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Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what modelling his Department has undertaken on potential transitional arrangements for women born in the period 1951 to 1953 who are affected by accelerated equalisation of the state pension age; and if he will publish the results of any such modelling.

Justin Tomlinson

Of the group stated in the question only women born on or after 6 April 1953 are affected by the changes in State Pension age in the 2011 Pensions Act.

The faster increase to 65 under the Pensions Act 2011 affect an estimated 230,000 women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953. This figure, rounded to the nearest 10,000, is for Great Britain and is based on DWP calculations using ONS statistics.

During the passage of the Pensions Bill 2011 the Government tabled an amendment so that the maximum delay to State Pension age relative to the previously legislated timetable that any individual faced was 18 months. This amendment affected people born between 6 January 1954 and 5 September 1954. The analysis accompanying this amendment is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/182066/pensions-bill-spa-info.pdf

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01/01/2023
Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland will receive a reply to his letter of 14 December 2015 addressed to Robert Devereux, Permanent Secretary to his Department.

Justin Tomlinson

The Permanent Secretary replied to the hon. Member on 28 January 2015.

01/01/2023
Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been affected by the under-occupancy penalty in Cardiff South and Penarth constituency in each of the last 12 months.

Justin Tomlinson

Information concerning how many people have been affected by the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy in Cardiff South and Penarth constituency in each of the last 12 months is published and can be found at the link below:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

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01/01/2023
Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women born between 6 April and 5 December 1953 will be affected by the increase to the state pension age under the provisions of the Pension Act 2011.

Justin Tomlinson

Of the group stated in the question only women born on or after 6 April 1953 are affected by the changes in State Pension age in the 2011 Pensions Act.

The faster increase to 65 under the Pensions Act 2011 affect an estimated 230,000 women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953. This figure, rounded to the nearest 10,000, is for Great Britain and is based on DWP calculations using ONS statistics.

During the passage of the Pensions Bill 2011 the Government tabled an amendment so that the maximum delay to State Pension age relative to the previously legislated timetable that any individual faced was 18 months. This amendment affected people born between 6 January 1954 and 5 September 1954. The analysis accompanying this amendment is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/182066/pensions-bill-spa-info.pdf

“

01/01/2023
Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the extent and effectiveness of wifi and telephone signal coverage on the Midland Mainline route.

Claire Perry

On all Department for Transport-controlled rail franchises, in England and Wales, free Wi-Fi is being introduced. All train operators bidding for new franchises and direct award agreements will have to present a phased implementation plan for free Wi-Fi. Currently c30% of train carriages operating within the DfT controlled franchises and serving c50% of rail passenger journeys have Wi-Fi available. We have committed that 90% of passenger journeys will benefit from free Wi-Fi by the end of 2018.

East Midlands Trains is upgrading its Wi-Fi services, on approximately 70% of their trains, to deliver at least 15 minutes free wi-fi to passengers travelling in standard class by Autumn 2016.

Reliability and availability of mobile broadband and telephone services on trains can be an issue, partly due to physical barriers to radio signals reaching the railway track, include railway cuttings and tunnels and due to signal weakening, called attenuation, caused by train carriage walls and windows.

On-train Wi-Fi addresses some of the reliability issues as will the ongoing roll-out of the 4G networks by mobile network operators. However we recognise that there is more to do that will require enhancements to trackside infrastructure. That’s why we are working with the rail and telecommunications industries to reach a shared understanding of the technical and commercial challenges, and seek out potential solutions.

Our current assessment forecasts that between 68% and 85% of the UK rail network will have 4G mobile network coverage by the end of 2017. There is no separate assessment of the Midlands Mainline route.

01/01/2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Topical Transport Question to him on 10 December 2015, Official Report, column 1129, on traffic noise on the M60 effecting the residents of Thompson Close, Denton, whether he will meet with the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish to discuss this case.

Andrew Jones

Highways England representatives met with the Hon. Member on 22 January 2016 to discuss the possibility of mitigating the effect of noise from traffic using the M60 Motorway adjacent to Thompson Close. As Roads Minister I am happy to meet with the Hon. Member to discuss the position further.

01/01/2023
Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the transfer of air passenger duty to that government.

Mr Robert Goodwill

No such discussion have taken place. Decisions on taxation, including Air Passenger Duty, are of course a matter for HM Treasury.

01/01/2023
Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2015 to Question 19489, when the Buses Bill will be introduced into Parliament.

Andrew Jones

The Buses Bill is currently being drafted. The precise time of its introduction will be dependent on Parliamentary business.

01/01/2023
Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department’s roads reform programme evaluation, An overarching, monitoring and evaluation framework, published in March 2015, has made in evaluating the effectiveness of the roads reform programme.

Andrew Jones

In March 2015 the Department published an overarching monitoring and evaluation framework for the Roads Reform Programme. This document explained that the programme evaluation will draw upon evidence generated by Highways England, the Office of Rail and Road, and Transport Focus, complementing this evidence with additional data collection where required.

Since publishing this framework, a range of relevant evidence has been produced, such as the National road users’ satisfaction survey 2014-15 and two publications on Road users’ priorities for improvement covering car and van drivers and motorcyclists, and HGV drivers, respectively. The Department is planning to commission a suitably qualified supplier shortly to begin to use this evidence in performing an evaluation of the Roads Reform Programme.

01/01/2023

Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will estimate the number of deaths and serious injuries of cyclists that were attributable to poorly-maintained local roads since 2010.

Andrew Jones

There were 211 pedal cyclist KSIs (killed or seriously injured casualties) in reported road accidents allocated the contributory factor “Poor or Defective road surface” on local roads (for England) or all non-motorway roads (for Scotland and Wales) from 2010 to 2014. A local road has been defined as a road maintained by the local authority. The following table shows the totals for each of the separate years:

GB	A¹	B	Other²	Total
2010	10	3	17	30
2011	13	9	23	45
2012	11	6	27	44
2013	10	7	22	39
2014	16	8	29	53
*Total*	60	33	*118*	*211*

¹ Includes A roads maintained by Transport Scotland and the Welsh Government.

²Includes C and unclassified roads.

The contributory factors reflect the reporting officer’s opinion at the time of reporting and are not necessarily the result of extensive investigation. Moreover it is recognised that subsequent enquires could lead to the reporting officer changing their opinion. It is important to note where some factors may have contributed to a cause of an accident it may be difficult for a police officer attending the scene after the accident has occurred to identify these factors.

01/01/2023