Tag: Daniel Zeichner

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which bus operators his Department has had discussions with on the Buses Bill; and how many meetings his Department has had with each of those bus operators.

Andrew Jones

Bus operators attended a series of workshops in the Autumn of last year, and since then officials have engaged, on a regular basis, with both large and small bus operators via the Confederation of Passenger Transport and the Association of Local Bus Company Managers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons an annual report on the UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy was not published in 2015.

Jane Ellison

The UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy (2013-2018) annual progress report, 2015, was delayed to give the Report a stronger ‘one health’ perspective and to better reflect progress across the four nations, which required additional analytical work. We hope to publish the report shortly.

The Department has just commissioned an independent scoping study to inform the evaluation of the current strategy which will inform any future strategy document.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department plans to spend on walking in each year from 2016 to 2021.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department’s spending on walking programmes is stated in the table below.

Programme	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	Total
Walking	£97.0m	£89.8m	£69.3m	£44.5m	£23.3m	£323.9m

The totals shown above include the Department’s Sustainable Transport Transition Year and Access Fund plus spending by local bodies on walking projects using sums from within current Local Growth Fund and Integrated Transport Block allocations. Not all of the Local Growth Fund is currently allocated, so as future allocations of the Local Growth Fund are made to Local Enterprise Partnerships, the amount supporting walking projects through to 2020/21 is likely to rise.

In addition to the above, from within the record £6 billion allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, this funding can help maintain footways cycleways. Further, from 2018/19 the plan is to change the formula used to allocate local highways maintenance capital funding so that it also takes into account footways and cycleways as well as the roads, bridges and street lighting, which it is currently based on. Once implemented, around 9% of the funding will be based on footway and cycleway lengths.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39159, what the figures for his Department’s spending on cycling programmes in each year to 2021 are in real terms.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Programme	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	Total
Cycling	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Real term spending	£185.20	£199.56	£115.07	£87.98	£54.41	£642.23

We have applied the GDP deflator rates to the figures that were provided in response to the original PQ 37870. It should be noted that the future years GDP deflator rates are estimates only.

Note that the above totals include sums from within current Local Growth Fund allocations. Not all of the Local Growth Fund is currently allocated, so as future allocations of the Local Growth Fund are made to Local Enterprise Partnerships, the amount supporting cycling projects through to 2020/21 is likely to rise.

In addition to the totals above, from within the record £6 billion allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, this funding can help maintain footways and cycleways.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations the Minister of State for Universities and Science has made to his European counterparts since the EU referendum on access to EU research grants for UK researchers.

Joseph Johnson

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear, while the UK remains a member of the EU, current EU funding and collaboration arrangements continue unchanged, including those that apply to students, researchers, and businesses. I am in close contact with Commissioner Moedas on the topic of Horizon 2020 funding, and I met with the Italian Minister for Education, Universities and Research on 11 July.

The UK is world-class in research and innovation and we play a leading role in major European and international collaboration, including ESA and CERN.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward primary legislation to regulate the taxi and private hire vehicle industries in the current session.

Andrew Jones

Clause 145 of the Policing and Crime Bill currently being considered by Parliament would enable the Secretary of State to issue Statutory Guidance to taxi and private hire licensing authorities so as to protect children, and vulnerable individuals who are 18 or over, from harm.

There is at present no plan to bring forward further primary legislation to reform the legislative framework for taxis and private hire vehicles in the current session.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help local authorities utilise data from the transport sector to improve local road networks.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport recognises the importance of using technology and data to manage and improve local road networks.

Whilst local highway authorities have always used technical data, including road condition survey data, to help them make informed decisions on helping to improve local highway networks, the Department continues to encourage highway authorities to utilise data from wide range of sources. The Department recently announced a £2 million fund to allow local highway authorities to capitalise on emerging technologies and deliver better journeys for all road users. Further details are available on the Department for Transport website at the following weblink:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/2-million-to-improve-roads-using-new-technology

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to prevent the loss of technologies being developed in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson

The UK has a long and strong history in science, research and innovation, and a world-leading reputation, being ranked third in the Global Innovation Index in 2016. We have protected the science resource budget in real terms from its 2015/16 level of £4.7 billion for the rest of the parliament. Looking ahead, we want to ensure that the excellent work being done by our researchers, universities and innovative businesses continues. The Government has committed to underwrite payment of EU research funding for specific projects even when they continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of funding special guide dogs for children with autism.

Alistair Burt

There has been no assessment made centrally of this; it would be for individual charities to explore the potential for assistance dogs to support children and young people with autism.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of how many taxi drivers have undergone disability awareness training since the Law Commission’s recommendation on that subject published in its report, Taxi and Private Hire Services, on 23 May 2014.

Andrew Jones

The results of the Department’s taxi survey in 2015 showed that 103 licensing authorities in England and Wales out of 313 responding authorities require taxi drivers to undergo disability awareness training. This compares to 67 licensing authorities in 2009 from 276 responses.

We do not keep statistics on the number of drivers who have undergone disability awareness training since May 2014.