The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the total amount of compensation payments agreed for residents along the route of the High Speed 2 line to date.
Mr Robert Goodwill
As of 30 March 2016 £280,573,795 has been paid to residents under the statutory blight regime and the HS2 discretionary schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) construction of High Speed 2 through Eddisbury constituency and (b) dealing with engineering issues arising from salt mining, brine extraction or subsistence in such construction.
Mr Robert Goodwill
No specific estimates have been made for the cost of construction or dealing with engineering issues arising from salt within the Eddisbury constituency, however the cost of construction of this section of HS2 and risk provision for engineering issues arising from salt has been included in the overall funding envelope which was confirmed in November 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research HS2 Ltd has (a) produced and (b) commissioned since 17 July 2013 on the potential effect of the construction of High Speed 2 on the aquifer in Eddisbury.
Mr Robert Goodwill
HS2 Ltd have not produced any detailed work specifically examining the potential effect of the construction of High Speed Two on the aquifer in Eddisbury.
HS2 Ltd has commissioned desktop studies using existing survey work for the whole of the route from Crewe to Manchester which will examine interactions with landfill and mining and other ground conditions.
Following a route decision in autumn 2016 HS2 Ltd will begin production of a full Environmental Impact Assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which Natura 2000 sites have been identified as being within 10 miles of the proposed Phase 2 route of High Speed Two.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The following Natura 2000 sites within 10 miles of the proposed Phase 2 Route (Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)) have been identified:
1 SPA site
17 SAC sites
SPA Name
Peak District Moors
SAC Name
Birklands & Bilhaugh
Cannock Chase
Cannock Extension Canal
Denby Grange Colliery Ponds
Ensor’s Pool
Kirk Deighton
Manchester Mosses
Mottey Meadows
Oak Mere
Pasturefields Salt Marsh
Peak District Dales
River Mease
Rixton Clay Pits
Rochdale Canal
Skipwith Common
South Pennine Moors
West Midlands Mosses
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to encourage transport operators to provide services that are accessible to disabled people.
Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport is committed to building transport networks which work for everyone, ensuring that disabled people have the same access to transport services as non-disabled members of society
Compliance with bus accessibility Regulations was 89% in England in 2015; while 60% of rail vehicles, up from 46% in 2013, were built or fully refurbished to modern access standards.
By the end of this year Access for All will have completed more than 150 step-free routes at rail stations against a target of 125. More than 1,200 stations have received smaller scale improvements. To build on this success £160m has been allocated to another 68 stations to be delivered by 2019.
We plan to require that taxi and private hire vehicle drivers provide assistance to wheelchair users and refrain from charging extra by commencing sections 165 and 167 of the Equality Act 2010 by the end of the year.
The Department works closely with its statutory advisors on the needs of disabled people, the Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee, such as on a project to develop best practice guidance on the delivery of disability awareness training for bus and coach drivers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30624 and with reference to the First-Tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber Information Rights decision of 11 March 2016, if his Department will publish the Risk Register prior to the universal credit re-set in 2013.
Priti Patel
Following the first tier tribunal decision that the Universal Credit risk register for April 2012 should be released, the document was shared with the requestor.
The government’s view remains that is not in the public interest to publish risk registers because it will compromise the ability to conduct a full and frank assessment of risks and therefore increase the risk to successful delivery of major programmes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 25156, if he will publish the list of circumstances that would trigger natural migration from tax credits to universal credit.
Priti Patel
The events that can trigger a change of circumstances depend on many factors. They are similar to the circumstances that would trigger a new claim to existing benefits or tax credits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new staff have been appointed to his Department since 21 March 2016.
Justin Tomlinson
A total of 337 new employees were appointed to the Department for Work and Pensions during the period 21 March 2016 to 25 April 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of recipients of the state pension living overseas in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
Justin Tomlinson
Estimates of the number of recipients of the State Pension living overseas in each of the last 10 years are published on the DWP Tabulation Tool. The numbers from November 2012 can be seen in the column ‘Claimants living abroad’, and prior to this in the column ‘Unknown’ of this table:
http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/sp/ccdate/ccgor/a_carate_r_ccdate_c_ccgor.html
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marion Fellows on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what mechanisms his Department has put in place for redress and backdated payments to the parent with care in the event that it is found that the non-resident parent (a) provided false information about their income and (b) failed to inform the relevant body of an increase in their income under (i) the Child Support Agency scheme and (ii) the Child Maintenance Service scheme; and what the timescales are for such redress or payments.
Priti Patel
All three statutory maintenance schemes allow the Secretary of State to revise any maintenance liability decision found to be incorrect as a result of misrepresentation by either parent. There is no timescale within which the misrepresentation must be discovered, before a revision may be completed.
Under the 2012 scheme, in the first instance maintenance is assessed using historic income information from HMRC. Annual reviews are carried out using HMRC income data and liabilities are adjusted accordingly. Over the lifetime of a case changes to income should therefore be reflected appropriately.
Where an individual is assessed on current income, they are obliged to inform the Child Maintenance Service of any increase to their income of 25% or over. If they fail to do so and the Child Maintenance Service subsequently becomes aware of an increase in their income, the Secretary of State may still calculate a new assessment, taking effect at the point the income increased.
Any arrears that result from such “retrospective” action will nonetheless be due and CMS will take enforcement action if the Paying Parent does not arrange to pay them themselves. The CMS has a comprehensive range of enforcement actions at its disposal, to help ensure that parents fulfil their obligations.
All maintenance liability decisions carry an underlying right of appeal to an independent Tribunal.