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Tag: Jonathan Lord

  • Jonathan Lord – 2023 Speech on Funding and Support for Classical Music

    Jonathan Lord – 2023 Speech on Funding and Support for Classical Music

    The speech made by Jonathan Lord, the Conservative MP for Woking, in the House of Commons on 29 March 2023.

    I am grateful, Madam Deputy Speaker. I rise to say two things. First, the funding cuts and the change of direction, particularly for the English National Opera, really affect some of our constituents, including musicians and singers in my constituency. Out of a clear blue sky, an organisation that is not just nationally famous but world famous and that undertakes all the tours that could be reasonably expected on the budget that it has, as well as performing happily at its home in London where it has made its name, has been subject to an Arts Council change that chucks everything up in the air. That is not acceptable, and I am pleased that there will be a review.

    Secondly, I congratulate both the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate (Bambos Charalambous) on securing the debate and my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill) on his work and campaigning. My hon. Friend spoke eloquently about the ENO; I agree with what he said, with the key questions he posed to the Minister and with the remedies he set out. We are still looking for a reasonable and satisfactory outcome for this world-famous opera company, and we look to the Minister for answers to those questions.

    We hope the Government will make the right recommendations and ultimately guide the House, but let us not take time over that. The problem is that now everything is up in the air and people are being made redundant. We need some certainty for the future, so let us have a review, but in the meantime let us ensure the support needed is there. I look to the Minister for replies that will help my constituents and, more importantly, help the opera-loving public and that wonderful opera company.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to promote shared ownership.

    Brandon Lewis

    Shared Ownership has an important role to play in helping those who aspire to home ownership but may be otherwise unable to afford it. The Autumn Statement confirmed £4.1 billion for 135,000 new Help to Buy: Shared Ownership starts by 2021 and we have relaxed restrictions on who can buy Shared Ownership homes. A new prospectus for the Affordable Homes Programme will be published in the spring.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that children have access to professional careers advice in schools.

    Robert Halfon

    Providing young people with the right information at the right time is key to ensuring every young person goes as far as their talents will take them. This is why we are investing £90 million over this Parliament to ensure that every young person has equal access to the life-changing advice and inspiration they need to fulfil their potential and succeed in life. This includes £20 million to increase the number of mentors from the world of work, supporting 25,000 young people a year by 2020. We also fund the National Careers Service, which received £77 million in 2016/17, to provide careers advice to young people via the National Contact Centre and the National Careers Service website. The vast majority of people (87%) were happy with the service they received using the website.

    We need to make available the support to help young people negotiate this information and to help guide them through the decision-making process. Maintained schools must ensure that pupils receive independent careers advice and that this is presented in an impartial manner; includes information on the range of education or training options and promotes the best interests of the pupils to whom it is given. We know that pupils can gain confidence and motivation from the opportunity to explore career ideas through individual, face-to-face discussions with a range of people, including careers professionals. We trust schools to know what is best for their pupils and to tailor what they offer and who delivers it.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to promote the development of brownfield land.

    Brandon Lewis

    We are creating a £2 billion long term housing development fund to unlock housing on brownfield land. We will also require local authorities in England to maintain registers of brownfield land that is suitable for housing. In addition we are consulting on whether it would be beneficial to strengthen national planning policy on the development of brownfield land for housing. The consultation closes on 22 February.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children who receive free school meals in (a) Woking constituency, (b) Surrey, (c) the South East and (d) the UK have studied A-Levels in each year since 2010.

    Edward Timpson

    The requested information on children who receive free school meals at A-Level in England is not held by the Department. The Department for Education produces statistics on England only. The responsibility for education statistics in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales lies with each devolved administration.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations of Surrey County Council’s Surrey Rail Strategy: Crossrail 2 Assessment Final Report, relating to the extension of Crossrail 2 to Woking.

    Claire Perry

    No decisions on either further government investment in Crossrail 2 or the final route for Crossrail 2 have been made. The National Infrastructure Commission has been asked to provide advice to the government by Budget 2016 on the best approach to large-scale investment in London’s transport infrastructure and this will include consideration of Crossrail 2.

    Their advice will help inform decisions on any next steps for the scheme and therefore, prior to their advice, the Secretary of State is not in a position to make an assessment on the potential merits of an extension of Crossrail 2 to Woking.

