Tag: Craig Whittaker

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time is for a driving test appointment (a) in England, (b) at the Halifax test centre and (c) at the Huddersfield test centre.

Andrew Jones

The average waits for a practical car driving test appointment in (a) England and (b) at Halifax test centre and (c) at Huddersfield test centre are as follows:

England – 12 weeks

Halifax driving test centre – 18 weeks

Huddersfield driving test centre – 17 weeks

The main cause of current high practical driving test waiting times across the country is a significant and sustained surge in demand for driving tests. The last time there was demand at such high levels was in 2005/6.

To help address the demand, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) 2015/16 recruitment campaigns resulted in 193 new examiners starting work at test centres across Britain. A further 48 examiners have started testing since April 2016, and DVSA has made employment offers to an additional 110 people, who are currently either attending the new entrant training course, or waiting to attend one.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) also deploys driving examiners between test centres accordingly to help balance variations in demand for tests. Resources have been pooled between Huddersfield, Halifax, Steeton and Skipton, and the DVSA is currently using resource from Huddersfield and Halifax to help service demand at Steeton and Skipton.. There are five new entrant examiners currently attending training who, if successful, will be deployed into Steeton and Skipton. This will have the knock on effect of helping to reduce waiting times at both the Halifax and Huddersfield test centres.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what change there has been in passenger numbers on trains in West Yorkshire since 2010.

Paul Maynard

Information on the number of journeys made by rail is shown below.

Year	Number of journeys in West Yorkshire
2014/15	44,419,978
2013/14	42,584,787
2012/13	40,775,454
2011/12	39,676,018
2010/11	38,552,743
2009/10	34,779,614

Source: The Office of Rail and Road

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much PCTs are owed by foreign patients for medical treatment received from the NHS.

Alistair Burt

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, primary care trusts (PCTs) ceased to exist from 1 April 2013, being replaced by clinical commissioning groups.

The Department does not hold information centrally on the amounts owed to clinical commissioning groups by foreign patients for National Health Service medical treatment received.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the economic benefits to Todmorden and Hebden Bridge following the planned improvements to the railway stations in both towns as part of the new Northern rail franchise.

Andrew Jones

The Calder Valley route between Manchester and Bradford will see more trains and faster journeys, with the weekday service frequency between Bradford and Manchester being enhanced by 50% (from two to three trains per hour), a significant increase in evening services, a doubling of Sunday service frequency from one to two trains per hour, and new direct links from Bradford to Manchester Airport and from Bradford to Liverpool.

These enhancements will bring benefits to Calder Valley towns such as Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. Taking these improvements alongside other existing services, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden will each be served by a total of four trains per hour for the main part of the day (Monday to Saturday) and three trains per hour (Sundays). In addition, both Hebden Bridge and Todmorden will also become “Northern Connect” stations, benefiting from new or refurbished trains on longer-distance services, faster journeys and stations staffed daily with catering services and free Wi-Fi.

Add this to the withdrawal of all Pacers by the end of 2019, an investment of £400 million in 281 brand newcarriages (some of which will operate on the existing Blackpool-York services and the new Bradford-Manchester Airport and Bradford-Liverpool services), and the refurbishment of the rest of the Northern fleet, we expect these enhancements to result in very substantial economic benefits for the area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to investigate the effectiveness of 20mph zones in local authorities which have implemented them.

Andrew Jones

Research into pilot 20mph speed limits, with little or no traffic calming, in Portsmouth and Bristol published in 2010 and 2012 showed small reductions in average speeds. The Portsmouth scheme also saw a reduction in casualties greater than the equivalent national reduction.

Reviews of 20 mph zones in 1996 and 1998 by the Transport Research Laboratory found that zones, which incorporate traffic calming, achieved significant reductions in speeds and annual accident frequency. Reductions in speeds were minimal without traffic calming.

