Tag: 2016

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost was to the public purse of graffiti removal across the (a) Highways England and (b) Network Rail networks in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Jones

    The Highways England does not separately identify the exact annual cost of removing graffiti from its road signs and structures, as this forms part of a wider contracted service which includes a range of maintenance activities.

    Network Rail spends more than £3.5 million a year removing graffiti. This spending is devolved to local teams and it would involve disproportionate cost to retrieve exact annual expenditure. However, there is no reason to expect significant annual variations.

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 23 February (HL6039), how many of the six cases in 2014 knowingly requir[ing] another person to perform forced/compulsory labour” involved child victims.”

    Lord Faulks

    There were no juveniles (individuals aged 10-17) involved as victims of the offence of “knowingly requir[ing] another person to perform forced/compulsory labour”, in England and Wales, in 2014.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil servants were employed by each agency of his Department in each location in the last year for which figures are available.

    Joseph Johnson

    The number of civil servants employed by each agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is shown in the attached table and represents the position as at 31 December 2015. The Department does not hold centrally any location data for its agencies prior to this date.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases relating to the (a) eviction of residents and (b) banning of guests in care homes have reached the High Court in each year since 2010.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects the national Geological Disposal Facility to be ready.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The process to site a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) is planned to launch in 2017 and will be driven by working in partnership with willing communities. The technical work to assess the geological suitability of a site and build a credible long-term safety case is the main determinant of the length of time that it will take. The Government has therefore not set a fixed delivery timetable but the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has a current planning assumption that the GDF will be available to receive the first waste in the 2040s.

  • 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 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to tackle traffic congestion.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has an ambitious strategy for tackling congestion in our cities and towns and improving performance on our roads. This strategy includes providing significant investment in both our strategic and local road networks, as well as encouraging more sustainable transport including buses, light rail and walking and cycling. We are providing £15.2 billion between 2015 and 2021 to invest in our strategic road network. This is the biggest upgrade to our motorways and ‘A’ roads for a generation, and it is adding capacity and tackling congestion.

    The Road Investment Strategy is providing a transformational level of investment in the strategic road network (SRN), with over 400 extra lane miles of Smart Motorways, including a ‘smart spine’ linking London, Birmingham and the North West and schemes to improve critical freight routes, such as the £1.5 billion A14 scheme in Cambridgeshire and the M6 in Cheshire.

    The drive to improve safety and reduce congestion underpins the vast majority of our schemes. Several schemes, however, are specifically focused on alleviating these problems – the two of which often go hand in hand. On the M25, upgrades to Junction 10 will create a free-flowing interchange with the A3, improving an area which has a high casualty rate. In the North, planning work will start for upgrades to two of the region’s most important interchanges: the M62/M1 Lofthouse interchange and the M60/M62/M66 Simister Island junction.

    On local roads we have the £12 billion Local Growth Fund to 2021 which has enabled local authorities through the Local Enterprise Partnerships to identify and secure funding for projects to enable among other things, local road improvements and sustainable local transport projects. This is on top of over £6 billion through to 2021 to councils in England to help maintain their local roads and repair potholes.

    This investment is set against the backdrop of a regulatory framework that is intended to provide better conditions for all road users through coordination and proactive management of the road network. The Traffic Management Act 2004 specifically places a network management duty on each local traffic authority in England to manage its road network to secure the expeditious movement of traffic on its own network and to facilitate the same on the network of other authorities. This can be achieved through traditional traffic management methods including effective enforcement of parking and management of street works but increasingly also through the deployment of technology. To support this the Department for Transport is currently inviting local authorities to bid for a share of £2m to fund demonstrator projects to test these new technologies.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will take steps to ensure that all children and young people affected by the Syrian conflict are in school and learning in (a) 2016-17 school year and (b) future years.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    At the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region being held in London on 4th February, we want the international community to agree a new goal that all Syrian refugee children and affected host country children are in education – formal school or non-formal – by the end of 2016/17. Equally, for inside Syria, it is our aim to increase access to good quality schooling or other learning opportunities such as self-learning and non-formal education. In neighbouring countries we will also increase access to vocational or skills training and higher education for children and youth.

    At the Conference our ambition is that international donors, governments from countries in the region hosting refugees, non-governmental organisations and the private sector come together to agree a set of reciprocal financial and policy commitments. The UK and co-hosts are working with donors and other partners to secure increased funding for education under the UN-led appeals for 2016 and longer term, multi-year education funding commitments to ensure sustainability. We are also working with refugee hosting governments in particular to agree the policy commitments necessary to turn increased funding into delivery on the ground.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he expects residents adjoining the M60 in Denton to qualify for monetary compensation for the extension of the smart motorway scheme.

    Andrew Jones

    The M60 Smart Motorway Project near Denton is currently in its early design stage and the scope and boundaries of the project are still being defined. By its nature of this type of project, Highways England expect that the scheme will mostly be within the existing footprint.

    Any compensation arrangements will be the same as for all such improvement schemes. If there is a requirement to purchase land then the owners of that land can expect to be appropriately compensated. Similarly if properties in the area of the scheme qualify for noise insulation under the Noise Insulation Regulations, then appropriate offers will be made.

    The environmental impact will be assessed as part of the design and any necessary actions will be considered during the detailed design. One year after the completion of the scheme local property owners may apply for compensation under Part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973 and such claims will be assessed under the terms of that Act.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to urge the Egyptian authorities to investigate fully the torture and death of Giulio Regeni in Cairo this year and what assessment they have made of the risks to the safety of British academics and journalists presently in Egypt.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have followed the case of Giulio Regeni closely since he disappeared on 25 January. We are saddened by his tragic death and are very concerned about reports that he was tortured. We pass our condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.

    We have raised our concerns and the need for a full investigation with the Egyptian authorities both in Cairo and with the Egyptian Ambassador in London. We support the Italian and Egyptian efforts to investigate and have asked the Italians to let us know if there is anything we can do to support.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice provides objective information and advice to help individuals make better-informed decisions about their travel. We review our travel advice for Egypt on a regular basis and make necessary changes after careful analysis. Our only consideration is the safety of British Nationals.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil servants were employed at each location by UK Shared Business Service Ltd in the last year for which figures are available.

    Joseph Johnson

    UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) employees are public servants and not civil servants.

    UK SBS operates from three locations and the number of people employed at each location is:

    Swindon 472

    Newport 45

    Billingham 27

    In addition, 12 employees work remotely.