Category: Speeches

  • Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what compensation HS2 Ltd has to pay to rail franchise holders for the track possessions required to bring High Speed 2 to Euston; and what effect the provisions made in the AP3 Environmental Statement have had on this figure.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill on 16 September 2015 which includes revised plans for London Euston station. The new plans focus on an incremental strategy which will deliver new high speed platforms (Stages A and B1) and do not preclude wider redevelopment of the existing station in the future (Stage B2).

    We have listened to train operators and worked very closely with them throughout the development of the new design. The staged approach will mean less disruption to passengers using existing train services and therefore compensation to train operators. We have made budget provision for a level of compensation to train operators as part of the overall Phase One rail budget. These allowances have still to be agreed with the relevant train operators and will be assessed further as part of the design development process. The information also remains commercially sensitive.

    Any necessary impacts to the existing railway will be carefully planned with Network Rail and the affected operators from the outset, learning from experiences at other major stations such as Kings Cross and London Bridge.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for jobseeker’s allowance were made in Wrexham (a) by telephone and (b) online in each of the last 24 months.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not available.

  • Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had with representatives of (i) the Taxpayers’ Alliance, (ii) the Confederation of British Industry, (iii) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (iv) the Adam Smith Institute, (v) the Freedom Association, (vi) the Politics and Economics Research Trust and (vii) the Midlands Industrial Council in the last 12 months.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published up to 31 March 2015 and can be accessed on Gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications

    Further publications of Ministerial meetings will be published in due course.

    “

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for funeral payments were (a) made and (b) granted in each region in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Tables 1 and 2 give the number of the Funeral Expense Payment applications received and awards made by the Department for Work and Pensions by region from 2010/11 to 2014/15.

    Table 1: Funeral Expense Payment applications received by region, 2010/11 to 2014/15

    Region

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    East of England

    4,200

    4,800

    4,700

    4,100

    3,500

    East Midlands

    8,400

    4,600

    4,500

    4,000

    3,200

    London

    6,800

    6,900

    6,700

    6,500

    5,800

    North East

    4,400

    4,700

    4,200

    3,600

    3,000

    North West

    10,600

    10,400

    10,300

    9,200

    8,100

    Scotland

    8,300

    8,500

    8,000

    7,400

    6,300

    South East

    6,200

    6,400

    5,700

    5,200

    4,400

    South West

    4,000

    4,300

    4,200

    4,000

    3,100

    Wales

    4,300

    4,300

    4,400

    3,700

    3,500

    West Midlands

    7,200

    6,800

    6,600

    6,000

    4,900

    Yorkshire and Humberside

    4,300

    6,700

    6,400

    5,500

    4,900

    Total

    68,800

    68,500

    65,600

    59,100

    50,600

    Table 2: Funeral Expense Payment awards made by region, 2010/11 to 2014/15

    Region

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    East of England

    2,500

    2,600

    2,500

    2,200

    2,200

    East Midlands

    4,200

    2,500

    2,300

    2,200

    2,100

    London

    3,800

    3,900

    3,600

    3,500

    3,600

    North East

    2,400

    2,400

    2,100

    1,900

    2,000

    North West

    6,100

    6,100

    5,700

    5,300

    5,000

    Scotland

    5,100

    5,000

    4,800

    4,400

    4,300

    South East

    3,100

    2,900

    2,500

    2,700

    2,700

    South West

    1,800

    2,300

    2,100

    2,100

    1,900

    Wales

    2,600

    2,400

    2,400

    2,200

    2,200

    West Midlands

    4,100

    3,800

    3,700

    3,300

    3,000

    Yorkshire and Humberside

    2,500

    3,600

    3,500

    3,300

    3,200

    Total

    38,200

    37,700

    35,200

    33,100

    32,100

    Notes:

    • All figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
    • Figures may not sum due to rounding.
    • The applications figures are based on applications received by DWP, not applications processed. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.
    • The award figures include awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initial refusal.
    • These figures do not include cases which have been processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.
  • Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisations are contributing to the new bridge across the South Western Main Line south of Clapham Junction station giving access to Emanuel School, and how much they are each contributing.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Network Rail is an arm’s-length public sector body and the sources of funding contributions towards the construction of the new bridge are a commercial matter for the company.

