The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an impact assessment has been carried out on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s proposals to reduce the number of marine offices in the UK.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Guidance from Cabinet Office indicates that there is no requirement to complete a Business Engagement Assessment on this activity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an impact assessment has been carried out on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Survey and Inspection Transformation Programme.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Guidance from Cabinet Office indicates that there is no requirement to complete a Business Engagement Assessment on this activity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average cost per mile to upgrade a motorway to a smart motorway.
Andrew Jones
Highways England has an improvement programme to create additional network capacity by utilising the motorway hard shoulder as an additional lane. This is known as the Smart Motorway Programme.
The cost depends on the scope and nature of each scheme and is heavily influenced by factors such as the number of junctions and the extent of work needed to existing structures.
Based on the actual or forecast actual cost of relevant schemes started over the past five years, the total cost ranges from £7.5-£8.8m per mile of additional network capacity (using a common price base of March 2015).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of upgrading the M56 to a smart motorway between junctions 12 and 14.
Andrew Jones
No work has been done to estimate the costs of upgrading the M56 to a smart motorway between Junctions 12 and 14 as this scheme is not within the first Road Investment Strategy (RIS). Highways England is working hard to deliver the schemes set out in the RIS in the first Road Period 2015-20.
Future investment in the strategic road network is currently being developed through Highways England’s Route Strategies process, which will be used to plan new investments in the second Road Period 2020-25.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average cost per mile of electrification of a railway line in the UK.
Claire Perry
The Department for Transport does not delineate the average cost per mile of electrification from the wider rail upgrade works that it funds in England and Wales. The Government’s commitment to a rolling programme of electrification is reliant on a wider set of enhancement works to make journeys better. This often includes track works, gauging, signalling upgrades, power supply works and station works to allow electric trains to run. The Department does not make an estimate of the average cost per mile of electrification as the engineering complexity and challenge varies significantly across England and Wales. Electrification works in Scotland are devolved to the Scottish Government.
However, we are aware of the significant cost to the industry and the wider public of the failure of the Labour Governments of 1997 to 2010 to progress electrification schemes across the country. This Government is determined to rectify this failure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of electrifying the railway line from (a) Crewe to Chester and (b) Chester to Holyhead.
Claire Perry
We await the industry’s advice on future investment priorities for the England and Wales network in the next Control Period, building on the Wales and other Route Studies. We continue to work with the industry, the Welsh Government and local groups, including the recently announced North Wales and Mersey Dee Region Task Force, to see what more can be accomplished to deliver better journeys for passengers and freight customers in this corridor. We welcome the recent submission by the Welsh Government of their Strategic Outline Business Case for electrification from Crewe/Warrington to Holyhead as a contribution to this work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what arrangements Highways England have agreed with Amey to provide services for Area 7 of the network on (a) reporting to Highways England, (b) monitoring fulfilment of that contract and (c) options for early termination.
Andrew Jones
For Area 7, Amey will report to Highways England on a monthly basis using robust bespoke performance management. This is designed to drive continuous improvement and ensure compliance with their Maintenance and Response (M&R) Contract, using a combination of quantitative metrics and performance indicators.
Amey will also be subject to an annual review and, every three years, a full Service Review will be carried out on the appropriateness of the service required and the method of payment.
The M&R Contract includes provision for early termination for poor performance. Highways England will monitor the response to poor performance and invoke appropriate action through an escalation process which includes the right for Highways England to bring in another contractor if performance is not addressed satisfactorily. Continued poor performance may lead to early termination.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost to Highways England was of its contract with Amey for services in Area 7; and which other companies bid for that contract.
Andrew Jones
The contract awarded by Highways England was for a value of £422,720,000 over 15 years. This is the maximum spend allowable through this contract and includes for inflation over its duration. Other companies that bid for the contract were: –
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to limit the effect that engineering works on rail lines have on travel over long bank holidays.
Claire Perry
An independent review of how the rail industry plans and schedules major improvement work was carried out last year. The review concluded that Christmas, Easter and bank holidays were the best times to carry out upgrades requiring major line closures, particularly in and around London where the network is busiest and access for engineers is most difficult.
Network Rail always looks to minimise the overall impact of these vital projects on passengers. As such, Network Rail and train operators are conscious that many people want to use the railway over holiday periods to reunite with their friends and families, so where possible they try to ensure the vast majority of services are kept running, as well as delivering passenger improvements on time. Network Rail will ensure around 96% of the network will be available during the next May bank holiday.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2015 to Question HL248, when Network Rail is expected to complete the impact assessment of the European Rail Traffic Management System.
Claire Perry
Network Rail and Industry are evaluating the optimal deployment options for the European Rail Traffic Management System. These will be presented to the Department for Transport toward the end of 2016.