Tag: Daniel Zeichner

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2016 to Question 25199, what steps he is taking to encourage the development and implementation of improved HGV design.

Andrew Jones

We are working with our European counterparts on specifications for safer and more aerodynamic cab designs in HGVs. We will continue to work pro-actively with the European Commission and other EU Member States, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Transport for London and other stakeholders to improve the safety of HGVs.

The Department for Transport’s “British Road Safety Statement” published in December 2015 sets out a number of measures to further improve safety of vehicles. The Department plans to consult on sideguard provisions in the second half of 2016 to ensure these important safety devices remain on the vehicle throughout its life.

Department for Transport officials have negotiated improved requirements for mirrors on the passenger side of the largest heavy goods vehicles and these will apply from 1 July 2016. Camera monitoring systems will be permitted to replace mirrors from around 1 September 2016, which should further improve driver vision around HGVs.

Officials have worked with our European partners to require fitment of technology helping HGVs avoid collisions. Electronic Stability Control (ESC) has been gradually rolled out to all new HGVs and the final phase will be implemented on 11 July 2016, when it will become compulsory on certain smaller HGVs below 12 tonnes laden weight. Advanced Emergency Braking Systems were recently made compulsory on new HGVs over 8 tonnes laden weight, and we expect it will become compulsory on goods vehicles between 3.5 and 8 tonnes laden weight from 1 November 2018.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether provisions in the Buses Bill will seek to require bus operators to publish data on fares.

Andrew Jones

The Bill will include powers to require the release of open data on routes, timetables, punctuality and fares, in a specified format.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to (a) announce the criteria and (b) begin the bidding process for allocating the funding available through the Pothole Action Fund.

Andrew Jones

The Pothole Action Fund is worth £250 million over the next five years to local highway authorities in England, outside London. On 7 April the Government announced the share each local highway authority will receive from the £50 million available for 2016/17. Funding is allocated according to the size of the road network the local highway authority is responsible for.

Further details can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cash-for-councils-to-fill-almost-1-million-potholes

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the level of resources provided to enable those detained to meet the current test for release.

Andrew Selous

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is not able to disaggregate spending on IPP prisoners from spending on all prisoners.

Supporting IPP prisoners in progressing towards release once they have completed their tariff is a priority. In particular, there is considerable focus on getting IPP prisoners access to any accredited programmes and other interventions designed to help them reduce their risk of harm.

In December 2014, NOMS established a Progression Regime in closed conditions for IPP and life sentence prisoners who are not eligible for open conditions. This provides such prisoners with an alternative way to demonstrate reduced risk to the Parole Board.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Blue Badge concession to include off-street parking.

Andrew Jones

We have no plans to extend Blue Badge concessions to off-street parking. The scheme is designed to ensure that disabled people can find suitable parking on public roads – whether it be in bays, at meters or on yellow lines – close to where they need to go. Off-street parking is a completely different matter; these are often privately owned and their terms of use are a matter for the car park owners, but disabled parking bays are usually available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39847, what effect he expects the provisions of the Bus Services Bill to have on his Department’s estimates of future trips by mode.

Andrew Jones

The Department has published three impact assessments relating to the provisions contained in the Bus Services Bill. Those documents include our analysis of the expected effects of the Bus Services Bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to pages 17 and 20 of the NHS England Review of Uniting Care Contract, published in April 2016, when he expects NHS England’s review into the role, function and effectiveness of advisors involved in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group contract procurement to be published.

George Freeman

This is a matter for NHS England. NHS England advises that the second part of its review of the UnitingCare Partnership limited liability partnership contract is looking at specific areas, including the role of external advisors, and will be used to inform and improve its internal processes. PricewaterhouseCoopers is currently completing the first draft of the review. NHS England expects to receive this imminently, and the report will then be finalised over the next few weeks. The arrangements for publicising the report are a matter for NHS England.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the relative difference in insurance premiums for (a) electric vehicles and (b) diesel or petrol models.

Mr John Hayes

Analysis carried out for the government in 2015 suggested that insurance premiums are broadly equivalent between electric vehicles and their petrol or diesel equivalents.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make it his policy to ensure reciprocity of student access to higher education funding systems with other EU countries as part of negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Jones

The rights of EU nationals here and British citizens in other EU states to access higher education funding systems once the UK has left the European Union will be agreed during the course of negotiations.

There has been no change to date to current reciprocal rights as a result of the referendum.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) has already published reassurance to current students and the ’16/17 cohort that they will be able to obtain finance for the full duration of their course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will commission research into the economic, social and environmental contribution of the organic farming sector in England to assist in informing policy and funding of this sector once the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice

As part of our commitment to evidence-based policy making, we regularly collect and analyse data on all farm types – including small farms and organic enterprises. We will continue to develop our evidence base to inform policy development, and are committed to working with the industry to ensure a vibrant and productive future for all agricultural sectors outside of the European Union.