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Speech and Language Therapy
Dr. Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the delivery of speech and language therapy services in County Durham. [84692]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Speech and language therapy services in Durham cover a full range of adult and children’s services.
Durham and Chester-le-Street primary care trust (PCT) provides services for North Durham, serving the populations of Durham, Chester-le-Street and also the populations of Derwentside PCT. The adult service is both acute and community-based, and the children’s service is focused in the community.
South Durham is serviced by Sedgefield PCT serving the populations of Sedgefield, Durham and Dales PCT and Darlington PCT. The Department uses a predominantly consultative model of delivery. Services may be face-to-face, within groups, telephone contact and training sessions.
Therapists (Norfolk)
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to provide therapists in Norfolk to provide psychological therapies for depression. [84861]
Andy Burnham: We consider that improvements in access to evidence-based psychological therapies should be available, and this policy was set out in our 2005 manifesto and in the “Our Health, our care, our say” White Paper. Clinical guidelines about access to psychological therapies were also commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which concluded that these treatments should be made available to all people with mild to moderate depression or anxiety or schizophrenia.
Our “Improving Access to Psychological Therapies” (IAPT) programme forms a key part of the Government’s “Health, Work and Well-Being-Caring for Our Future” strategy, which the Department launched last October with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Health and Safety Commission. The IAPT programme will define the best way to achieve these improvements over the next five to 10 years.
We have recently set up psychological therapy demonstration sites in Doncaster and Newham, to help test the extent to which increasing access to these therapies improves well-being, reduces worklessness and the number of people claiming incapacity benefit and provides greater choices in treatment and core options for people with these conditions. The demonstration sites will help to clarify the numbers of staff, the skills set and the training requirements needed to improve access to psychological therapies. Evidence from the demonstration sites will be supplemented by a national network of smaller, local IAPT projects and 20 national primary care mental health collaborative sites.
We have provided resources for delivering mental health services, including psychological therapies, within the unified allocations made directly to primary care trusts (PCTs). It is for PCTs in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to decide how best to use their resources to deliver services in line with their assessment of local need.
Waiting Lists
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2006, Official Report, column 1238W, on waiting lists, whether her Department holds information on how the average waiting time in 1979 of nine months, as stated by the then Secretary of State for Health in her answer of 3 December 1996, Official Report, column 784, on NHS operations, was calculated. [85966]
Andy Burnham: The Department does not hold details of the average waiting time quoted in the reference given. Official figures on average waiting times are only available from 1988.
Wheelchairs (Waiting Times)
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for an NHS wheelchair in (a) Eastbourne, (b) East Sussex and (c) England in 2005-06. [86407]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally.
William Kerr/Michael Haslam
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will publish the response to the recommendations of the inquiry into the conduct of William Kerr and Michael Haslam published in July 2005. [86698]
Andy Burnham: There are many similarities between the issues raised by the Kerr/Haslam inquiry and those of the Ayling and Neale inquiries and the fifth report of the Shipman inquiry. We are therefore intending to publish a joint response to all four reports. This will be issued as soon as possible after the close of the consultation on the reviews of medical regulation and non-medical regulation which we published last week and which contain important recommendations relevant to the issues raised by the four inquiries. In the meanwhile, we are progressing some of the specific recommendations from the Kerr/Haslam inquiry where these are not directly affected by the consultation.
Transport
A13 (Speed Cameras)
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras are situated on the A13 between the A405 and the M25; and what plans there are to install new speed cameras in the next two years. [87257]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department only holds information on a road number or partnership basis rather than for specific lengths of road. More detailed information will be available from individual partnership websites, links to which can be found via our website at www.dft.gov.uk/safetycameras. The Department is not aware of any current plans for new speed cameras on the A13 in the next two years.
