Tag: Lilian Greenwood

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his oral evidence to the Transport Select Committee on Volkswagen Group emissions violations on 12 October 2015, Q88, HC 495, on what date he sent his letter to Commissioner Bieńkowska; whether he has received a reply to that letter; and if will place a copy of his reply in the Library.

Andrew Jones

A letter was sent to Commissioner Bienkowska on 22 September.

Commissioner Bienkowska wrote on 14 October to Ministers of the Competitiveness Council, Transport Ministers and Environment Ministers. In this letter she set out the actions the Commission are taking.

I am pleased to place a copy of the 22 September letter in the House Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the transfer of Intercity 125 sets from the Great Western franchise to the Scotrail franchise in 2017-18 is conditional on Network Rail meeting its current regulated output targets on the Great Western Main Line electrification project.

Claire Perry

The lease for the Intercity 125 sets is a commercial matter between Great Western Railway (GWR) and the owner of the fleet. Under current plans, the transfer of the rolling stock is not conditional on Network Rail meeting its current regulated output targets on the Great Western Main Line electrification project.

The planned schedule for the introduction of the InterCity Express Programme fleet to replace the Intercity 125 sets will see the new trains enter service from 2017 on the Great Western Main Line.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October to Question 12230, if he will provide a breakdown by English region of the figures provided in the first table contained in that Answer under the headings (a) his Department’s spend per head and (b) total spend per head.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The table below details spend per head per region on cycling. These figures are made up of the following Government funded programmes: Cycle-Rail, Cycle Safety, Linking Communities, Cycle Ambition Cities, Cycle Ambition National Parks and the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.. The figures for total funding consist of DfT funding plus matched funding. Matched funding comes from a range of public and private sources, for example local authority budgets, private partnerships or third party grants.

We do not hold a regional breakdown for the £4.8m spent in 2013/14 by the Highways Agency. The table also does not include the £11m a year spent on Bikeability cycle training, as we do not hold a regional breakdown of this funding. These funding streams have therefore been excluded from the below calculations. Further, as we are still in financial year 2015/16 we cannot confirm exact expenditure and we have therefore excluded the 2015/16 financial year from the figures.

Region	Average spend per head to nearest £
	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
East Midlands	DfT spend	1	1	1	1
	Total spend	3	3	4	3
East of England	DfT spend	1	2	2	1
	Total spend	3	4	4	4
North East	DfT spend	1	2	2	2
	Total spend	5	6	8	7
North West	DfT spend	1	2	3	2
	Total spend	4	6	6	6
South East	DfT spend	1	2	2	1
	Total spend	4	5	5	5
South West	DfT spend	1	2	3	2
	Total spend	7	7	8	8
West Midlands	DfT spend	1	1	3	3
	Total spend	4	4	6	6
Yorkshire & Humber	DfT spend	1	1	3	3
	Total spend	4	5	7	7
London	Total spend	2	3	9	13

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 7 of his Department’s publication, Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) Information pack and Conditions of Eligibility, how much his Department has spent on (a) the eight per cent ITSO smartcard BSOG supplement and (b) the two per cent Automatic Vehicle Location BSOG supplement in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15; and what his Department’s projected expenditure is in 2015-16 on those items.

Andrew Jones

This information is set out in the table below.

£ million

Year	Smartcard	Automatic Vehicle Location
2010/11	1.365	0.592
2011/12	9.501	1.662
2012/13	15.664	4.296
2013/14	16.247	4.109
2014/15	16.169	4.138

Since 2010, these two supplements have helped lead to real benefits for passengers. Over 86% of buses in England outside London are now smart-equipped and 93% of buses outside London now have automatic vehicle location equipment compared to 45% in 2009-10.

At this stage it is too early to estimate the likely payments for 2015/16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2015 to Question 9602, which external organisations received payments from his Department in connection with developing the policies referred to in that Answer; and what amount was paid to each such organisation.

Claire Perry

EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, was engaged in developing the work referred to in Question 9602, and was paid £230k (excluding VAT) in respect of that work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department were acting on his authority when they instructed Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road on 26 March 2015 on how the further assessment of Control Period 5’s cost estimates was to be carried out.

Claire Perry

On 23 March 2015, a senior Department for Transport (DfT) committee commissioned Network Rail, the Office of Rail and Road, and DfT officials to jointly assess the whole enhancements portfolio and provide a more robust estimate of costs. Senior officials from all three organisations met on 26 March 2015 to discuss how we could work together to undertake this piece of work.

The Secretary of State did not specifically instruct this work nor was he part of these two meetings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release, New plans to get more people cycling, published on 16 October 2014, what the statistical basis is of the statement that around £5 was spent per head on cycling.

Mr Robert Goodwill

In the five years 2011/12 to 2015/16, the Department has increased its spend on cycling in England from £1 per head to £3 per head. Local authorities also spend significant amounts on cycling and over the same period, total spend on cycling in England has increased from £2 per head to £6 per head. Spend is over £10 per head in the eight Cycle Ambition Cities and London.

	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16
DfT spend per head	£1	£2	£2	£2	£3
Total spend per head	£2	£4	£5	£5	£6

In 2014-15, the Department’s dedicated cycling programmes were Bikeability, Cycle Ambition Cities, Cycling in National Parks and the Highways Agency’s cycling programme. The Department also funds cycling programmes through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), with 28% of the LSTF being spent on cycling.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the purpose of his Department’s Bowe Liaison Board is; and on what dates that board has met.

Claire Perry

The purpose of The Bowe Review – Senior Liaison Board is:

• to provide an opportunity for engagement during the Review with key senior stakeholders
• to enable a two-way communication to update key stakeholders on progress with the Review and to receive their advice on carrying out the review

The board has met three times during the course of the review:-

• 24 March 2015
• 20 May 2015
• 24 June 2015

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many claims were made by bus operators for Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) funding for school services that were not entitled to receive BSOG support in 2014-15; and how many operators made such claims.

Andrew Jones

Operators of bus services serving educational establishments are entitled to claim BSOG for these services as long as they are also available for members of the general public to catch. However, “closed” bus services – used only by students and staff of educational establishments, and from which the wider public are excluded – are not eligible for BSOG. When it came to our attention recently that some operators may have submitted claims for closed bus services the Department wrote to all operators claiming BSOG in England reminding them of which educational services are eligible for the grant. We will take strong measures where operators claim for such ineligible services in future. Accurate figures for how many operators or routes may have claimed for closed services during 2014/15 are not readily available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to create an independent aviation noise authority with a statutory right to be consulted on flight paths and other operating matters.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government is currently considering the Airports Commission’s Final Report, including its recommendation for a new national independent aviation noise authority. Any decision to take forward such a body would be subject to consultation on its detailed functions.