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  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with (a) Network Rail and (b) train operating companies on minimising disruption from the planned closure of the Severn Tunnel for electrification.

    Claire Perry

    Ministers regularly meet with Network Rail and the train operating companies to discuss a range of issues, including the need to ensure that the investment programme to enhance the network results in the minimum necessary disruption to passengers.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessments his Department has made of the potential economic benefit of (a) opening new stations on the Great Western Main line, (b) running later services on the Great Western Main line and (c) reducing rail fares on the Great Western Main line.

    Claire Perry

    Any specific project that may bring such benefits to passengers is assessed during the planning stage of that project.

    I completely understand your concern about the cost of some rail fares and the impact that this can have on people’s budgets. That is why we have capped the rail fares we regulate at inflation (RPI) for three years running, and will continue to do so for the life of this parliament. We have also stopped operators increasing individual fares by up to 2% more. This means those fares we regulate will only rise by 1% in 2016 making it the lowest fare increase since 2010.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 29611, in what specified format the Buses Bill will require data on routes, timetables, punctuality and fares to be published; and whether this format will differ from the format currently used by his Department to publish bus fares information.

    Andrew Jones

    The Buses Bill will not specify the format in which the data on routes, timetables, punctuality and fares must be provided. The Bill would give the Secretary of State the powers to make secondary legislation to mandate the provision of data. The specific format of the data will be determined following discussions with industry in due course.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the proposed Buses Bill, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on competition in the bus services market of bus operators retaining vehicle fleets, depots and other strategic assets when bus services are franchised.

    Andrew Jones

    The actual competition impacts will depend on how franchising is implemented at the local level. The Department’s high level assessment of the potential competition impacts of the Buses Bill proposals will be set out in the Impact Assessment which will accompany the introduction of the Bill. Individual local authorities will be better placed to conduct a detailed competition assessment of any changes they propose to make to their local bus market in light of the Bill.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much EU funding has been provided for ground investigations related to High Speed 2.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport was awarded €39.2 million for HS2 under the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility to fund Ground Investigation works for Phase 1 of the High Speed 2 Programme. The EU has agreed to provide this funding in stages between 2015 and 2019.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Natura 20000 sites are located within 10 miles of the proposed route of phase two of High Speed 2.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There are 18 Natura 2000 sites within 10 miles of the proposed Phase 2 route. This is the route as proposed in the July 2013 route consultation.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2016 to Question 30285, whether the working assumption that benefits from the Bus Service Operators Grant are passed on to passengers 50 per cent through lower fares and 50 per cent through increased service levels was informed by discussions with bus operators.

    Andrew Jones

    The working assumption that the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) is passed on to passengers 50% through lower fares and 50% through increased service levels was presented to and informally sense checked with industry members attending BSOG related working groups held by the Department over 2014 and early 2015.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to bring forward separate legislative proposals on the proposed extension of High Speed 2 from the West Midlands to Crewe.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Government intends to deposit a hybrid Bill for HS2 from West Midlands to Crewe (HS2 Phase 2a) before the end of 2017. This will enable this section of route to open in 2027, six years earlier than originally planned. This means that cities across the North West and Scotland will realise more of the benefits of HS2 sooner.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many members of staff of HS2 Ltd have been provided with (a) mobile telephones, (b) tablet devices and (c) corporate credit cards in each of the last three years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The information listed in the table below provides information for the last three complete calendar years:

    Mobile Phones

    Tablets

    Government Procurement Cards (GPC*)

    2013

    140

    30

    10

    2014

    226

    120

    25

    2015

    670

    263

    30

    *HS2 Ltd does not have Corporate Credit Cards, it has Government Procurement Cards (in line with Government policy they have recently been renamed as Electronic Purchasing Card Solutions).

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will create a group at ministerial level of representatives from the relevant government departments to ensure that progress is made on the Government’s sport strategy with cross-departmental coordination.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer my hon. Friend to ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, published in December 2015, a copy of which can be accessed on the gov.uk website.