The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what budget reductions he plans to the fire and rescue service.
Greg Hands
Funding for fire and rescue authorities, national resilience and other central programmes will be determined as part of the Spending Review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to tackle the blockage of foreign aid to Nepal across the Indian border.
Mr Desmond Swayne
We are deeply concerned about the impact of the border blockages and resulting fuel crisis in Nepal. This has affected all sectors of the economy and has affected the humanitarian relief effort and the supply of reconstruction materials.
The UK has urged all parties to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue. I issued a statement on 13th October expressing concern that much needed humanitarian supplies are yet to reach many people still living in temporary shelter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what reports she has received of allegations of India blocking foreign aid to Nepal.
Mr Desmond Swayne
We are deeply concerned about the impact of the border blockages and resulting fuel crisis in Nepal. This has affected all sectors of the economy and has affected the humanitarian relief effort and the supply of reconstruction materials.
The UK has urged all parties to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue. I issued a statement on 13th October expressing concern that much needed humanitarian supplies are yet to reach many people still living in temporary shelter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to ensure that discussions on the Stormont House Agreement include tax credits.
Mr Ben Wallace
A range of issues are under discussion in the cross-party talks. These include welfare reform, the Executive’s budget and delivering longer term economic reform. The Government is committed to its long-term economic plan, key elements of which are tackling the deficit, making the costs of welfare sustainable and getting more people into work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the operation of the procurement process in the Highways Agency.
Andrew Jones
Highways England complies with the Public Procurement Regulations. Each procurement exercise is led by a professional Procurement Officer who oversees the process to ensure that best procurement practice is followed.
Highways England is continually looking to improve its procurement processes. For example, when a contract is being renewed, a contract working group (CWG) is established to consider lessons learnt from the previous contract and to look at opportunities to improve.
Highways England is corporately accredited by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) which is an external endorsement of its procurement processes. CIPS Corporate Certification is an independent, comprehensive and procurement-specific assessment and signifies that Highways England has all the procurement governance mechanisms in place for effective and efficient procurement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had on the influence of major contractors over procurement processes in the Highways Agency.
Andrew Jones
The Secretary of State and Minister for Transport hold frequent discussions with Highways England on all aspects of their performance and delivery of the Road Investment Strategy. Highways England has recently published its Supply Chain Strategy. This sets out its procurement approach and strategies which are being developed with input from highways suppliers and others, to ensure effective and efficient delivery of the Road Investment Strategy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the role of automated cone laying and retrieval on road maintenance worker safety.
Andrew Jones
Highways England and the Department for Transport (DfT) fully support the adoption of innovative techniques such as automated cone laying, where this will realise safety benefits for road maintenance workers. The then Highways Agency tested one machine – ‘Conemaster’ built by Jordan products Ltd., some years ago. On-road trials facilitated by the Highways Agency were successful and this indicated that the technique did offer positive safety benefits. In addition, the Highways Agency subsequently commissioned an independent economic assessment of the benefits of Conemaster in 2011. The final report, produced early 2012, concluded that the cone laying machine also offered positive economic benefits.
Highways England has a client role and it is for its supply chain to design and deliver traffic management solutions and it is for these suppliers to procure such equipment. The DfT has worked to assist Conemaster in its efforts to market its product and a meeting was facilitated with the then Highways Agency’s suppliers to demonstrate the benefits of the product.