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Tag: 2016

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 June (HL515), what progress has been made in assessing the detailed implications for the timetable and train performance on the East Coast Main Line of the decision to run 7.5 long distance trains per hour from 2021.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Network Rail and the relevant train operators will continue to develop the detail and performance implications of the 2021 timetable in line with the industry’s normal timetable development process, under the oversight of the Office of Rail and Road.

    With regard to the operation of the Thameslink central core, this is a matter for Network Rail and the relevant train operators, under the oversight of the Office of Rail and Road. The industry is continuing to develop plans for integrating the 24 trains per hour proposed to run on the Thameslink route at peak times from December 2018 with other services on the East Coast Main Line, including the implications for punctuality and reliability.

    After consulting with Network Rail we have established that there were five ‘unplanned closures’, on various sections of the line, on five separate days in August, two of which were infrastructure related and three as a result of passenger action.

    Network Rail have defined days with ‘unplanned closures’ of the East Coast Main Line as days where there are more than five cancellation events. A cancellation event covers any service suffering one or more of the below events:

    • Full Cancellation
    • Part Cancellation
    • Diversion
    • Fail to stop
    • Change of Origin
  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2016 to Question 46806 on taxis: licensing, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in licence applications from Rossendale Borough Council between 2013 and 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    The legislation that provides for licensing of taxi and private hire vehicle services is enabling in its nature, giving local licensing authorities the discretion to set standards that they deem to be appropriate for their area. Rossendale Council has already made changes to the Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle application process to address the rapid rise in the number of drivers they license. Wherever a driver has been licensed, the licensing authority that issue that licence must have confirmed that the driver is a “fit and proper” person.

    To help licensing authorities set standards the Department for Transport issues Best Practice Guidance. In addition to this, the Government has also introduced an amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill that will make statutory all aspects of the guidance that are related to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults. Both parts of the guidance will be consulted on publicly once the Bill has received Royal Assent.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions he has met with National Archive officials to discuss the release of Cabinet Office papers for the 1986 to 1988 period.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Cabinet Office has regular ongoing communications with the National Archives.

    The Minister for the Cabinet Office met National Archive officials to discuss the release of Cabinet Office papers for the 1986 to 1988 period on two occasions.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her EU counterparts during the renegotiation of the terms of UK membership of the EU on EU fisheries policy; and if she will take steps to secure a better outcome for the British fishing industry within that policy.

    George Eustice

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the UK, so that we get a better deal for the UK and secure our future. The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation. We believe we can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU.

    Separately, the UK continues to pursue effective implementation of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy through full use of the new provisions for regionalised decision making, and including the elimination of the wasteful practice of discarding fish. The UK is also seeking to simplify technical regulations in the fisheries sector, for the benefit of the UK fishing industry and the sustainability of fish stocks.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has received a document from the Indian government on Sikh radicalisation in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr John Hayes

    The department has not received any documents on Sikh radicalisation in the UK from the Indian government.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeal hearings at the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) were (a) withdrawn and (b) adjourned because the Home Office did not send a representative in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) is administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service.

    There are no available data relating to numbers of appeals withdrawn where the Home Office representative did not attend the hearing.

    The number of appeal hearings adjourned because the Home Office did not send a representative in (i) 2012-13 was 64 (ii) 2013-14 was 61 and (iii) 2014-15 was 68. For comparison, the figure in 2009/10 was 94.

    Data provided are internal Management Information and not subject to the same quality checks as Official Statistics.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of parents who falsely claim religious beliefs or church attendance in order to get their children into their local school.

    Nick Gibb

    All school admission authorities must comply with the School Admissions Code. If an admission authority identifies a fraudulent application they can withdraw the offer of a school place.

  • Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 26 January (HL Deb, col 1152), whether it is their policy that the trial of Mazher Mahmood would need to be completed before Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry could take place.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Criminal proceedings connected to the subject matter of the Leveson Inquiry, including the appeals process, have not yet been completed. We‎ have always been clear that these cases must conclude before we consider Part 2 of the Inquiry.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many heavy goods vehicles were checked on the A55 in North Wales during 2015 for (1) weight offences, (2) drivers’ hours offences, (3) mechanical condition offences, and (4) speeding; and of those, how many vehicles, or their drivers, received an immediate prohibition, and how many vehicles were registered outside the UK.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    On the A55 in North Wales during 2015 the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) can confirm (1) 119 heavy goods vehicles in total were checked for weight offences, eight of these vehicles were registered within Great Britain (GB) and 111 were registered outside of GB. Out of 119, 74 were found to have weight offences and received immediate prohibitions, four of these were registered within GB and 70 were registered outside of GB.

    (2) 1445 vehicles were checked for drivers hours offences, 186 were registered within GB and 1259 were registered outside of GB. Out of 1445 vehicles checked, 276 received Drivers Hours Prohibitions; these are all immediate prohibitions. Of the 276, 12 were registered within GB and 264 outside of GB.

    (3) Vehicles are checked for mechanical condition and checks are recorded for Motor Vehicle and Trailer separately. For the motor vehicle part only, 779 vehicles were checked for mechanical condition offences, 108 of those were registered within GB and 671 were registered outside of GB. Of the 779 vehicles checked, 192 were found to have mechanical condition offences, 20 were registered in GB and 172 were outside of GB. Of the 192, 71 received immediate prohibitions. Of those 71, 15 were registered within GB and 56 outside of GB. For the trailer part of the vehicle, 647 trailers were checked for mechanical condition offences, 42 of these were registered within GB and 605 were registered outside of GB. Of the 647 trailers checked, 252 were found to have mechanical condition offences, 6 were registered within GB and 246 were registered outside of GB; 70 out of the 252 trailers, received immediate prohibitions, four of which were registered inside GB and 66 were outside of GB.

    (4) DVSA cannot provide accurate data for how may vehicles were checked for speeding due to how the information is recorded.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to complete the ratification of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    An explanatory memorandum initiating the UK’s domestic approval of the Agreement was laid on 7th October 2016 with a view to completing the domestic procedures that will enable ratification before the end of the year.