The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr William McCrea on 2014-03-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there has been in (a) gross and (b) net immigration into Northern Ireland in the last three years.
Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr William McCrea on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the expanded Air Development Fund announced in the Budget Statement 2014 will apply throughout the UK: and how that fund will operate in the devolved jurisdictions.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Chancellor announced in this year’s Budget that funding to maintain existing air connectivity to London – first announced in the 2013 Spending Round last June – will increase from £10million to £20million per year, and would be expanded to include provision for start-up aid for new air routes from UK regional airports, including those in the devolved administrations, which handle fewer than five million passengers per year.
The Department for Transport is working with the Treasury to develop guidance that will clarify how the Government will ordinarily expect to interpret the European Union State aid guidelines on start-up aid for new air routes, and explain how the funding process will operate across the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr William McCrea on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department and the Highways Agency are taking to reduce the risk of death or serious injury to road workers on the motorway network.
Mr Robert Goodwill
As part of its Aiming for Zero safety programme, the Highways Agency established a Road Worker Safety programme designed to reduce risk exposure to road workers, a particular focus of which is to reduce the incidences of carriageway crossing by road workers. Within this programme, a number of projects have been commissioned to test simplifications and other changes to temporary traffic management arrangements to reduce road worker exposure to live traffic whilst maintaining standards of safety for road users. Some of these projects have been completed already; for example Signs Simplification, implemented December 2011, and Offside Signs Removal techniques, implemented November 2012.
The introduction of these innovative changes has already enabled a very substantial reduction in the number of carriageway crossings, leading to a proportionate reduction in road worker risk exposure. In March 2014 the Highways Agency published further guidance on the Offside Signs Removal technique, allowing it to be used to close a four lane carriageway. The Highways Agency is continuing to work with its supply chain to take forward further projects within this programme with the aim of further reducing road worker risk.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr William McCrea on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what commercial products his Department or the Highways Agency has mandated for use in road traffic management on the motorway network in the last 10 years.
Mr Robert Goodwill
There are no products used by the Highways Agency which have been mandated in terms of what is used for road traffic management. These products are used by staff and contractors for the Highways Agency and such items are procured using a specification via a tender arrangement and not directed by the Department for Transport, or Ministers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr William McCrea on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Health and Safety Executive has taken to enforce the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in respect of employees in the traffic management industry in the last 10 years for which information is available.
Mike Penning
This information is not held centrally to the level of detail required to distinguish the traffic management sector from others in the construction industry. It would incur disproportinate cost to find this information.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) works with the industry to help develop traffic management layouts or schemes which improve the safety of those working on high speed roads. It also carries out investigations of incidents and complaints and takes enforcement action in line with its published emforcement policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr William McCrea on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Health and Safety Executive has taken to recommend or mandate the use of automated traffic management technology to lift and lay cones on the motorway network in the last 10 years for which information is available.
Mike Penning
The Health and Safety Executive has not taken any action to mandate or recommend the use of automated traffic management equipment to lift and lay cones.
The highway maintenance industry has trialled cone laying machines and the decision to use such machines rests with them on a commercial operational basis