Tag: Lilian Greenwood

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29383, how many (a) miles and (b) lane miles on which sections of the network Highways England plans to convert to Managed Motorways – All Lane Running (MM-ALR) status by the end of the current Road Investment Period; and how many (a) miles and (b) additional lane miles Highways England intends to convert to MM-ALR status in the next Round Investment Period.

Andrew Jones

The information requested is in the table below:

All Lane Running Schemes – To be started but not finished by the end of the current Road Investment Period (2015 – 2020)
Scheme Name	Scheme Length (miles)	Additional lane miles	Open For Traffic Commitment
M4 J3-12	31.8	63.6	2021/22
M1 J13-19	36.9	73.8	2021/22
M6 J13-15	17.4	34.8	2021/22
M27 J4-11	15.2	30.3	2020/21
M56 J6-8	4.1	8.2	2021/22
M3 J9-14	9.3	18.6	2021/22
M62 J10-12	8.5	16.9	2022/23
A1(M) Jct 6 – 8	7.5	15.0	TBC *
M1 Junctions 23A-24	1.5	3.0	TBC *
M25 Junctions 10-16	19.3	38.5	TBC *
M40/M42 Interchange Smart Motorways	7.7	10.4	TBC *
M53 Junctions 5-11	6.0	12.1	TBC *
M62 Junctions 20-25	11.9	23.7	TBC *
Further All Lane Running Schemes Announced for Development in next Road Investment Period (2020 – 2025)
Scheme Name	Scheme Length (miles)	Additional lane miles	Open For Traffic Commitment
M1 Junctions 19-23A	30.9	61.8	TBC *
M1 Junctions 35A-39	13.7	27.4	TBC *
M42 Birmingham Box Phase 4	6.7	13.4	TBC *

TBC * = no Open For Traffic commitment currently exists.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Highways England traffic officers were employed on 15 March (a) 2016, (b) 2015, (c) 2014, (d) 2013, (e) 2012, (f) 2011 and (g) 2010.

Andrew Jones

The number of traffic officers employed by Highways England is shown in the table below:

Period	TOS – Grade
2010	1720
2011	1673
2012	1602
2013	1513
2014	1425
2015	1446
2016	1439

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2016 to Question 33386, when he expects that the work to produce a plan to progress the initial feasibility and business case for a Euston Station masterplan will be completed.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department, Network Rail and HS2 Ltd are currently working together to produce a plan to progress the initial feasibility and business case work needed for this project over the next two years, which will include the timing, resource required, and estimated cost. We expect to complete this plan by Summer 2016.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the new Network Rail Property company will have responsibility for disposing of any part of Network Rail’s operational estate.

Claire Perry

Before disposing of any asset, Network Rail will have to satisfy its Board, the Secretary of State and the regulator that it is safeguarding the current and future requirements, including operational needs, of the railway. Network Rail’s enhanced property business will lead on disposals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36052, on diesel vehicles: exhaust emissions, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of a pre-Euro 4 diesel scrappage scheme; how many vehicles in the UK were estimated to have been potentially eligible for a claim under such a scheme; and whether a benefit-cost ratio was calculated for that proposal.

Andrew Jones

Improving the UK’s air quality is a priority for this Government; we want the UK to have the best natural environment, and clean air is an essential part of this ambition.

The Government’s National Air Quality Plan, published on 17 December 2015, sets out a comprehensive approach to improving UK air quality. A key measure of this is the introduction of new Clean Air Zones in five UK cities (Birmingham, Leeds, Southampton, Nottingham and Derby), along with the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London. The Plan will tackle the most polluting vehicles in air pollution hotspots, and will enable us to reach compliance with legal limit values as quickly as possible.

A national scrappage scheme for diesel cars was considered, which included a high-level cost estimate looking at offering grants for scrappage of the dirtiest vehicles.

It was found that even if only offering the scheme to pre-Euro 4 diesel cars only, the costs ran into the billions and impact on emissions was marginal.

This would have minimal impact on compliance with legal limit values for air quality in 2020. It is estimated that 400,000 pre euro 4 diesel cars will remain in the national fleet by this time.

As the costs of a scrappage were considered prohibitively expensive this option was judged an ineffective use of resource, and further analysis was not carried out.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time for an assessment by the DVLA Drivers Medical Group was for (a) all drivers and (b) drivers requiring re-assessment on a regular basis on medical grounds in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Andrew Jones

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) deals with more than 600,000 medical driver licensing applications annually. The length of time taken to deal with an individual application depends on the medical condition and whether further information is required from medical professionals.

For the period April 2015 to March 2016, the average time for an assessment and a licensing decision to be made was 53 working days. Between April 2014 and March 2015, the figure was 58 working days.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) East Anglia franchise bidders on rolling stock and (b) rolling stock companies on the East Anglia franchise.

Claire Perry

The procurement process for the operator of the East Anglia franchise is ongoing. We will make an announcement in due course and communications in regards to the rolling stock solution will be made at that point in time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has been informed on any occasion by the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise that an event of default has occurred or that such an event was likely to occur.

