Tag: 2016

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve east-west transport connectivity in the North of England.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government is committed to improving transport connectivity across the North of England, including east-west routes. Current work includes upgrades to the road network as set out in Road Investment Strategy: for the 2015/16 – 2019/20 Road Period (March 2015).

    Work has already started to deliver improved rail journeys between Liverpool and Manchester. The Ordsall chord will enable direct links from the Northeast to Manchester Airport. Sir Peter Hendy’s rail upgrade re-plan (Hendy review – Replanning Network Rail’s investment programme: a report from Sir Peter Hendy to the Transport Secretary (Nov 2015)) includes significant benefits for the North of England, such as the Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme, which is aligned to Rail North’s Long Term Rail Strategy (September 2015). Current proposals are to deliver faster journeys and more capacity on the existing railway line between Leeds and Manchester. This work is expected to provide up to six fast trains per hour, with a target journey time of 62 minutes between Manchester and York and 40 minutes between Leeds and Manchester.

    Additionally, the new TransPennine Express (TPE) and Northern franchises, which came into effect on 1 April, will deliver a range of significant benefits to their passengers, including increases to services between Manchester and Newcastle, more daily services to Hull from Manchester and Leeds, and 44 new 125 mph TPE trains fitted with free Wi-Fi and real-time passenger information screens.

    The Government is also working with Transport for the North on future transport plans in the North of England. As set out in the Northern Transport Strategy: Spring 2016 Report (March 2016), these plans include east-west connectivity improvements through HS3/Northern Powerhouse Rail and the strategic studies investigating the cases for a trans-Pennine road tunnel and upgrading the A66 and A69.

    All four documents referred to in this reply have been placed in the libraries of both Houses.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s planned expenditure is on language training in each year to 2020.

    Mark Lancaster

    The following table highlights the projected expenditure by financial year (FY), for the delivery of language training by the Defence Academy (DA) (part of Joint Force Command) and the Army, broken down by ‘Foreign Language Training’ (FLT) and ‘English Language Training’ (ELT).

    FY 2017-18

    FY 2018-19

    FY2019-20

    FY 2020-21

    Total

    DA FLT

    £2,124,453.00

    £2,161,942.00

    £2,211,652.00

    £2,260,694.00

    £8,758,741.00

    Army FLT

    £1,000,000.00

    £1,000,000.00

    £1,000,000.00

    £1,000,000.00

    £4,000,000.00

    Army ELT

    £18,000.00

    £18,000.00

    £18,000.00

    £18,000.00

    £72,000.00
  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-10-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will continue to allow entry fees for chess tournaments to remain VAT exempt.

    Jane Ellison

    Entry fees for chess tournaments have always been taxable at the standard rate of VAT.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will hold discussions with regulators and consumer groups on ensuring that nuisance telephone calls (a) in general and (b) to elderly citizens are eliminated.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government is cracking down on nuisance calls. Over the last five years the average fine issued has increased from around £5000 to £85000, we’ve strengthened the law to make it easier to clamp down on companies who break the rules and have increased the maximum fine to £500,000. DCMS Ministers and officials meet regularly with regulators and consumer groups to discuss the most effective approach to tackling this complex issue.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many complaints on what subjects the Independent Monitoring Board of each prison received from prisoners in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

    Andrew Selous

    Independent Monitoring Boards are individual Arm’s Length Bodies, who publish this information on an establishment by establishment basis, each on a different annual cycle.

    Information is available from the annual reports submitted by individual Independent Monitoring Boards, which are published on http://www.imb.org.uk/reports/2015-annual-reports/ There is a page towards the end of reports setting out the number of “applications” by prisoners to see the Independent Monitoring Board in that establishment.

    “

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

    Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Option A for a new Lower Thames Crossing is still (a) included in the consultation and (b) considered by his Department to be a viable option.

    Andrew Jones

    In July 2014, the Secretary of State for Transport announced the next steps for delivering a new Lower Thames crossing. This led to Highways England launching a public consultation on its proposals that started on 26 January 2016.

    I can confirm that Option A is included within the consultation and remains an option for consideration. I would encourage all local communities and businesses to provide their views before the end of the consultation on the 24 March 2016.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on the rebuilding by Hamas of its cross-border tunnel infrastructure into Israel.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of reports of Hamas rebuilding tunnels and we remain deeply concerned by Hamas’ attempts to rearm and rebuild infrastructure, including the tunnel network in Gaza. Any Hamas rearmament undermines efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and harms prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will take steps to ensure that the global risk platform to be debated at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 meets the needs of people affected by natural and social disasters.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK is part of the discussions on the Global Risk Register and is helping to ensure they review how the national and international systems address the needs of affected populations quickly and effectively.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which government department is responsible for surveillance, production of a reorganised surface picture, and security, of the UK territorial seas.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The responsibility for the security and surveillance of the UK territorial seas is shared across a number of Government departments and agencies including the Department for Transport, Border Force, and Ministry of Defence.

    The National Maritime Information Centre provides the platform for the cross-government understanding of maritime activity. It brings together information and intelligence provided by the various Government departments and agencies and supported by international partnerships provides the UK with unified situational awareness of maritime activity in the UK and international waters.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential trends in the cost of tuition fees to students over the next 10 years.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) will allow institutions offering high quality teaching to access tuition fees up to an RPI(X) inflation linked maximum fee cap.

    Students on courses starting from August 2017 will be affected if the successful institutions choose to increase their fees towards the higher fee cap. These students will not be affected in real terms as tuition fees will not increase by more than inflation.