Tag: Lilian Greenwood

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) premium and (b) subsidy payments the new Northern franchisee is expected to make or receive in each year of that franchise’s duration.

Andrew Jones

The new Northern Franchisee is expected to receive subsidy payments during each year of its franchise term. I note however, that under this franchise agreement the amount of annual subsidy will be reduced by £160million by the end of this 9-year contract and at the same time, unlike the last Northern franchise in 2004 which included limited plans to invest in services or meet demand, this new franchise will deliver more than 2,000 extra services each week, nearly a 40% increase in capacity and the complete removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacers by the end of 2019.

The subsidy payments are set out below in both nominal terms and in real (i.e. constant) terms in 2015/16 prices. Years 1 to 9 are the payments for the core Franchise Term. Year 10 is an optional extension period of up to one year, callable at the discretion of the Secretary of State.

Year	£M
		Nominal	Real – 2015/16 prices
Year 1	2016/17	281	275
Year 2	2017/18	276	262
Year 3	2018/19	282	260
Year 4	2019/20	247	221
Year 5	2020/21	204	177
Year 6	2021/22	158	134
Year 7	2022/23	136	113
Year 8	2023/24	114	92
Year 9	2024/25	92	73
Year 10	2025/26	53	39

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s scoping study for evaluating the implementation of the South East Flexible Ticketing Programme.

Claire Perry

The Evaluation Scoping Report for the South East Flexible Ticketing Programme was commissioned solely to inform the formulation and development of government policy. As such a copy will not be placed in the Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) suicides and (b) attempted suicides were recorded as having taken place on the strategic road network in each year since 2009-10; and what work Highways England has undertaken with the Samaritans related to suicides on roads.

Andrew Jones

Highways England records details on its Command and Control (C&C) database, of incidents that occur on the strategic road network, but only when the Traffic Officer Service have an awareness or involvement. Therefore due to the current Traffic Officer network coverage, the majority of incidents recorded occurred on the motorway network.

The following table records the number of incidents coded as ‘suicide/suicide attempt’ on the C&C database and reflect those incidents that the Traffic Officer Service have been directly involved in or have been reported to them:

Year	Number of suicides/attempted suicide incidents
2009/10	93
2010/11	125
2011/12	110
2012/13	84

In April 2014 a review of the database was carried out and the closure code for ‘suicide/attempted suicide’ was changed. This created significant anomalies in the data capture which means that the 2014/15 data are not robust. We are in the process of verifying the data and will be in a position to provide the figures later this year.

Highways England (formerly Highways Agency) has worked closely with organisations such as the Samaritans in helping to prevent further suicides on the strategic road network. Highways England has commenced work to take forward a Suicide Prevention Group. This group will comprise of relevant stakeholders such as the Samaritans, emergency services and our service providers to develop and co-ordinate delivery of an action plan to reduce the number of suicide attempts on the strategic road network. We are also working closely with both the Samaritans and Network Rail to identify best practice following their success in reducing suicide attempts on the rail network.

Known suicide hotspots are investigated to look at possible improvements, such as raising the height of the parapets on bridges and introducing or improving crisis signing. Highways England consults The Samaritans when undertaking this work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26134, what the reason is for the difference between the data series given in that Answer in relation to suicides and suicide attempts on the Strategic Road Network and the data given in the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 19015 asked by the hon. Member for Huddersfield; and if he will update the figures given in the Answer of 15 December 2015 to include the number of suicides and suicide attempts on the Strategic Road Network in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016 to date.

Andrew Jones

The difference in the data given is due to the ‘Command and Control’ database, used by Highways England to record all incidents on the Strategic Road network, being reconfigured in April 2013 to improve the consistency of the data recorded. This has led to improved accuracy, particularly when logging types of incidents and the method for recording ‘suicides’ or ‘attempted suicides’ was also adapted.

In 2015 there were 790 incidents logged as suicides or attempted suicides.

In 2016 – from 1^st January to 21^st February – there have been 120 such incidents.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport of 10 December 2015, Official Report, column 1132, on smart ticketing, whether the £80 million funding referred to has been allocated to the South East Flexible Ticketing programme; and what proportion of that funding his Department has so far spent on which elements of that programme.

Claire Perry

Smart ticketing was taken forward by the Coalition Government after 2010. I can confirm that £80m was allocated to the South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme. So far, £39.11m has been spent on the SEFT programme to develop a central back office for the entire rail industry to use and towards the costs to train operators of new infrastructure and upgrades.

We are working with the industry to find the best way to deliver smart ticket solutions that meet customers’ needs and take advantage of technological improvements, so ensuring that everyone is benefitting from 21st century ticketing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 28078, what plans his Department has for spending the remaining £40.89 million that was allocated to the South East Flexible Ticketing programme.

Claire Perry

The Government is fully committed to modernising rail ticketing and to honouring the contractual commitments made under the South East Flexible Ticketing programme. Beyond that we are working with industry to find the best way to deliver smart ticket solutions that meet customers’ needs and take advantage of technological improvements, so ensuring that everyone is benefitting from 21st century ticketing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average maintenance cost per lane mile incurred by the Highways Agency and Highways England was in each year between 2012-13 and 2015-16.

Andrew Jones

As reported in Annual Reports, the average maintenance cost per lane mile incurred by Highways England and formerly as the Highways Agency is:

2012-13: £40,000

2013-14: £44,000

2014-15: £51,000

2015-16: £50,000*

* figures for 2015 -16 have not yet been audited as part of the annual accounts, which form part of the Annual Report.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page two of the minutes of the Office of Rail and Road’s board meeting on 22 September 2015, what the Govia Thameslink class 700 evacuation safety risks are that are referred to in those minutes.

Claire Perry

The evacuation safety risk referred to in the Office of Rail and Road’s Board meeting on 22 September 2015 relates to evacuation from a class 700 new Thameslink train in the Snow Hill Tunnels within the Thameslink core section. The Office of Rail and Road has since confirmed that this is a matter for the London Fire Brigade to consider. Both Network Rail, the infrastructure operator, and Govia Thameslink Railway, the Thameslink train operator, have met with the Fire Brigade to discuss the matter. We understand that the London Fire Brigade is content with the measures that have been put in place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department reserved in the HS2 budget for compensation to train operating companies in the form of (a) Schedule 4 payments, (b) Schedule 8 payments and (c) otherwise.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Compensation to train operating companies is included in the overall budget for HS2 of £55.7 billion (in 2015 prices) as established as part of SR15. Whilst the budget includes an allocation of costs for compensation to train operators‎, making these sums publicly available could affect our commercial position when negotiating with train operators.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Network Rail’s planned Market Harborough rail-straightening works in Control Period 5 are fully funded.

Claire Perry

The planned work at Market Harborough to straighten the line and reduce journey times is part of this government’s £38bn investment in the railway over the period to 2019.