The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of Network Rail’s administrative performance in providing weekly operating and signalling notices to train drivers and other rail staff.
Paul Maynard
No such assessment has been made of this operational matter. The publication of the Weekly Operating Notice is for Network Rail and the train and freight companies to manage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on whether there is a correlation between staffing levels on trains and stations and the number of reported sexual offences on trains and in stations.
Claire Perry
The Government considers the safety of passengers on the railway to be of paramount importance and is committed to reducing crime, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime wherever it occurs in the transport system. The Department for Transport does not hold any information on whether there is a correlation between staffing levels on trains and stations and the number of reported sexual offences.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the Govia Thameslink Railway remedial plan.
Claire Perry
This has been published and is available at:
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much compensation his Department is liable for in its contract with Agility Trains in the event that the Inter City Express (IEP) fleet cannot be introduced in line with the contracted schedule for (a) delivery and (b) operation of new IEP trains on the (i) Great Western and (ii) East Coast mainlines.
Paul Maynard
The contract for IEP sets out the process for calculating any liquidated damages the Secretary of State would be liable to pay to Agility Trains in the event that the trains cannot be introduced in line with the contracted schedule for delivery and operation. This would be calculated as a function of the daily Set Availability Payment forgone at that time. The precise amount would remain commercially confidential.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the members are of (a) Rail North and (b) the Rail North Board; and how those members are appointed.
Andrew Jones
Members of Rail North:
Rail North Ltd Board Directors are:
Any Local transport Authority in the North of England area covered by Northern and TransPennine franchises is entitled to be a member of Rail North.
Rail North Board Directors are appointed by the constituent authorities of the sub-areas they represent.
Note that Tees Valley Authorities have recently formed a Combined Authority and will, on formal notification, be represented through that single body in the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-09-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to tender a public contract to perform the function of operator of last resort for (a) long distance and (b) regional passenger rail franchises.
Paul Maynard
The Secretary of State has a duty under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993, to maintain the continuity of passenger rail services in the event that a passenger rail franchise terminates and is not immediately replaced. Following a successful procurement competition using the new STAR (Specialist Technical Advice for Rail) Framework Agreement, the Department has appointed a partnership comprising Arup, SNC-Lavalin Transport Advisory and EY to provide services to support the Secretary of State in connection with these duties. This includes advice in connection with the mobilisation and operation of a Public Sector Operator of Last Resort should the need arise.
The Department does not intend to tender any other contracts to perform the functions of Operator of Last Resort at this stage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many volunteer coastguards were recruited by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each year since 2010-11.
Mr John Hayes
There is no central national record of the enrolment of volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers as enrolment is conducted locally at the 340 Coastguard Rescue Teams in the UK, as the need arises.
To provide the information in the format you have requested would be at disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with the Rail North Board.
Andrew Jones
Since the start of the new Northern and TPE franchises on 1st April 2016, the Rail North Partnership Director (who is responsible for the management of those franchises on behalf of Rail North and the Department) has had one meeting with the Board of Rail North Ltd at which he presented his monthly report.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-09-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many contracts for franchised passenger rail services his Department has tendered in each year since 2013; and how many such contracts his Department plans to tender under the existing franchising schedule in each year between 2016 and 2023.
Paul Maynard
The number of contracts for franchised passenger rail services tendered* per calendar year from 2013 to 2015 are as follows:
Year No.of Contracts Awarded
2013 0
2014 3
2015 2
The number of planned of contracts for franchised passenger rail services tendered* per calendar year from 2016 to 2023 are as follows:
Year No.of Contracts Awarded
2016 1
2017 3
2018 4**
2019 1
2020 0
2021 2
2022 2
2023 0
*We have taken the use of the term ‘tendered’ to mean the completion of the tendering process which is contract award. The response does not require the number of Direct Awards as the question only asks for “franchised passenger rail services”.
**The schedule shown reflects standard Department for Transport franchising timings. The UK Government has agreed in principle to transfer franchising powers to the Welsh Government to lead on procuring the next Wales & Borders franchise. In anticipation of this, the Welsh Government are developing their procurement approach which is planned to start earlier than shown on this schedule.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many coastguards were employed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each year since 2010-11.
Mr John Hayes
The number of Coastguards employed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each year since 2010/11 is as follows:
|
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
2015/16 |
2016/17 |
|
517 |
491 |
469 |
418 |
386 |
416 |
424 |
When interpreting the above numbers, it is important to note that the new HM Coastguard structure enables the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) and nine Coastguard Operation Centres (CGOC) to coordinate any incident around the UK coast. Workload and incidents continue to managed locally but all Coastguard Centres now have a national support network available to them during busy periods. These arrangements are most effectively deployed from a smaller national footprint.