A21 Upgrade
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisations were involved in the preparation of the draft orders for the proposed A21 upgrade. [86170]
Dr. Ladyman: The Highways Agency has consulted widely, which is normal practice, with local highway authorities, statutory bodies and stakeholders and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to publish the draft orders for the proposed A21 upgrade; and if he will make a statement. [86171]
Dr. Ladyman: The Highways Agency will publish draft orders on behalf of the Secretary of State in accordance with the individual scheme programmes, in line with our response on 6 July to the advice from the South East region about its major scheme priorities to 2011. We have accepted the region’s advice to include the A21 Tonbridge Bypass to Pembury Dualling, the A21 Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst Bypass and the A21 Baldslow Junction Improvement within the programme of schemes that we expect to be taken forward in the South East in the next five years, subject to the completion of all the statutory procedures, funding available and compliance with the Department’s scheme appraisal requirements.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role the South East England Development Agency has played in preparing draft orders for the proposed A21 upgrade. [86173]
Dr. Ladyman: At this stage work has not yet started on preparing draft orders. South East England Development Agency will be consulted alongside other statutory bodies and stakeholders in due course.
A3 (Hindhead)
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the report of the inspector on the proposed work on the A3 at Hindhead. [86691]
Dr. Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South-West Surrey (Mr. Hunt) on 17 July 2006, Official Report, columns 1-2W.
Agency Staff
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what average hourly rate was paid by his Department to each employment agency for staff employed through agencies in 2005-06. [81487]
Gillian Merron: DfT(c) have a call off contract with Adecco, Brook Street and Reed, who are contracted to provide temporary agency staff when required. This contract is also used by the Department’s Executive agencies. The hourly rates for each agency are commercially sensitive information, therefore the average hourly rates incorporating the three agencies above are as follows:
| £ | |
In addition, some of the Department’s Executive agencies also use other agencies to provide temporary staff. The average hourly rates are as follows:
Driving Standards Agency —no set rates with other agencies used. No average available.
Highways Agency—Average hourly rate of other agencies—£13.19
| VOSA | |
| £ | |
GCDA—Average hourly rate of other agencies—£10.88
DVLA—No information available
The use of temporary staff is something that the Department only considers to cover a short term temporary period such as covering leave or while a permanent resource is found. The Department actively manage their headcount and will consider any displaced staff for temporary roles prior to obtaining a temporary agency worker.
Aircraft Carbon Emissions
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many commercial flights departed from UK airports to destinations a distance away of (a) 500 miles or less, (b) 1,000 miles or less, (c) 1,500 miles or less and (d) in intervals of 500 miles up to 10,000 miles in the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many passengers departed from UK airports to such destinations in each case. [84112]
Gillian Merron: The Department does not hold the information but it is available from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Contact details for information at CAA may be found at www.caa.co.uk.
Airport Expansion
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the Government’s plans for airport expansion in Southern England. [84412]
Gillian Merron: I refer to my reply on 11 July 2006, Official Report, column 1697W to the hon. Member for Croydon South (Richard Ottaway).
Buses
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bus compliance officers are available to monitor bus punctuality in (a) England and (b) the North West region; how bus punctuality is measured; and how many bus operators were found not to be running their services punctually in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05 and (iii) 2005-06. [83358]
Gillian Merron: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 15 June 2006, Official Report, columns 1325-6W, to the hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer), regarding the number of bus compliance officers available in Great Britain. A full account of the measurements for bus punctuality is published in the Traffic Commissioners Practice Direction No.4 which is available on-line via: www.dft.gov.uk.
I also refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 6 July 2006, Official Report, column 1267W, regarding the number of operators called to public inquiry and the number of orders issued to restrict operations.
To provide a detailed answer regarding bus operators found not to be operating punctually can only be done at disproportionate cost as the data is not held centrally.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to encourage the use of public transport by bus in Coventry, South. [83971]
Gillian Merron [holding answer 12 July 2006]: Within the context of delivering our long-term strategy for improving bus services across the country, the most recent steps taken by the Government include:
Providing local authorities in England with the resources to support their Local Transport Plan strategies, a large part of which are related to improving bus-related infrastructure (some £571 million invested by local authorities between 2001-02 and 2004-05 in bus improvements);
The introduction of free local concessionary fares for older and disabled people from April 2006, and the announcement of free national concessionary fares from April 2008;
Up to £200 million per year of the Transport Innovation Fund (from 2008-09) has been made available specifically to support packages of measures that will address congestion in towns and cities through demand management and public transport improvements, including better bus services;
Allocating £20 million to fund 43 kick-start schemes to pump-prime promising local bus services;
£54 million available for 2006-07 to support rural bus services.
