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  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the availability of coroners at all times to address matters which must be dealt with immediately under the provisions of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    Justice Ministers have received representations from the Jewish and Muslim communities about coroners out of hours’ services and have met representatives from these communities. We recognise the importance of an out of hours service and have worked with the police and local authorities to this end.

    Regulation 4 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 requires coroners to be available at all times to address matters relating to an investigation into a death which must be dealt with immediately and cannot wait until the next working day. This is particularly important in cases of homicide and mass fatalities. Coroners also make themselves available if needed in cases involving organ and tissue donation.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on preparing a response to the consultation on the post-implementation review of the coroner reforms in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009; and if he will make a statement.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    The post-implementation review of the coroner reforms consultation closed on 31 December 2015. A response to the consultation will be published in due course.

    We received 214 responses to the review from current coronial officer holders. No respondents indicated that they were former coroners.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for the introduction of proposals for a British Bill of Rights.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    We will set out our proposals for a Bill of Rights in due course. We will fully consult on our proposals.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on Scotland of the UK leaving the EU.

    David Mundell

    The United Kingdom is fundamentally strong and is well-placed to rise to the challenges we face.

    Following the result of the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union, our focus now needs to be working together as Team UK, to achieve the best deal for both Scotland and the United Kingdom in the negotiations with the EU.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of welfare reform, including benefit sanctions and work capability assessments, on claimants in (a) Glasgow and (b) Scotland.

    David Mundell

    The Government set out our assessment of the impact of the welfare policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Act on 20 July 2015, with similar assessments for previous changes.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide a schedule of documents held by his Department relating to the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam from the Disney Wonder cruise ship in March 2011 and the investigation into that disappearance.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    I am happy to provide the Honourable Member with full details about the documents held by the Department relating to the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam and have asked officials to write to him with this information.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by what date his Department expects the replacement of Pacer trains on the Tees Valley Line to be completed.

    Andrew Jones

    The replacement of Pacer trains across the Northern network will be completed by December 2019, although the timing of when this will occur on individual lines will be a matter for Northern Rail.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve journey times on the Tees Valley Line.

    Andrew Jones

    As part of the new franchise award, the Northern franchisee will be required before October 2017 to undertake a feasibility study, identifying options for journey time improvements across the whole network, including services in the North East. This will include possible changes to existing infrastructure, improvements to rolling stock capability and reliability and the implementing of changes to service patterns.

    Any resulting changes would be in addition to the local benefits secured as part of the franchise including the withdrawal of pacer trains and the refurbishment of all the existing carriages retained in the franchise long term.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support disabled passengers and passengers of reduced mobility on the Tees Valley Line for the duration of operation of Pacer trains.

    Andrew Jones

    The Northern franchise was recently awarded to Arriva Rail North, who took over operations in April 2016. Arriva Rail North sets out its policy for providing assistance to disabled passengers and passengers of reduced mobility in its Disabled People’s Protection Policy (DPPP). Publishing commitments to on-board assistance in a DPPP is a passenger train operating licence requirement and is approved by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Arriva Rail North is also required to participate in the national Passenger Assist scheme for pre-booking assistance.

    ‘Pacer’ trains operated by Arriva Rail North on the Tees Valley Line will be replaced ahead of the 2020 accessibility compliance deadline. From that date, all trains operated by Arriva Rail North will have to be compliant with the accessibility standards mandated by the Persons of Reduced Mobility Technical Specification for Interoperability (PRM-TSI). While Pacers do not meet the standards set out in the PRM-TSI, they do offer wheelchair spaces, audio announcements and manual boarding ramps to assist disabled passengers and persons of reduced mobility when travelling.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total expenditure on the High Speed 2 project has been in each year since 2010.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The table below sets out the spend on HS2 project in each year since 2009/10. Data for 2015/16 is provisional and is currently not included, pending publication of the HS2 Ltd Accounts shortly at GOV.UK, which will set out the precise level of expenditure for 2015/16.

    2009/10
    £m

    2010/11
    £m

    2011/12
    £m

    2012/13
    £m

    2013/14
    £m

    2014/15
    £m

    Total HS2

    9.43

    24.3

    54

    207.6

    318.2

    362.7