Tag: Lilian Greenwood

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the statement on page 1 of Network Rail’s report, Replanning the Investment Programme, published on 25 November 2015, that there will be a reduction in renewals activity in Control Period 5, what renewal works Network Rail intends to defer into Control Period 6; and what the planned expenditure was on those works in Control Period 5.

Claire Perry

The Office of Rail and Road’s Final Determination for Control Period 5^[1] assumed that Network Rail would spend £12.1bn on renewals between 2014-2019. Network Rail is reviewing its plans for the coming financial year and will publish an updated Delivery Plan in March containing detailed forward plans for the delivery of operations, maintenance and renewals up to 2019.

^[1] http://orr.gov.uk/publications/reports/final-determination

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of Highways England’s compliance with the conditions on environmental duties set out in paragraphs 5.23 and 5.24 of the Highways England: Licence, published in April 2015.

Andrew Jones

The Office for Rail and Road (ORR), as Highways Monitor, published a six month report on Highways England’s performance in December 2015. This comments on the Highways England Biodiversity Action Plan, which was published in June 2015.

ORR will report annually on Highways England’s performance and in line with the requirement in the Licence, I expect Highways England to publish their environmental strategy shortly.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to HS2 Ltd’s Information Paper, G3: Construction Commissioner, published on 16 December 2015, what annual salary he expects to pay to the HS2 Construction Commissioner; to what body the Construction Commissioner will report; what steps he will take to safeguard the Commissioner’s independence from his Department and HS2 Ltd; for what reasons the Commissioner will not be able to consider claims for losses of over £10,000; and what the exemption from the role of matters considered by Parliament in approving the project is planned cover.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The HS2 Construction Commissioner will report to a steering group that will be entirely independent of HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport. The independent steering group will be responsible for agreeing the Commissioner’s terms of reference. It is envisaged that the steering group will include members who represent community interests and the construction industry. The Construction Commissioner and independent steering group will be appointed in time for when HS2 construction begins.

The salary of the HS2 Construction Commissioner is expected to be £575 per day, based on working eight days per month, and is in line with other comparable roles. This will be subject to review by the independent steering group.

The Commissioner will be responsible for investigating complaints relating to the construction of HS2 Phase One that cannot be resolved through HS2 Ltd’s corporate complaints procedure. In addition, it is anticipated that one of the roles of the HS2 Construction Commissioner will be to act as an arbitrator for the HS2 Small Claims Scheme in the event that a dispute cannot be resolved through the normal process. The Small Claims Scheme is expected to have an initial maximum claim value of £10,000. This figure is provisional, based on other infrastructure projects, and will be subject to review by the steering group.

Further information regarding the HS2 Small Claims Scheme is available in HS2 Information Paper C10, which can be accessed via the following weblink:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/high-speed-rail-london-west-midlands-bill

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on Network Rail’s Capacity Plus study; which industry groups have contributed to that study; and when he expects that study to be published.

Claire Perry

Network Rail is continuing work on its Capacity Plus study. Train operating companies and freight operating companies, passenger transport executives and local authorities, High Speed 2 Ltd and the Department for Transport are engaged in the study process. Network Rail will set a publication date in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what amounts have been paid to passengers under the Passenger’s Charter and Delay/Repay schemes in 2015-16 to date by each train operating company.

Claire Perry

We do not have confirmed figures for the train operating companies for the year to date. This information is confirmed to the Department at the end of the financial year and will then be published by the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29382, how many Bikeability training places his Department funded in each school year between 2009-10 and 2015-16.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Bikeability training places are monitored and compiled by financial year. The table below shows the number of Bikeability training places funded by the Department for Transport in each financial year from 2009-10 to 2014-15. Figures for 2015-16 have yet to be compiled.

2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
133,984	199,197	293,969	255,833	279,358	350,561

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 33988, whether Stagecoach or Virgin has proposed a reduction in the premium profile of the current InterCity East Coast franchise during the discussions referred to in that Answer.

Claire Perry

Stagecoach / Virgin have not made any proposals to reduce the premium profile of the current Intercity East Coast franchise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, at which stations Network Rail plans to defer Access to All works from Control Period 5 into Control Period 6.

Claire Perry

The Access for All programme was‎ reviewed as part of Sir Peter Hendy’s report into Network Rail’s investment programme for Control Period 5 (2014-2019).

We are currently considering consultation responses to the report and working with Network Rail to decide which stations may be affected.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2016 to Question 34946, what the recent meetings held by Ministers and officials of his Department with the motor insurance industry were that were referred to in that Answer and what was discussed at those meetings; and how many meetings he has held with personal injury law firms in the same time period and what was discussed at those meetings.

Andrew Jones

I last met with representatives from across the insurance industry on 14 January to discuss a range of issues. These included young driver safety and technology measures which can reduce the cost of insurance and thus reduce incentives to drive without insurance and the implications of a European Court of Justice Judgment on the scope of compulsory motor insurance. In addition I met with the British Insurance Brokers’ Association last summer, shortly after my appointment.

My officials have regular meetings with representatives from the insurance industry. At these a range of issues have been discussed including young driver safety and technology such as telematics, uninsured driving, the scope of compulsory motor insurance, and driverless cars. Representatives of some parts of that industry have raised with us the issue of Insurance Premium Tax; this is a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

There have been no recent meetings with personal injury law firms regarding motor insurance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of uninsured vehicles in the UK; and how many vehicles were seized for unpaid insurance in each year since 2009-10.

Andrew Jones

Since 2011 the Government has had in place an insurance and compliance strategy, namely the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) scheme operated by DVLA and the Motor Insurers Bureau, which aims to reduce the level of uninsured driving.

It is estimated that CIE has already helped reduce levels of uninsured driving from 1.4 million in 2010 to 1 million vehicles now.

The police have powers under Section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to seize a vehicle that is being used on a public road without motor insurance. How police enforce the law is an operational matter for their discretion.

The table below shows the number of vehicles seized by the police for driving without insurance.

Year	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
vehicles seized	180,000	150,000	140,000	137,000	135,000	116,000	121,000