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  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the projected cost savings are from the proposed closure of the Marine Offices in (a) Beverley, (b) Orpington and (c) Harwich in 2018; and what the value is of (i) land and (ii) buildings on each site.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    (a) The projected savings from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) operating out of their own facility at Bridlington and closing Beverley Marine Office would be £90K per annum.

    The only value to the MCA is the value of the lease. The value of (i) land and (ii) building assets reside with the landlord.

    (b) The projected savings from stopping operation from Orpington Marine Office would be £75K per annum.

    The only value to the MCA is the value of the lease. The value of the (i) land and (ii) building assets reside with the landlord.

    (c) Stopping the survey functions from the Harwich Marine Office, based at Walton-on-the Naze, will introduce minimal cost savings to the MCA. Moving to a new location in the Ipswich area would improve survey and inspection service capability to customers and is a better option for support to Her Majesty’s Coastguard Coastal Safety management teams.

    The Harwich site has a book value of (i) £184K for the land and (ii) £530K for the building.

  • Luke Hall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Luke Hall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luke Hall on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department is making available to the South Gloucestershire Unitary Authority for completion of new road projects.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department’s funding for major road projects sits within the Local Growth Fund. The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, which includes South Gloucestershire, has already been allocated £230.7m from the Local Growth Fund from 2015/16 to 2020/21 to take forward their growth priorities, including transport projects. Up to a further £1.8bn from the Local Growth Fund will be awarded competitively to LEPs later this year, with an additional £475m available for exceptionally large transport projects.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what powers Rail North has in relation to the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises.

    Andrew Jones

    Whilst the franchise agreements are between the franchisees and the Secretary of State who also retains statutory powers under the Railways Act 1993 in relation to the franchises, the management of the Franchise Agreements is undertaken by a devolved team based in Leeds which reports to a Joint Rail North/DfT Strategic Board.

    In addition, Rail North Ltd has been ‎given certain specific powers, including the ability to vary the level of regulated fares for the Northern and TPE franchises, which would otherwise be determined by the Secretary of State as part of a national fares policy.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what legislation or regulations the establishment and functions of the Rail North and the Rail North Board are based.

    Andrew Jones

    The Association of Rail North Partner Authorities was established as a local government association under section 143 of the Local Government Act 1972 to discuss and consult as to their common interests on rail matters.

    The powers to establish and join Rail North Ltd are in the case of combined authorities their well-being power under section 102A (linked to section 99) of the Local Transport Act 2008 and/or their functional power of competence under section 113A of the Local Democracy, Economic Development Act 2009 (inserted by section 13 of the Localism Act 2011). In the case of county councils and unitary authorities the relevant power is their general power of competence under section 1 of the Localism Act 2011.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when it is planned that Rail North will take on full responsibility for the Northern and TPE franchises.

    Andrew Jones

    The Partnership agreement that I signed on 20th March 2015 with Rail North Ltd clearly signals our intention that Rail North takes greater devolved responsibility over time. It also sets out the process and criteria by which such decisions may be made. The new devolved management arrangements only started on 1st April 2016 and therefore no timescale or deadline has been set at this stage for full devolution to be achieved. A copy of the Partnership agreement can be found at http://www.railnorth.org/governance/rail-north-dft-partnership/.

    “

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on whether there is a correlation between staffing levels on trains and stations and the number of reported sexual offences on trains and in stations.

    Claire Perry

    The Government considers the safety of passengers on the railway to be of paramount importance and is committed to reducing crime, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime wherever it occurs in the transport system. The Department for Transport does not hold any information on whether there is a correlation between staffing levels on trains and stations and the number of reported sexual offences.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made representations to Sanef Tolling about the length of time taken between a penalty notice being issued under the Dart Charge scheme and the date of the offence.

    Andrew Jones

    Both my Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State and I have held meetings with and written to Sanef during the opening year of the service, concerning performance issues and the timely issuing of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs). Highways England worked with Sanef to improve performance and currently the majority of PCNs are now being issued between 5 and 15 days of the contravention taking place.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time was between a penalty notice being issued under the Dart Charge scheme and the date of the offence in each month since the start of that scheme.

    Andrew Jones

    The data sought is not held in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. A sample analysis of data available shows that currently the majority of Penalty Charge Notices are issued between 5 and 15 days of the contravention.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the members are of (a) Rail North and (b) the Rail North Board; and how those members are appointed.

    Andrew Jones

    Members of Rail North:

    • Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
    • Blackpool Borough Council
    • Cheshire East Council
    • Cheshire West & Chester Council
    • City of York Council
    • Cumbria County Council
    • Darlington Borough Council
    • Derbyshire County Council
    • East Riding of Yorkshire Council
    • Greater Manchester Combined Authority
    • Hartlepool Borough Council
    • Hull City Council
    • Lancashire County Council
    • Lincolnshire County Council
    • Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral)
    • Middlesbrough Council
    • North East Combined Authority (Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland)
    • North East Lincolnshire Council
    • North Lincolnshire Council
    • North Yorkshire County Council
    • Nottingham City Council
    • Nottinghamshire County Council
    • Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
    • Sheffield City Region Combined Authority (Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield)
    • Staffordshire County Council
    • Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
    • Stoke-on-Trent City Council
    • Warrington Borough Council
    • West Yorkshire Combined Authority

    Rail North Ltd Board Directors are:

    • Bill Dixon (Tees Valley)
    • Chris Metcalf (North Yorkshire)
    • David Brown (Cheshire and the Potteries)
    • Dean Collins (East Midlands)
    • John Fillis (Lancashire and Cumbria)
    • Julie Dore (Sheffield City Region Combined Authority)
    • Keith Wakefield (West Yorkshire Combined Authority)
    • Liam Robinson (Liverpool City Region Combined Authority)
    • Liz Redfern (Humber Authorities)
    • Nick Forbes (North East Combined Authority)
    • Richard Leese (Greater Manchester Combined Authority)

    Any Local transport Authority in the North of England area covered by Northern and TransPennine franchises is entitled to be a member of Rail North.

    Rail North Board Directors are appointed by the constituent authorities of the sub-areas they represent.

    Note that Tees Valley Authorities have recently formed a Combined Authority and will, on formal notification, be represented through that single body in the future.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on preparation for the expected start of construction works to the A417 Missing Link in Gloucestershire in 2020.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England will start full scale options work on the scheme in financial year 2016/17, with the intention that the scheme will be ready to start construction as early as possible in the next Road Period.