Providing capital funding for major bus schemes, such as the £42 million contribution towards the Greater Bristol Bus Network scheme.
Over the coming months we will be looking at the success of these, and other initiatives, with a view to developing future plans to encourage bus use.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has undertaken on the (a) number and (b) length of bus routes serving general hospitals in each local authority which draw down a budget for concessionary fares. [85027]
Gillian Merron: None. From 1 April 2006, older and disabled people have been entitled to free off-peak travel within their local authority area. We are introducing a national scheme in April 2008 which will allow older and disabled people free off-peak bus travel anywhere in the country. In the interim, local authorities have the discretion to offer travel concessions to a hospital outside their boundary based on their judgement of local needs and circumstances and their overall financial priorities.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bus passengers there were in each local authority administering concessionary fares (a) in the last year for which figures are available and (b) (i) five and (ii) 10 years previously; how many bus routes there were in each such local authority; and what the total mileage of routes was in each authority. [84094]
Gillian Merron: The Department does not hold this information which could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average age is of buses in service in each region. [85563]
Gillian Merron: The information, for the first quarter of 2006, is given in the following table.
| Region/country | Age of fleet (years) |
| Note:
This table shows the age of buses by their region of registration,
which may not be the same as their main area of operation.
Source:
DVLA | |
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he issues to local authorities on checking compliance by bus companies with the arrangements for concessionary fares. [84959]
Gillian Merron: None. The Transport Act 2000 places a duty on bus operators to offer the statutory minimum entitlement; it is an offence if they fail to comply with that obligation. It is for Travel Concession Authorities to decide on how best to check compliance based on local circumstances and take any necessary action.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of free bus travel on the existing arrangements for bus travel between (a) Skelmersdale and Liverpool, (b) Ormskirk and Wigan and (c) Skelmersdale and Southport. [83468]
Gillian Merron: The Department does not yet have full details of the discretionary enhancements that will be offered by local authorities. We will be carrying out a comprehensive survey of concessionary fares schemes shortly.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make an announcement on the outcome of the Greater Bristol Bus Network bid for new Showcase Bus routes submitted in July 2005. [83436]
Gillian Merron: On 6 July 2006 the Greater Bristol Bus Network Scheme was awarded Programme Entry into the Department’s local authority major scheme programme, allowing the scheme to progress through statutory procedures.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what subsidies were granted to rural bus operators in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [85938]
Gillian Merron: The majority of subsidies for local bus services, including those in rural areas, are provided through unhypothecated funding from the Government’s Revenue Support Grant (RSG) to local authorities.
The Department has separately provided specific funding for rural bus services to local authorities in England through the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG), since 1998, and the Rural Bus Challenge (RBC), between 1998 and 2003.
The amounts provided in RBSG allocations and RBC awards are shown in the table.
| £ million | ||
| RBSG | RBC | |
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what criteria are taken into account when decisions are made on the suitability of local authorities for yellow bus pilot schemes; [86532]
(2) whether the Government plan to extend the yellow bus schemes (a) to more pilot areas and (b) to the whole of England. [86533]
Gillian Merron: There are no plans to extend yellow bus schemes to more pilot areas or to the whole of England. Individual local authorities and passenger transport executives are encouraged to consider these and other dedicated school bus schemes as part of broader local transport planning and decide if they would be appropriate to their area.
The Education and Inspections Bill includes provisions to improve home to school transport, including enabling a small number of local authorities to propose Pathfinder schemes to pilot innovative approaches to home to school transport which would focus on better school bus provision for more pupils and which could include trialling yellow bus schemes.
DfES has policy responsibility for home to school transport and has published the ‘School Travel Pathfinder Draft Prospectus and Guidance’ alongside the Education and Inspections Bill. This includes details of the criteria that the Secretary of State for Education and Skills will apply in deciding which schemes to approve (http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=9800).
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