Claire Perry

We have not been informed by the operator on any occasion that an event of default has occurred or that such an event was likely to occur.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals related to the recommendations of the Law Commission’s report on level crossings, published in September 2013.

Paul Maynard

We welcome the Law Commission’s recommendations on the reform of level crossing legislation, the majority of which we accepted. We are considering opportunities to take measures we accepted forward through primary legislation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising in real terms in each year since 2010-11.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department’s spend on temporary agency staff, consultancy and administration for the financial years from 2010/11 to 2014/15 is published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts and is included in the tables below.

(a) Temporary Agency Staff

Temporary Agency Staff (£m)	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Department for Transport (central)	6.87	4.10	6.85	12.80	15.77
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency	3.70	1.00	3.13	1.22	0.98
Driving Standards Agency	0.34	0.00	0.01	0.13	0.80
Highways Agency	3.76	2.45	1.01	5.83	9.82
Maritime and Coastguard Agency	0.48	0.17	0.14	0.57	1.07
Vehicle Certification Agency	0.15	0.12	0.17	0.36	0.14
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency	1.00	1.59	2.28	3.02	5.39
Department Total	16.30	9.43	13.59	23.93	33.97

(b) Consultancy

Consultancy (£m)	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Department for Transport (central)	5.54	5.57	10.30	8.12	19.25
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency	0.76	0.48	0.56	0.70	0.12
Driving Standards Agency	0.10	0.00	0.00	0.04	0.31
Highways Agency	3.87	0.30	0.19	0.27	0.00
Maritime and Coastguard Agency	0.13	0.05	0.10	0.13	0.00
Vehicle Certification Agency	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.05	0.00
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency	0.39	0.01	0.07	0.97	0.09
Department Total	10.79	6.41	11.22	10.28	19.77

The figures for temporary staff and consultancy have been produced based on Cabinet Office definitions for these categories of expenditure. Consultancy is defined as work of an advisory nature designed to inform policy or to assist with strategic decisions and complex legal issues. Temporary Staff category includes expenditure where it is clear that specific individuals are being engaged to work on projects and ‘business as usual’ functions.

Please see (d) Administration for further information

(c) Non-payroll Staff

Most non-payroll expenditure is included as either Temporary Staff or Consultancy answered in parts (a) and (b) above, with the exception of:-

Non-Payroll Staff (£M)	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)	1.68	1.76	2.05	2.18	3.04

VCA figures include overseas contractors and locally employed staff. There was a large increase 2013/14 to 2014/15 as they took over a Turkish contract.

(d) Administration

Administration costs reflect the costs of running the Department, including staff, accommodation, IT costs, and operating lease rentals. The administration budget figures below are substantially lower than the 2009-10 figure of £297m.

Department for Transport Spend Category (£m)	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Total Administration Budget	276.26	216.74	242.93	240.08	271.38

To ensure that the Department was resourced to deliver its agenda, particularly around letting and managing rail franchise contracts following the Laidlaw and Brown reviews, HM Treasury agreed to switch £25m from DfT’s Programme to Administration budgets, increasing the Department’s 2014-15 Administration budget to £275m, plus £13m for depreciation.

The increases in (a) temporary staff and (b) consultancy spend was covered in this switch.

Notes:

1. Government Car & Despatch Agency disbanded during 2012/13 following which the work has been undertaken within the Department. The Administration therefore falls under Central Administration section from

2013/14 onwards.

2. General Lighthouse Authorities consolidated into the Department’s accounts for 2013/14 and beyond.

(e) Marketing and Advertising

Spend on marketing, including marketing related advertising, by the Department and its Executive Agencies for the financial years 2012/13 to 2014/15 is set out in the table below.

Marketing spend in 2014/15 is 83% less than the £48.4 million recorded for 2009/10.

Marketing related expenditure (£m)	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Department for Transport (central)	3.47	4.79	5.96
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency	0.56	Nil	Nil
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency1	–	–	0.23
Driving Standards Agency1	0.04	0.03	–
Government Car and Despatch Agency2	Nil	–	–
Highways Agency	0.46	0.43	1.91
Maritime and Coastguard Agency	0.18	0.16	0.21
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency1	0.06	0.06	–
Vehicle Certification Agency	0.04	N/A	0.05
Department Total	4.80	5.47	8.36

Notes:

1. The Driving Standards Agency and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency became the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in April 2014.

2. The Government Car and Despatch Agency ceased on 30 September 2012.

Most of the additional spend in 2014/15 compared to the previous year is attributable to the THINK! Drug Drive campaign in March 2015 supporting the implementation of new enforcement regulations and the Highways Agency public information campaign on the implementation of new traffic management and payment methods at the Dartford Crossing.

Figures for 2010/11 and 2011/12 were not prepared and could be compiled now only at disproportionate cost.