The Department for Transport has commissioned new work into the effects of 20mph limits including effects on speed, collisions, casualties and modal shift. The research also considers best practice, road users’ perceptions and environmental quality.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses in areas that have recently been affected by flooding.

Anna Soubry

Following this winter’s severe flooding across northern England, including Calderdale, this Government put in place a comprehensive response and Calderdale has already received over £9.8 million in funding for business and community support.

Specifically for small and medium sized businesses there are three ways we are helping:

– giving flooded businesses business rates relief (£1.6 million for Calderdale)

– providing business recovery grants to help deal with exceptional costs borne by flooded businesses (£1.55 million paid out to businesses to date); and

– grants to incorporate greater flood resilience into any repairs undertaken by flooded businesses, helping to reduce the future impacts of flooding (£52,000 paid out to date to homes and businesses in Calderdale).

Other measures such as getting roads, bridges and rail services back working again and repairing and improving flood defences are also clearly a significant help. This includes the £5.5 m to repair Elland Bridge and to provide a temporary footbridge in the interim.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what provisions his Department has put in place as part of the rail franchise package for the Calder Valley rail line to improve rolling stock on that line.

Andrew Jones

The new Northern franchise will introduce at least 140 additional new DMU vehicles by the start of 2020. The new trains will be capable of operating at 100mph, be fitted with CCTV, fully air conditioned and have Wi-Fi fitted. These trains will operate on Northern Connect services including those on the Calder Valley route. In addition, over 600 existing vehicles will be fully refurbished to include improved seating, repainted interiors, Wi-fi, real time passenger information screens and improved lighting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the proposals in his Department’s White Paper, A BBC for the future, published in May 2016, what discussions he has had with the BBC on reducing the level of salary arrangements for managerial and celebrity appointments.

Mr Edward Vaizey

I have had discussions with the BBC throughout the Charter Review process. Although the level at which the BBC pays its managerial and talent appointments is a matter for the BBC, the Government’s White Paper, A BBC for the future​: a Broadcaster of Distinction, sets out that the BBC will maintain the current cap on talent spend of a maximum of 16 per cent of internal content costs. As part of their duty to ensure the BBC delivers value for money, the new BBC board will also have a duty to manage talent costs and conduct and report on a rolling programme of talent pay reviews, with independent, expert advice. The new Board’s remuneration committee will have to approve salaries above £250K and publish the names of those paid over £450K.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to support women and men who want to remain in employment after reaching state pension age.

Justin Tomlinson

This Government believes that there are huge benefits to working longer including keeping active, boosting financial prospects and a better quality of life.

The Government has taken several steps to support people who want to remain in employment after State Pension age. In the last Parliament, this included:

• Removing the Default Retirement age, enabling older people to remain in employment and retire when the time is right for them.
• Extending the right to request flexible working, enabling all employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service to agree a working pattern which suits them and their employer.
• Maintaining the exemption from paying National Insurance contributions to those over State Pension age, unless they are self-employed and are paying Class 4 contributions.
• Appointing a Business Champion for Older Workers, who produced a report and worked with employers to explore the benefits of fuller working lives.

In this Parliament, we are working in partnership with employers to improve the retention, retraining and recruitment of people aged 50 and over, by:

• Publishing a new, Employer-led National Strategy setting out our vision for older workers, later this year.
• Reviewing the availability of Advanced Learner Loans and the Higher Education student support package, which contribute to the costs of study for all ages, including those beyond the State Pension age.
• Minister for Pensions attended meetings and events with businesses to promote the Fuller Working Lives agenda and encourage employers to overcome age discrimination.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the number of people using railway stations in West Yorkshire since 2010.

Paul Maynard

The Office of Rail and Road publish estimates of passenger demand for all railway stations in West Yorkshire since 2010. These figures can be found in their ‘Estimates of Station Usage’ publication, which can be found at the following link: http://orr.gov.uk/statistics/published-stats/station-usage-estimates.

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