    Network Rail advises that the new bridge across the South West Mainline was privately funded by one organisation. Network Rail has signed a confidentially agreement with this organisation which does not allow the release of commercial information.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which railway schemes will be funded out of the £13 billion funding that has been allocated to the Northern Powerhouse, and what is the expected cost of each individual scheme.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    During the March 2015 budget, funding of £13bn was identified to maintain and improve transport infrastructure in the north. A variety of railway schemes have already been completed across the north of England as part of our long term investment in building the Northern Powerhouse, such as the recently transformed Manchester Victoria station, and work is progressing on other schemes including work to prepare the railway between Manchester and Preston via Bolton for electrification which is under way at Farnworth Tunnel. Sir Peter Hendy’s review of Network Rail’s enhancements programme is still in progress. A firm list of schemes and costs cannot be produced until this process is completed.

  • Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people aged (1) 21 and over, and (2) under 21, are known to have returned to the United Kingdom from a conflict zone since January 2014; and of those, how many were (a) charged with an offence and convicted, and (b) not charged but were put under supervision and entered into programmes of deradicalisation.

    Lord Bates

    Figures on the number of people who have returned to the UK from all conflict zones are not available. However, the Police have estimated that around 700 people from the UK who are of concern are thought to have travelled to the Syria/Iraq region since the start of the conflict, and that around half of those have returned. All decisions on handling returnees from Syria or Iraq are taken on a case-by-case basis. For some, prosecution for terrorist offences is the right course of action, and this will be a decision for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. For others, it may be that support from mental health or social services might be more appropriate.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the extension of the Separation Barrier in the Cremisan Valley and its effect on Christian families who previously occupied that land.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have raised the issue of the separation barrier though Cremisan Valley with the Israeli authorities on several occasions, most recently on 1 September. On 9 July, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), issued a press statement which was clear that the UK is deeply concerned by the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision of 6 July to allow the construction of 1.2km of the Separation Barrier through the Cremisan Valley. If built, this section of the Separation Barrier will restrict 58 Palestinian families from accessing their land, which will have a detrimental effect on their livelihoods.

  • Lord Avebury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Avebury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Avebury on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, following the fifth UN joint statement on human rights in Bahrain, they have discussed with the government of Bahrain the cases of opposition leaders Sheikh Ali Salman, Ibrahim Sharif, Fadhel Abbas, and Majid Milad; and if so, with what results.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have previously raised these four cases with the Government of Bahrain, including at the highest levels. We continue to do so on a regular basis. Following the UN joint statement on 14 September on human rights in Bahrain, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), discussed human rights and political reform with the Bahraini Ambassador.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the funding allocated for the Northern Powerhouse will be spent on (1) repairs of potholes and damaged carriageways, and (2) other highway maintenance that would normally come out of annual revenue budgets; and how much of such spending will be allocated to (a) the Highways Agency, and (b) local highways authorities.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport is allocating £1.3billion capital funding between 2015 and 2021 to local highway authorities that fall within the Northern Powerhouse for local highways maintenance. This funding can be used to repair potholes. The funding is not ring-fenced and it is entirely for each highway authority to decide, based on their needs and priorities, as to how this funding is spent. In addition the funding the Department for Transport allocated to local highway authorities in England to improve road conditions was £1 billion more over the last Parliament compared to what was provided between 2005 and 2010.

    Local authorities are able to use revenue funding for maintaining their local highways and this is allocated by the Department of Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant.

    The Department for Transport is funding a local highways maintenance project in Sheffield as well as street lighting schemes in Blackpool, Knowsley, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Oldham, Redcar & Cleveland, Rochdale, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Wakefield, through the Private Finance Initiative.

    In addition we are also allocating £2.9 billion for improvements to the strategic road network within the Northern Powerhouse managed by Highways England as set out in the Road Investment Strategy published in March 2015 for the period between 2015 and 2020.