section 95 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (application of surplus income from parking places) was commenced on 4 October 2004 so that all authorities can now spend surplus income on local environmental improvements, as well as provision of public passenger transport service and road improvements. We intend to make regulations in 2005 giving prescribed local authorities the freedom to spend surplus income for any purpose for which they may lawfully incur expenditure.
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Traffic Management Act 2004: Regulations
Viscount Astor asked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to ensure that local government ombudsmen are consulted on the enforcement and appeals regulations of the Traffic Management Act 2004 which are currently being drafted. [HL53]
Lord Davies of Oldham: We shall consult widely on draft regulations, including with the local government ombudsman.
Viscount Astor asked Her Majesty's Government:
What consideration they are giving to calls by the National Parking Adjunction Service to provide them with an express power in regulations made under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to refer appropriate cases back to councils for reconsideration. [HL57]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Section 80(3) of the Traffic Management Act 2004 enables regulations to be made providing that mitigating circumstances are a ground for appeal and that on such an appeal the adjudicator can decide whether or not to refer the matter back to the enforcement authority for reconsideration. It is the intention that such provision will be included in regulations to be made under the Act.
Congestion Charge
Viscount Astor asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of the effects of the congestion charge in central London on parking levels and parking revenue; and whether they will make that assessment available. [HL54]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The central London congestion charge is the responsibility of the Mayor for London. The Government have made no assessment of its impact on parking levels and income.
Traffic Enforcement
Viscount Astor asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will undertake research into council traffic enforcement and the operations of private sector contractors; and whether they will publish a report of their findings. [HL55]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The British Parking Association has commissioned an independent review of decriminalised parking enforcement. We do not plan to undertake any separate research into these matters but hope to work with them on this review. It is expected that the findings of the review will inform the preparation of statutory guidance to local authorities under Section 87 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 in connection with the civil enforcement of traffic contraventions.
Traffic Management Act 2004: Council Funding
Viscount Astor asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will provide local councils with further funds to cover the duties placed on them by the Traffic Management Act 2004. [HL56]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government consider that the Traffic Management Act 2004, overall, should be cost neutral for local authorities, taking account of the opportunities to recover some costs through the provisions of the Act, and the scope to use existing resources in new ways.
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