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  • Mr Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mr Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Gregory Campbell on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure people who are currently employed by the Driver and Vehicle Agency receive training to enable them to take up local posts in other Government departments and public bodies..

    Stephen Hammond

    Department for Transport officials are working with those in Northern Ireland to support any Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) staff who might need to learn new skills to secure alternative employment. An initial meeting has taken place to discuss the details. Officials will continue to work together to ensure appropriate support is given to staff at the DVA during the transition period.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish and place in the Library all correspondence sent in the last five years between the Welsh and UK Governments on electrification of the mainline between Swansea and London.

    Stephen Hammond

    My officials will collate the key correspondence sent in the last five years between Ministers in Welsh and UK Government on electrification of the mainline between Swansea and London and deposit this in the Libraries of the House.

  • Mr Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mr Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Jamie Reed on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has for Penrith North Lakes, Oxenholme Lake District and Lancaster to be served by classic-compatible High Speed 2 trains.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 will provide a very significant expansion of the rail network’s ability to carry passengers and freight, resulting in improvements to rail services throughout the country. It is too soon to set a final train timetable at this stage, but HS2 Ltd and Network Rail have begun a process which will allow us to identify the best possible use of the post-HS2 rail network.

    One set of assumptions, amongst many, has been developed for business case modelling purposes. These assumptions are clearly set out in The Economic Case for HS2: Assumptions Report published in October 2013 (http://assets.hs2.org.uk/sites/default/files/inserts/SA%2020_PFM%20assumptions%20report_V3_0.pdf).

    “

  • Mr Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mr Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Jamie Reed on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the proposed service pattern is for classic-compatible High Speed 2 trains serving Carlisle when (a) High Speed 2 phase 1 and (b) High Speed 2 phase 2 opens.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 will provide a very significant expansion of the rail network’s ability to carry passengers and freight, resulting in improvements to rail services throughout the country. It is too soon to set a final train timetable at this stage, but HS2 Ltd and Network Rail have begun a process which will allow us to identify the best possible use of the post-HS2 rail network.

    One set of assumptions, amongst many, has been developed for business case modelling purposes. These assumptions are clearly set out in The Economic Case for HS2: Assumptions Report published in October 2013 (http://assets.hs2.org.uk/sites/default/files/inserts/SA%2020_PFM%20assumptions%20report_V3_0.pdf).

    “

  • Robert Halfon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Halfon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Halfon on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money has been spent on repairing potholes in (a) Harlow and (b) Essex since 2004.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport provides capital funding to local highway authorities, including Essex County Council, from the local highways maintenance capital block grant. Harlow falls within Essex County Council’s area of responsibility and therefore we do not allocate any funds directly to the Borough Council for road maintenance.

    Since 2004 the Department has allocated the following amounts to Essex for highway maintenance:

    Year

    £m
    2004/05

    12.626
    2005/06

    15.782
    2006/07

    16.682
    2007/08

    22.428
    2008/09

    20.706
    2009/10

    21.361
    2010/11

    20.959
    2011/12

    20.728
    2012/13

    19.838
    2013/14

    22.482*
    2014/15

    19.873*

    * includes the top up announced in the 2012 Autumn Statement.

    The Department also allocated additional funding to authorities to help repair roads damaged by various weather events and this included a further £2.116 million to Essex County Council in 2010/11 and £5.301 million in March 2011. More recently the Department for Transport has agreed to allocate over £2.7 million due to the severe wet weather the country has encountered.

    A £200 million Pothole Fund was announced in the Budget on 19 March 2014. From this, £168 million is being made available to councils in England through a bidding exercise. Further details on the fund will be made available in the coming weeks.

    Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant for maintaining their local highways. Neither capital nor revenue highways maintenance funding is ring-fenced and it is for local highway authorities to decide upon their spending priorities across the whole range of services they provide.

    The Department for Transport does not centrally hold information on what proportion of this funding is spent by Essex County Council on repairing potholes.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from the Welsh Government or the Official Opposition on Barnett consequentials for Wales resulting from future High Speed 2 expenditure.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Ministers in the Department for Transport are in regular contact with the Welsh Assembly on a variety of matters; however, Ministers have not received representations from the Welsh Government or the Official Opposition regarding HS2 and Barnett consequentials.

    Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-transparency-data#meetings

    “

  • Dr William McCrea – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Dr William McCrea – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr William McCrea on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the expanded Air Development Fund announced in the Budget Statement 2014 will apply throughout the UK: and how that fund will operate in the devolved jurisdictions.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Chancellor announced in this year’s Budget that funding to maintain existing air connectivity to London – first announced in the 2013 Spending Round last June – will increase from £10million to £20million per year, and would be expanded to include provision for start-up aid for new air routes from UK regional airports, including those in the devolved administrations, which handle fewer than five million passengers per year.

    The Department for Transport is working with the Treasury to develop guidance that will clarify how the Government will ordinarily expect to interpret the European Union State aid guidelines on start-up aid for new air routes, and explain how the funding process will operate across the UK.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2013, Official Report, columns 455-6W, on the Electoral Register, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Electoral Commission’s review of public engagement strategies.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that its Report, titled ‘Readiness for the transition to Individual Electoral Registration’ was published on 31 March with a copy placed in the House Library. The Commission’s report includes the conclusions of its assessment of all Electoral Registration Officers’ (EROs’) public engagement strategies, which found that all EROs have the right plans in place to identify the challenges for their particular local area and what mechanisms they will use to engage with residents to maximise registration. The Commission has also written to the honourable member with a copy of its report.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, columns 622-3W, on the Electoral Register: fraud, what comparative assessment he has made of the level of concern about electoral fraud in the UK and other EU countries.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it regularly monitors comparative international research on electoral matters. Comparing the UK with other countries around the world, Gallup polls place the UK in the top third of countries in terms of confidence in the honesty of the electoral process.

    The most recently available Gallup data from 2007-08, showed that 40% of UK respondents said they did not have confidence in the honesty of elections in the UK. This was slightly lower than the findings from Germany (44%) and Italy (43%), but significantly higher than those from Denmark (5%), Finland (8%) and Sweden (8%).

    Full findings are at the following link:

    http://www.gallup.com/poll/111691/Worldwide-Views-Diverge-About-Honesty-Elections.aspx

    “

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2013, Official Report, columns 455-6W, on the Electoral Register, for what reasons the electoral commission has no plans to undertake a direct assessment of registration rates in specific university towns and cities.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it will undertake analysis of the impact of the transition to IER for all local authorities, which will include all university towns and cities, throughout the transition period. This will include publishing data by local authority, and in some cases by electoral ward, at several points during the transition period.