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  • Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage UK companies to sign up to the Bangladesh Safety Accord.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has repeatedly called for companies to take responsibility for the working conditions of all those that make their clothes. This has included the Westminster Debate on 30 April, repeat Ministerial visits to Bangladesh, communications around the Rana Plaza anniversary, and numerous meetings with retailers and buyers.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against her Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here.

    http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against his Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

    Dominic Raab

    The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found.

    This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be located at the following link:

    http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

    “

  • 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 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that road surfacing and repair work benefits from the latest techniques and technology to maximise their durability.

    Andrew Jones

    Both Highways England, as a publicly owned company responsible for the strategic road network, and local highway authorities, responsible for maintaining the local road network, allow the use of different materials for treating highway surfaces. Whilst using any specific techniques and technologies to maintain the road network is entirely a matter for each individual highway authority to decide based on their circumstances, the Department for Transport continues to work with local highway authorities and the private sector to introduce more innovation and technology to ensure more efficient working and permanent repairs.

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

    Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will create a register of ownership for motor vehicles for victims of theft to help prove ownership of their vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    There are no plans to create a register of ownership for motor vehicles for victims of theft.

    The purpose of the vehicle register held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is to record vehicles and their keepers. The register is maintained to assist in revenue collection, road safety and law enforcement. It holds details of the keepers of vehicles and shows who is responsible for their day to day use. It is not a register of legal title or ownership of vehicles.

  • 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 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 33976, what assessment his Department has made of the potential change to (a) benefits and (b) risks to the status of the UK Ship Register within the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Work is in progress by the department to explore whether changing the status of the UK Ship Register would help ensure its future competitiveness. The work is in its early stages, but will assess both the benefits and risks of the available options.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on increasing the number of wheelchair accessible stations from street to platform level at National Rail and London Underground stations.

    Claire Perry

    We take improving station accessibility very seriously and the Access for All programme has delivered step free access at over 150 stations with a further 68 projects in construction or development. In addition, whenever infrastructure work is carried out at stations it must meet current accessibility standards. For example, when Crossrail fully opens in 2019, all 40 stations on the route will also have step free access.

    Step free access to London Underground is a matter for Transport for London, but I understand that 66 Tube stations and 57 London Overground stations currently have step-free access, and Docklands Light Railway stations are all step-free.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that broken accessibility equipment on buses is considered as a priority for repair.

    Andrew Jones

    From 1 January 2016 all single-deck buses designed to carry over twenty-two passengers on local and scheduled routes must comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR), which require them to incorporate a wheelchair space and boarding facility, priority seating and other features to make journeys easier for a range of disabled people. Double deckers must comply by January 2017, and coaches by 2020.

    Currently 89% of buses are compliant, and last year just 47 of the 7,343 public service vehicles subject to routine checks were found to have PSVAR related defects. Operators of vehicles found to be non-compliant are required to rectify faults promptly or risk enforcement action.

    We expect all operators to comply with the law and are working with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to ensure it continues to be enforced effectively.

  • 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 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the estimated cost is to Highways England for monitoring the performance of its contract with Amey for services in Area 7; and what the scope is of monitoring to be undertaken by Highways England to ensure Amey’s compliance.

    Andrew Jones

    The estimated annual cost to Highways England for monitoring the performance of its contract with Amey for services in Area 7 is £207,840.This equates to approximately 0.75% of the total value of the contract with Amey annually.

    Highways England has a robust bespoke performance management in place for the Area 7 Amey contract in the form of a Collaborative Management Toolkit. It is designed to drive continuous improvement in Amey’s performance and ensure compliance with the contract using a combination of quantitative metrics and performance indicators. Reporting is on a monthly basis.

    Highways England will manage and monitor Amey’s performance, with evidence from non-conformity reports, service quality reviews and Quality Management Points.

    Every three years, a full Service Review will be carried out to appraise the suitability of the service being delivered. It will include but is not limited to measuring their performance against the Health, Safety and Environment criteria, the scope of service being delivered and the extent to which Amey has delivered and is committed to delivering continual improvement to ensure value for money.

  • 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 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33618, what the new contract arrangements are which he refers to; what assessment was made of the potential use of contract arrangements similar to those new contract arrangements with Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd referred to; and for what reasons the contract was not put out for full tender.

    Andrew Jones

    (a) The ‘new contract arrangements’ is a reference to the two-year contract extension granted in 2013 to Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd as part of an agreed settlement following its legal challenge to the theory test service procurement of that time.

    (b) Those new contract arrangements were bespoke to the settlement at that time.

    (c) As indicated in response 162377, Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd will continue to provide the driver theory test services. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have now agreed a contract variation to extend the contract for a period of 4 years. Their contract would otherwise have ended on 4 September. The contract for them to continue to provide the services has not been put out to tender because there is insufficient time to conduct an open competition and have a new provider ready to start in time. This extension allows us time to conduct a thorough procurement exercise and explore options for alternative delivery models.