Tag: Daniel Zeichner

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will introduce financial incentives for bus and coach companies to bring forward capital investment in Passenger Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations-compliant vehicles ahead of the deadline for compliance of January 2017.

Andrew Jones

By January 2017 all buses designed to carry over twenty-two passengers on local or scheduled services must comply with the Passenger Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR). Bus operators have had a long time to prepare for these new duties, and around 89% of vehicles are already compliant compared to just 59% in 2009/10. We have no plans to introduce financial incentives ahead of the deadline.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will commission an assessment of the effect on the economy of resource insecurity.

Mr Oliver Letwin

The Government’s Horizon Scanning Programme examines emerging trends and developments, such as those related to resource insecurity, that have the potential to lead to risks and opportunities for the UK. As part of this programme, Defra led a piece of work to assess risks to theUK economy from countries or companies restricting the supply of key resources. A summary of this work was published in Civil Service Quarterly in July 2014.

Last year, the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee set up the Strategic Resources and Risks group to coordinate work on resource insecurity across Government. As part of its remit, this group considers risks and opportunities that resource insecurity poses to the UK economy.This work is being reflected in the current refresh of the Government’s National Security Risk Assessment. Domestic risks related to resource insecurity are also included in the UK’s National Risk Register.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of service provision for people affected by myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Jane Ellison

The commissioning of services for people with myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME) is a local matter for National Health Service clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCGs are best placed to commission services to meet the needs of local populations, taking into account the best available evidence.

To support CCGs to deliver high quality CFS/ME care, in 2007 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produced the guidance Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children. The guidance sets out best practice in the diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people with CFS/ME.

Regarding specialist referral, the guidance advises that any decision to refer a person to specialist CFS/ME care should be based on their needs, the type, duration, complexity and severity of their symptoms, and the presence of comorbidities. The decision should be made jointly by the person with CFS/ME and the healthcare professional. Referral to specialist CFS/ME care should be offered within six months of presentation to people with mild CFS/ME, within 3–4 months of presentation to people with moderate CFS/ME symptoms and immediately to people with severe CFS/ME symptoms.

The Department does not hold information on what proportion of people diagnosed with CFS/ME were referred to a specialist within three months in the last 15 months.

The guidance can be found at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg53.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s British Road Safety Statement, published in December 2015, Cm 9175, when he plans to consult on legislative changes to improve urban cycle safety by ensuring that sideguards and rear under-run devices are not removed from HGVs but remain permanently fitted.

Andrew Jones

The Department plans to consult on amendments to the Construction and Use Regulations in the second half of 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has recently made of the effectiveness of taxi and private hire vehicle regulations relating to passenger safety.

Andrew Jones

At the request of the Department for Transport, the Law Commission has undertaken a comprehensive review of taxi and private hire regulation in England and Wales. The Department instructions included requiring the review to focus on passenger safety.

The Government is currently considering all the recommendations in the Law Commission’s report and will formally respond to the Law Commission and announce its intentions once this scrutiny is completed.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Highways England document, Cycling Strategy: our approach, published in January 2016, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the needs of cyclists are also considered when improvements are made to the local road network.

Andrew Jones

Decisions on how best to provide for cyclists on local roads are matters for the local authority – not only do they have a duty to balance the needs of all road users when considering how to design and manage their road networks, but they also have a detailed understanding of their roads.

Our guidance in Local Transport Note 2/08: Cycle Infrastructure Design is comprehensive and allows councils to design good, safe schemes within current legislation. It already includes most of the measures highlighted as good practice by, for example, the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, and British Cycling.

Government promotes best practice through the Cycle Proofing Working Group; an advisory body to the Government on ‘cycle proofing’. They share knowledge of cycle proofing with those designing and implementing cycle infrastructure on UK roads through their website:-

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/cycle-proofing-working-group

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 23952, how many meetings Ministers and officials of his Department have had with the Senior Traffic Commissioner and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency since 2010.

Andrew Jones

Departmental Ministers and officials have held meetings with the Senior Traffic Commissioner and with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency since 2010, but the precise number is not calculable.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will carry out an impact assessment of the effect that the replacement of disability living allowance by personal independence payment has had on the mobility of disabled people.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department published an impact assessment about the reform of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and the introduction of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) under the Welfare Reform Act 2012 in May 2012: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-living-allowance-reform-personal-independence-payment-impact-assessment.

A further assessment on estimates of projected DLA and PIP caseloads was published in December 2012: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/timetable-for-introducing-personal-independence-payment-and-estimates-of-projected-caseloads-policy-briefing-note

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the walk to school programme on (a) children’s health and (b) reducing traffic congestion.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Walk to School programme funded by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund achieved significant modal shift: in primary schools the number of pupils walking all or part of the way to school increased by 23% and the number being driven all the way decreased by 30%. In secondary schools the number of pupils walking increased by 12%. These new walking journeys, many of which were converted from car, resulted in considerable transport and health benefits.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the proposed Buses Bill, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on competition in the bus services market of bus operators retaining vehicle fleets, depots and other strategic assets when bus services are franchised.

Andrew Jones

The actual competition impacts will depend on how franchising is implemented at the local level. The Department’s high level assessment of the potential competition impacts of the Buses Bill proposals will be set out in the Impact Assessment which will accompany the introduction of the Bill. Individual local authorities will be better placed to conduct a detailed competition assessment of any changes they propose to make to their local bus market in light of the Bill.