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  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to require bus operators to make buses disability friendly.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Single deck buses designed to carry over twenty two passengers on local and scheduled routes must already comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR), including incorporating a designated wheelchair space and boarding facilities, priority seating and colour-contrasting hand-holds. Double deck buses must comply by the 1st January next year, and coaches by 2020. As at 2014/15, 95% of buses in England were low floor or had an accessibility certificate, compared to 80% in 2009/10.

    Positive driver interactions and accessible on-board information also make a big difference for many disabled passengers. We are developing best practice guidance on providing disability awareness training for drivers, and have supported innovative approaches for providing next stop information on-board vehicles.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to require bus operators to collaborate to make bus journeys more integrated.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Bus operators and local transport authorities can work together to improve bus services for passengers through voluntary arrangements and statutory partnerships. The Bus Services Bill will improve the range of partnership options available to authorities and operators.

    The Bill will make the statutory partnership schemes more attractive by removing the requirement that the scheme must involve the provision of specific facilities. The Bill will also create a new enhanced partnership arrangement. This will enable local transport authorities to set the frequency and timing of specific services, introduce a zonal ticketing scheme, mandate types of payment that must be accepted, and require certain information to be given to passengers. Any proposals must receive sufficient support from the bus operators before they can be introduced.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how far they have progressed in preparing the regulations required following the passing of the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Housing and Planning Act 2016 received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016. Work is ongoing to develop regulations and they will be published in due course.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to increase the percentage of fuel made from used cooking oil and other waste products.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) was amended in 2011 to provide double reward for biofuels derived from wastes.

    Since the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) was established waste based biofuels have risen from 12% of total biofuel supply in the first year of the obligation 2008/09, to 50% based on the latest full year’s data for 2014/15 (Biofuels Statistics obligation year 7 2015/16 – Report 6). According to our latest but incomplete dataset, covering 2015/16, waste based biofuels have risen to 54% of total biofuel supply (Biofuels Statistics obligation year 8 2015/16 – Report 3).

    Used cooking oil from the UK was the most widely reported source under the RTFO for biodiesel in 2014/15 (by feedstock and country of origin) making up 19%. The latest available (incomplete) data for 2015/16 suggests used cooking oil from the UK has risen to 24% of biodiesel.

    In addition we have made available a total of £25 million in match-funded grants to construct three demonstration scale advanced biofuel plants in Swindon, Tees Valley and Grangemouth. These projects will convert low value waste to high value transport fuel.

  • Lord Low of Dalston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Low of Dalston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Low of Dalston on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the Department for International Development is taking to reach the ambition it set out in the 2015 discussion paper Delivering quality education in protracted crises.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has played a leading role in the development of Education Cannot Wait, a new fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. The fund is designed to address many of the issues identified in the 2015 discussion paper – such as improving the co-ordination and funding of education in crises, and building evidence and data – with the aim of reaching 13.6 children and young people a year living in protracted crises and emergency affected countries by 2021.

    The Secretary of State has recently announced a multi-year commitment of £30 million to the fund at the World Humanitarian Summit on 23rd May, as a founding donor to this important initiative.

  • Lord Low of Dalston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Low of Dalston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Low of Dalston on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the Department for International Development is taking to encourage other donors to fund the Education Cannot Wait fund at its launch at the World Humanitarian Summit.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK is working closely with UNICEF and other partners to encourage a broad funding base to Education Cannot Wait, including funding from non-traditional donors, private sector and philanthropic organisations. This includes via UK technical support to the fund’s case for investment and other key communication and outreach products, to raise awareness of the fund with others.

  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the legal requirements for MOT testing are a devolved matter in Scotland; what assessment they have made of the requirement for new vehicles to be subject to MOT testing after the first three years of use; and which other EU countries follow the present UK practice.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The legal requirements for MOT are not a devolved matter in Scotland. Following the commitment made by the Chancellor in the July 2015 budget statement, the Department for Transport is currently developing a public consultation and impact assessment which will consider options for extending the frequency of the first test for some vehicles. The consultation will take into account the potential benefits to consumers, the government’s safety priorities, as well as the impact a change may have on MOT garage businesses. I anticipate that the consultation will be published in the summer. The other EU countries currently requiring a vehicle to have an initial roadworthiness inspection at 3 years, as per the current GB practice are; Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Bulgaria.

  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 11 May (HL8096), how many bat bridges over roads are (1) currently under construction, and (2) planned for construction; and what is the (a) location, and (b) budgeted cost, of each.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Highways England has no bat bridges currently on schemes under construction and none currently planned for schemes to be constructed.

  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the proposed locations and planned commencement dates of construction for the establishment of new universities referred to in the Queen’s Speech.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    Government is legislating to increase choice and competition in the higher education sector. These measures will enable the establishment of high-quality new universities where there is a need in terms of student and employer demand.

  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of a letter from the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to Lord Marlesford, how a series of sophisticated search algorithms and the search systems incorporating them would be able to make the link between a UK passport holder’s passport and a second passport of another nationality held by the same person if there is not a record of such second passports held by British passport holders held on a central UK government database available online to immigration officers.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    It is longstanding policy not to disclose details of how search systems work, as to do so would not be in the interest of border and national security.