Tag: Cheryl Gillan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials in his Department are working on matters relating to High Speed 2; and what the grades of those officials are.

Nick Boles

The Department for Transport (DfT) leads on HS2 policy and delivery. Within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), various officials at different grades have an interest in HS2 from the point of view of the Growth opportunities that arise from the investment.

BIS interests include the potential for rail engineering supply chain development, innovation and technology transfer and growth opportunities arising from the investment along the HS2 route. This will also be a shop window for new technologies that can then drive export growth. HS2 and the National High Speed Rail College will also drive the uptake of apprenticeships and raise engineering skills levels, so Officials in those areas have an interest in HS2. All of these matters also feature in the work of the Rail Supply Group, the rail engineering industry council, which is jointly supported by DfT and BIS officials.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many expressions of interest his Department has received from organisations other than HM Treasury or private investors in funding the construction of High Speed 2.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The case for HS2 has been calculated on the basis of the project being fully publicly funded. We have not received any expressions of interest from organisations other than HM Treasury or private investors in funding the construction of High Speed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment on projects which have received funding under the Connecting Europe Facility initiative.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Projects seeking funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) should show that they comply with EU Environmental Policy. The Department will undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment, where it is required to do so, in line with its legal obligations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assurances he has received that (a) construction of a new station in Curzon Street and (b) other construction activity in Birmingham will comply with air quality limit values for nitrogen dioxide.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Environmental Statement and Supplementary Environmental Statements for the Phase One hybrid Bill fully assessed the impact on air quality from HS2 construction activity for the proposed Curzon Street Station and for other areas in Birmingham. That assessment concluded that there would be no significant effect on the air quality in these areas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children and young people who are either educated at home or not in employment, education or training are recorded within the statistics and analysis on statements of special educational needs and education, health and care plans in England published on 26 May 2016; and under which categories such children and young people are recorded.

Edward Timpson

The number of children and young people with a statement or education, health and care (EHC) plan who are educated at home is not specifically collected in the ‘Statements and EHC plans England: 2016’ publication[1]. However, as these children and young people will be included in the total number of children and young people with statements and EHC plans, local authorities are likely to have included these children and young people in the ‘other arrangements made by the local authority’ or ‘other arrangements made by the parent’ category.

The number of children and young people with statements or EHC plans who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is not specifically collected in this statistical first release. Where young people have a statement or EHC plan and are NEET, they will be included in one of the other categories, e.g. ‘other arrangements made by local authority’ or ‘awaiting provision’.

There is not an exhaustive list of arrangements included in the category of ‘Other – arrangements made by the local authority in accordance with Section 319 of the Education Act 1996 or Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014’. The published SEN 2016 guide for local authorities[2] completing this part of the collection is as follows:

‘Section 319 of the Education Act 1996 empowers an authority to provide education for children with special educational needs “other than in school”. This may include education in centres run by social services or at home. Children would not normally be on another school register.

‘Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014 empowers an authority to provide education for children and young people with special educational needs “other than in school, post-16 institutions, etc”. This may include education in centres run by social services or where the local authority has named home education on an EHC plan.’

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2016

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-educational-needs-survey-2016-guide

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England plans to consider mechanical thrombectomy for the treatment of stroke in its specialised commissioning prioritisation process.

David Mowat

As yet, there are insufficient patients being treated with mechanical thrombectomy to assess its impact on processes, such as length of hospital stay and bed occupancy rates, outcomes of care and the effect on post stroke rehabilitation.

However, the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme is now collecting data on patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy and the results will be reported as soon as it is feasible. Sufficient cases will need to be undertaken before conducting the necessary statistical analyses and reporting the data.

NHS England is considering whether mechanical thrombectomy should be an area covered by its specialised commissioning portfolio and work is underway on this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the project management section of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 Expenditure Report, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016, what incentive payments were made to HS2 Ltd’s development partners and professional services contractors; to whom such payments were made; and what exceptional performance was relevant in each such case.

Andrew Jones

Incentive payments were based on accrued estimates of the contractually obliged sums payable to the company’s Development Partner CH2M Hill and its Professional Service Contractors. These contractors have provided critical support to HS2 Ltd in its undertaking of both its preparatory works and its ongoing hybrid Bill management. Assessment is undertaken by a multi-disciplinary panel from across HS2 Ltd to consider the case made by each contractor as to the additional value provided over and above the original contracted scope.

The accrued estimates accounted for in support of HS2 Ltd’s preparatory works are £1.4m, split over the following suppliers: CH2M Hill, Arup, Atkins, Capita Symons / Ineco, ERM / Temple / Mott McDonald, Mott.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the average operating speed for High Speed trains to Europe.

Claire Perry

Eurostar operate passenger trains from London into Europe at speeds of up to 186 miles per hour.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his most recent estimate is of the cost of tunnel boring for the High Speed 2 Chiltern tunnel.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The estimated cost of the Chiltern tunnel, as extended via Additional Provision 4, is £940m (based on Q2 2011 Prices). This figure, which includes the costs relating to tunnel boring and the construction of the tunnel portals and vent shafts, excludes risk and contingency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what total amount has been received by (a) his Department and (b) HS2 Ltd under the Connecting Europe Facility 2015 Multi-Annual Work Programme; and what estimate he has made of the amount that will be received under that programme by each body in the next three years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department for Transport was awarded Connecting Europe Facility funding for the following projects in 2015:

• South-Wales railway electrification study (Network Rail). €4.1 million
• Arc Atlantique Corridor Phase II. A UK led ITS traffic management deployment project involving Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Netherlands. The UK partners (Highways England, Transport Scotland, Department for Regional Development Northern Ireland, and the Welsh Government share amounts to around €9 million).
• European ITS Platform – Italian project coordinating standards for deployment of ITS traffic management systems across Europe. The UK partners (Highways England, Transport Scotland, Department for Regional Development Northern Ireland, and the Welsh Government) amounts to around €0.5 million)
• High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) €39.2 million

It is not possible to estimate how much additional funding may be available in the next three years. Funding for projects is awarded through a competitive bidding process with projects having to meet specific criteria set by the European Commission. The second call for funding closed in February 2016 and the results will be announced later this year.