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  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will discuss with Virgin Trains its replacing the ageing Voyager fleet rolling stock.

    Claire Perry

    The Voyager fleet was introduced in 2001/2 to provide high speed services on routes which could only be served by Diesel Trains and is primarily operated by Virgin on routes to Chester and Holyhead. We will consider train fleet options as part of the upcoming ICWC franchise competition.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect that the decision of the Quality Contract Scheme board on the Quality Contract proposed to be run by Nexus for Tyne and Wear will have on city devolution deals.

    Andrew Jones

    The Quality Contract Scheme Board’s report concerns an individual case brought under existing legislation. It is not about the bus franchising powers which will be included in the Buses Bill.

    The Government is determined that local transport authorities with ambitious plans to grow and develop should be given the powers they need, and we will legislate through the Buses Bill to deliver on our devolution commitments.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will publish a timetable for the refurbishment of Wolverhampton train station.

    Claire Perry

    The refurbishment of Wolverhampton train station is part of the Wolverhampton Interchange Scheme, which is being driven forward by a partnership of Wolverhampton City Council, Centro, Neptune, Network Rail, Virgin Trains and the Canal and River Trust. The Department is not leading on this project.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the safety and speed of evacuation from Virgin (a) Pendolino and (b) Voyager trains in the event of an emergency.

    Claire Perry

    The procedures for evacuation in an emergency are a matter for train operating companies. As the relevant safety duty holders they are best placed to identify any risks or hazards arising from the services they offer with oversight from the Office of Rail and Road as the independent railway safety regulator.

    The UK already has one of the safest railways in Europe and the conditions which might necessitate a train evacuation are extremely rare. However, we must not be complacent and are working with the industry to further improve safety performance.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Prime Minister, whether he plans to attend the COP21 climate talks in Paris.

    Mr David Cameron

    I will attend the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Paris.

    I will meet world leaders to help lay the groundwork for an ambitious new global deal to address climate change. A global deal is the only way we can deliver the scale of action required to keep limiting the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees within reach. An ambitious agreement will help drive a global, irreversible, transformational shift to a low carbon economy which will promote innovation and drive down the costs of low carbon technology, further enabling cost effective climate action and mitigation ambition in the future. It will also help to create a more competitive, stable and transparent framework and opportunity for business and investors.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 9384, on Reoffenders, if he will list the offences committed by those people numbered in the violence against the person category.

    Andrew Selous

    A fixed-term recall is used only in respect of offenders who are assessed as not posing a risk of serious harm to the public at the point at which they would be re-released automatically. A fixed term recall will not be given in cases where an offender has been charged with a further serious offence, such as a sexual or violent offence or where an offender’s behaviour suggests that he presents a risk of serious harm to the public. Such offenders would receive a standard recall, which means they are liable to remain in prison until the end of their sentence

    In appropriate cases, a fixed-term recall allows preventative measures to be put in place to stop the offender breaching their licence again

    The table below provides a list of the offences committed by 546 offenders who received a fixed term recall in 2014 and who were serving a sentence for violence against the person.

    Violence against the person

    Murder

    Manslaughter

    Other and attempted homicide

    Wounding

    Assaults

    Other violence against the person
  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) the amount of any underspend expected against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year and (b) his Department’s latest forecast of total AME spend for this year are; and what the forecasts were for those two sums at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 and March Budget 2015.

    Mike Penning

    The Department is not forecasting an underspend against departmental expenditure limits. At the time of the Summer Budget and the March Budget 2015, the Department was also not forecasting an underspend.

    Totals for Annually Managed Expenditure are published twice a year at Main and Supplementary Estimates. The latest figures for 2015-16 were published in the Main Estimates, presented to the House of Commons on 2 July 2015. A link is provided below. Updated totals will be published in the Supplementary Estimates later in the financial year.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/main-supply-estimates-2015-to-2016

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance and support her Department is providing to food sovereignty movements in developing countries; and if she will make a statement.

    Grant Shapps

    DFID supports strengthening household food security through improving agricultural productivity and improved incomes from agricultural production, building resilience against climate change and linking smallholder farmers to markets and supply chains. We help with a context-specific range of programmes, which all contribute to the inclusive and more sustainable economic growth that will lift poor people out of poverty.

    The UK Government believes that a key element in strengthening food security is to encourage diverse sources of supply. We will not support approaches that undermine open markets and free trade, which allows consumer choice and options for a healthier diet, and so does not specifically support food sovereignty movements in developing countries.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the reasons why only 37 per cent of the millennium development goals in the UK’s 28 priority countries have been marked as met or will be met in her Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15.

    Grant Shapps

    The majority of DFID’s priority countries are fragile or conflict-affected. These states have historically been under supported by the international development community. DFID increased its focus and spend in fragile states in 2010 and it was right to do so.

    Progress against the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is driven by the collective action of developing countries and all development partners. DFID’s development programmes are designed to contribute towards these goals.

    DFID’s ongoing Bilateral Aid Review will assess and review progress towards the MDGs as part of our strategic planning processes to inform future programming.

  • Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13950, what the estimated annual shortfall is in the payment of pensions to former employees of the Southern Rhodesian government.

    James Duddridge

    As my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps MP), Minister of State at the Department for International Development, set out last week, the Government sympathises with the plight of those former public servants who are entitled to a Zimbabwe government pension. We have not calculated the amounts involved because the UK has no legal obligation or responsibility for these. Responsibility rests with the Zimbabwean government. We continue to remind the relevant authorities in Zimbabwe of this legal commitment.