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  • Calum Kerr – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Calum Kerr – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Calum Kerr on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to assess the (a) feasibility and (b) the potential economic and social effects on the North of England of extending the new Borders Railway to Carlisle.

    Andrew Jones

    The Borders Railway is a matter for the Scottish Government in line with the Scottish Parliament’s legislative competence for the promotion and construction of railways that start, end and remain in Scotland. We look to the relevant local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in the Transport for the North partnership, in developing a comprehensive transport strategy for the North of England, to decide whether to engage with the Scottish Government and other stakeholders on the commissioning of such assessments. The UK Government has established a £12bn Local Growth Fund (LGF) to support LEPs in delivering their priorities for supporting local economic growth.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many claims were made by bus operators for Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) funding for school services that were not entitled to receive BSOG support in 2014-15; and how many operators made such claims.

    Andrew Jones

    Operators of bus services serving educational establishments are entitled to claim BSOG for these services as long as they are also available for members of the general public to catch. However, “closed” bus services – used only by students and staff of educational establishments, and from which the wider public are excluded – are not eligible for BSOG. When it came to our attention recently that some operators may have submitted claims for closed bus services the Department wrote to all operators claiming BSOG in England reminding them of which educational services are eligible for the grant. We will take strong measures where operators claim for such ineligible services in future. Accurate figures for how many operators or routes may have claimed for closed services during 2014/15 are not readily available.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the purpose of his Department’s Bowe Liaison Board is; and on what dates that board has met.

    Claire Perry

    The purpose of The Bowe Review – Senior Liaison Board is:

    • to provide an opportunity for engagement during the Review with key senior stakeholders
    • to enable a two-way communication to update key stakeholders on progress with the Review and to receive their advice on carrying out the review

    The board has met three times during the course of the review:-

    • 24 March 2015
    • 20 May 2015
    • 24 June 2015
  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to bring forward work on a barrier at Thompson Close in Denton and Reddish constituency to protect residents against traffic noise.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England is currently reviewing the list of sites most severely affected by noise from traffic using trunk roads and motorways in England. This is being conducted on a fair and transparent basis using criteria agreed with Highways England’s stakeholders. The section of the M60 adjacent to Thompson Close is one of 2,500 locations being reviewed. Highways England will write to the Hon. Member once the review is complete and a decision has been made about provision of a noise barrier at this location.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release, New plans to get more people cycling, published on 16 October 2014, what the statistical basis is of the statement that around £5 was spent per head on cycling.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In the five years 2011/12 to 2015/16, the Department has increased its spend on cycling in England from £1 per head to £3 per head. Local authorities also spend significant amounts on cycling and over the same period, total spend on cycling in England has increased from £2 per head to £6 per head. Spend is over £10 per head in the eight Cycle Ambition Cities and London.

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    DfT spend per head

    £1

    £2

    £2

    £2

    £3

    Total spend per head

    £2

    £4

    £5

    £5

    £6

    In 2014-15, the Department’s dedicated cycling programmes were Bikeability, Cycle Ambition Cities, Cycling in National Parks and the Highways Agency’s cycling programme. The Department also funds cycling programmes through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), with 28% of the LSTF being spent on cycling.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 10602, on which dates he has held meetings with HM Treasury on the potential effects of a carbon price support exemption scheme in Scotland in the last year.

    David Mundell

    There have been a range of meetings on the issues around open cast restoration at Ministerial and Official level. This includes a number of meetings that both myself and colleagues have had with HM Treasury and the Department of Energy and Climate Change over a number of months.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to publish the Memorandum of Understanding with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, signed in September 2014.

    Andrew Selous

    The Information Commissioner’s Office has upheld the decision not to publish this Memorandum of Understanding. That correspondence can be found here: https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2015/1432375/fs_50579089.pdf.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make identity theft a criminal offence.

    Mike Penning

    Where a person steals somebody’s identity documents and/or uses somebody else’s identity to access a bank account or to make some other kind of financial gain, he or she can already be prosecuted under existing theft and fraud offences. We have no plans to create additional offences.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what change there has been in the number of employment tribunal claims since the introduction of employment tribunal fees in July 2013.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    This information is published online at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

    “

  • Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people are currently detained in UK prisons for cannabis-related offences.

    Andrew Selous

    As at 30 June 2015 (latest date for which information is available), the number of offenders in prisons in England and Wales for cannabis related offences was 1,363.

    Information on Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive respectively.

    These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.