Tag: Greg Knight

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to provide (a) refuges and (b) other support to family members in rural areas experiencing domestic abuse and other relationship problems; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

Domestic Abuse is a devastating crime and we are determined to ensure that no one is turned away from the support they need irrespective of where they live. Government has committed £80 million of extra funding up to 2020 to tackle violence against women and girls. In the strategy to end violence against women and girls published on 8 March, we set out our ambition to improve services for women suffering from domestic abuse committing to a new Statement of Expectations to set out for the first time what we expect from local areas. To support this, we are launching a new two year fund, which will be open to local authorities across the country including those from rural areas, to bid for funding for refuges and other forms of accommodation based support and to help local areas take the steps they need to meet the National Statement.

This builds on the £3.5 million funding in 2015/16 and is on top of the £10 million funding to strengthen the provision of safe accommodation in the last spending review period. The Government does recognise the distinct challenges faced by victims of domestic abuse in rural areas and has supported bids for funding from rural areas for example Suffolk, Shropshire and Somerset.

Our Troubled Families Programme is about transforming the way local services support families with multiple problems. It incentivises services to come together, working with and understanding the needs of the whole family instead of constantly reacting to their individual problems. 29% of families in entry to the programme between 2012 and 2015 were experiencing domestic violence or abuse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that the manufacturers of electric and hybrid cars which utilise charging points adopt a common charging connection for all such vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Industry has been slow to deliver pan-European standardisation on chargepoint connectors with different vehicle manufacturers advocating their own preferred standards. However there are signs that this is now changing. The recent EU Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure will standardise provision of connectors for rapid chargepoints across Europe. In the UK we have already sought to address this by requiring that all government funded rapid chargepoints must work with all available types of ultra low emission vehicle (ULEV). All Government-funded slower chargepoints must also have a Type 2 inlet on them – no other sockets are permitted. This position is supported by the vehicle manufacturers, all of whom agree that Type 2 is the most appropriate standard for public charging in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received on British service personnel being served food which contains mould and maggots; and what monitoring his Department undertakes to ensure that all food served to such service personnel is of a satisfactory standard.

Mark Lancaster

The Department is aware of concerns that have been expressed in the media about the standard of food.

The Department has in place a number of safeguards to ensure a good quality of food. These include; contract monitoring, site visits, reviews, customer engagement and assurance by Single Service catering subject matter experts to improve on the service provided.

Any complaint over food can be raised through the chain of command or directly with the contractor by way of a complaints book.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the speed of passenger trains between Doncaster and Hull; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

By the end of 2019, the Arriva Rail North franchise has committed to upgrading the Hull-Doncaster-Sheffield route to a new high-quality ‘Northern Connect’ service. There will be new 100mph-capable trains on these longer-distance services. The total passenger journey time will also depend on the planned stopping pattern and other speed limiting factors on the route such as level crossings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to bring into force the provisions in the Deregulation Act 2015 to allow for special permits to be issued for on-road racing; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Government will implement as soon as possible subject to the priorities set out in the British Road Safety Statement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received on British service personnel being served food which contains mould and maggots; and what monitoring his Department undertakes to ensure that all food served to such service personnel is of a satisfactory standard.

Mark Lancaster

The Department is aware of concerns that have been expressed in the media about the standard of food.

The Department has in place a number of safeguards to ensure a good quality of food. These include; contract monitoring, site visits, reviews, customer engagement and assurance by Single Service catering subject matter experts to improve on the service provided.

Any complaint over food can be raised through the chain of command or directly with the contractor by way of a complaints book.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage more cyclists to use cycle lanes rather than cycling on the main highway; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Cycle tracks, where provided, offer cyclists an alternative to cycling in the carriageway. However, the decision to use a lane or not will depend on the individual. We have no plans to make to make the use of lanes mandatory.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the implications are for the Government’s policy of bringing into force provisions of the Easter Act 1928 to fix a date for Easter of recent comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles

I understand that the Archbishop of Canterbury has recently indicated that he is working with other Christian churches to agree on a fixed date for Easter. At present, Easter occurs on the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon following the spring equinox. The suggestion is that Easter be fixed in the second or third Sunday in April. The Easter Act 1928, which remains on the Statute Book, would set the date for Easter to fall on the Sunday that follows the second Saturday in April (i.e. between 9 and 15 April). The Act has not been brought into force. To so would require an Order in Council, with the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The Act also requires that, before the Order is made, “regard shall be had to any opinion officially expressed by any Church or other Christian Body." If the Christian churches were to agree on moving to a fixed date for Easter then the Government would consider, depending on what date is agreed, whether to bring into force the Easter Act 1928 or to make such other legislative provision as may be needed. However, there is no indication yet whether or when a date will be agreed or what that date would be.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the potholes on the northbound carriageway of the M1 motorway between junctions 10 and 11 to be repaired and the carriageway resurfaced; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Highways England completed temporary surface repairs and filled nine potholes overnight on 30-31 March. They plan to carry out permanent surface repairs between junctions 10 and 11 in mid-May 2016. These will be hot patch repairs, which are just as effective as permanent resurfacing and are durable enough to last until the next resurfacing scheme.

Highways England inspects the M1 between junctions 10 and 11 twice weekly, with the latest safety inspection completed on Wednesday 13 April.

Highways England will continue to ensure that the M1 between junctions 10 and 11 remains safe and serviceable. This section is not due for resurfacing in the current Delivery Plan, due to the general condition being satisfactory.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to reduce congestion on the M25 motorway; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Highways England is developing road schemes at several locations to help reduce congestion on the M25 including:

• Upgrade of the M25 between junction 10 (A3) and junction 16 (M40) to a smart motorway, with start of construction before the end of 2019/20.
• A far reaching study to look into the south-west quadrant of the M25 to address the increasing demand on this section.
• An upgrade of junctions 10, 25 and 28 to have started construction by the end of 2019/20.