    However, Transport for London and Network Rail analysis shows that Crossrail 2 would release capacity for additional services on the South West Main Line into Waterloo. This would mean that destinations across the region, including Woking and other towns and cities not on the proposed route, would benefit from more frequent and reliable services into London.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to improve transport links between Woking and London since 2010.

    Claire Perry

    In March 2015, I announced a £50 million investment to deliver improvements across the South Western franchise before the end of the current franchise in 2017. This package of improvements included an additional Monday to Thursday late night service from London to Woking, and new ticket machines at Woking and London Waterloo Stations.

    An additional 108 carriages are being added to the South Western franchise which should all be in passenger service by March of this year, with a further 150 carriages on order and due to arrive in 2017. These additional carriages provide additional capacity across a number of the routes operated, including those serving Woking.

    The Department is running a competition to award the next South Western franchise, which is expected to start in 2017. The detailed franchise specification will be finalised following analysis of the responses to the public consultation, which closes on 9 February. It is expected that bidders will be asked to make proposals to provide capacity where it is needed most.

    With regard to road links, Highways England is currently making improvements to the nearby M3 by constructing a smart motorway between junctions 2 and 4a (13.4 miles/21.6km). The aim of smart motorways is to help relieve congestion by using technology to control traffic flows, to assist in the management of incidents and provide information to road users. They deliver these benefits at a significantly lower cost than conventional motorway widening and with less impact on the environment during construction. This is achieved by converting the existing hard shoulder to a permanent running lane. Work started in November 2014 and is expected to be completed towards the end of June 2017.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to create additional capacity on peak weekday rail services on the South West Main Line between Woking and London Waterloo.

    Claire Perry

    In March 2015, I announced a £50 million investment to deliver improvements across the South Western franchise before the end of the current franchise in 2017. This package of improvements included an additional Monday to Thursday late night service from London to Woking, and new ticket machines at Woking and London Waterloo Stations.

    An additional 108 carriages are being added to the South Western franchise which should all be in passenger service by March of this year, with a further 150 carriages on order and due to arrive in 2017. These additional carriages provide additional capacity across a number of the routes operated, including those serving Woking.

    The Department is running a competition to award the next South Western franchise, which is expected to start in 2017. The detailed franchise specification will be finalised following analysis of the responses to the public consultation, which closes on 9 February. It is expected that bidders will be asked to make proposals to provide capacity where it is needed most.

    With regard to road links, Highways England is currently making improvements to the nearby M3 by constructing a smart motorway between junctions 2 and 4a (13.4 miles/21.6km). The aim of smart motorways is to help relieve congestion by using technology to control traffic flows, to assist in the management of incidents and provide information to road users. They deliver these benefits at a significantly lower cost than conventional motorway widening and with less impact on the environment during construction. This is achieved by converting the existing hard shoulder to a permanent running lane. Work started in November 2014 and is expected to be completed towards the end of June 2017.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that season ticket holders are fairly compensated for delays in rail services.

    Claire Perry

    Delay/Repay is already one of the most generous compensation schemes in Europe and we are committed to improving compensation for delayed rail passengers even further. As the Chancellor stated in his Autumn Statement, we are committed to reducing the time threshold for which passengers can claim from 30 minutes to 15 minutes.

    We have already changed the system to get compensation paid in cash, not travel vouchers, and we are putting new compensation obligations like automatic Delay/Repay into future franchise specifications.

    We will negotiate hard with rail operators to get even better compensation arrangements for passengers but also focus on ensuring that the trains run on time.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to improve flood defences in (a) Woking constituency, (b) Surrey and (c) the South East since 2010.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    In the Woking constituency, the Hoe Valley Flood Alleviation Scheme opened in spring 2012 resulting in better protection to almost 200 properties.

    In Surrey, the Environment Agency together with the Lead Local Flood Authorities, are developing a range of flood schemes under the Government’s 6 Year Investment Programme.

    The River Thames Scheme for example, will seek to reduce the risk of flooding to 15,000 properties in Surrey and Berkshire. Schemes are also being developed in Guildford, Godalming, Leatherhead and Byfleet.

    In the South East the Environment Agency has better protected 42,000 homes between 2010 – 2015 and forecast to better protect nearly 80,000 more homes by 2021.