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Tag: Lilian Greenwood

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to announce the direct contract awards to (a) First Great Western and (b) East Midlands Trains.

    Claire Perry

    We are currently in negotiation with both operators, in line with the published Rail Franchising Schedule.

    It is anticipated that the Direct Award for the Great Western Franchise will be for three and a half years (September 2015 to March 2019), whilst that for the East Midlands Franchise will be for two years (October 2015 to October 2017).

    Announcements regarding the conclusion of these negotiations will be made in due course.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of options for increasing service frequencies on the Nottingham-Lincoln line; and what the revenue subsidy and capital cost of implications are of each such option.

    Claire Perry

    As stated in the Greater Lincolnshire Deal, which was part of the Local Growth Fund announcement on 7 July, the Department is committed to working with D2N2 and the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership and partners to help achieve their objective of increased service frequency between Lincoln and Nottingham via Newark.

    However, this is dependent on the affordability and value for money of the services. In addition, it is dependent on the level of local funding available to support these incremental rail services for the first three years, after which the Department would consider continuing with the services as part of its base specification. We are currently assessing the available options against the criteria above, taking account of likely revenue and cost implications alongside the latest funding offer from the stakeholders.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2014 to Question 215333, what the estimated cost to the Exchequer in the calendar year 2015 will be of raising Transport for London bus fares in line with the retail price index.

    Danny Alexander

    The estimated cost to the taxpayer in 2015 of raising Transport for London (TFL) bus fares is 1% of TFL’s bus fare income for 2015.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to review the National Rail Conditions of Carriage.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Secretary of State has an approval role under the Ticketing & Settlement Agreement for changes to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. The Association of Train Operating Companies is responsible for the management of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage and it is for them to propose changes to the Secretary of State for approval.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what Directly Operated Railways’ total staffing budget was in each of the years since 2010-11; and what its planned staffing budget is for 2014-15 and 2015-16.

    Stephen Hammond

    The total budgeted staff costs for the years in question are as follows.

    £000’s

    Salaries

    Other Staff Costs

    Consultants

    Total

    2010/11

    539

    77

    412

    1028

    2011/12

    476

    52

    386

    914

    2012/13

    194

    32

    853

    1079

    2013/14

    378

    10

    455

    843

    2014/15

    1245

    61

    187

    1493

    2015/16

    No Budget

    As with all other costs associated with Directly Operated Railways (DOR), these are recovered through a combination of a management charge to their subsidiary (East Coast Main Line Company Ltd), charges to the performance bond which was secured from National Express following the early termination of their franchise in 2009 and fees charged to the Department for Transport for services in connection with the Rail Franchising (Direct Awards) programme.

    The total headcount in DOR for the years in question are set out in the table below.

    Year ending March

    Core DOR

    Direct Award

    2010

    7

    2011

    7

    2012

    7

    2013

    8

    2014

    7

    6*

    *Prior to the year ending March 2014, DOR’s work in respect of the Direct Award programme was staffed by a combination of the core DOR team and consultants.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff were employed by Directly Operated Railways in March (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.

    Stephen Hammond

    The total budgeted staff costs for the years in question are as follows.

    £000’s

    Salaries

    Other Staff Costs

    Consultants

    Total

    2010/11

    539

    77

    412

    1028

    2011/12

    476

    52

    386

    914

    2012/13

    194

    32

    853

    1079

    2013/14

    378

    10

    455

    843

    2014/15

    1245

    61

    187

    1493

    2015/16

    No Budget

    As with all other costs associated with Directly Operated Railways (DOR), these are recovered through a combination of a management charge to their subsidiary (East Coast Main Line Company Ltd), charges to the performance bond which was secured from National Express following the early termination of their franchise in 2009 and fees charged to the Department for Transport for services in connection with the Rail Franchising (Direct Awards) programme.

    The total headcount in DOR for the years in question are set out in the table below.

    Year ending March

    Core DOR

    Direct Award

    2010

    7

    2011

    7

    2012

    7

    2013

    8

    2014

    7

    6*

    *Prior to the year ending March 2014, DOR’s work in respect of the Direct Award programme was staffed by a combination of the core DOR team and consultants.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what subsidiary companies of Directly Operated Railways have been created in connection with the direct awards programme.

    Stephen Hammond

    The following subsidiary companies owned by Directly Operated Railways have been used in connection with the Direct Awards programme.

    · West Coast Main Line Company Limited

    · Northern Trains Limited

    · GW Railway Limited

    · South Eastern Trains Limited

    · Thameslink Limited

    All of these companies are currently dormant.

    The company also owns the East Coast Main Line Company Ltd which operates rail services on the East Coast Main Line and the following companies, both of which are dormant.

    · OQS Rail Limited

    · Hay’s Rail limited

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what fines or penalties his Department has been required to pay HM Treasury (a) following the employment of staff through personal service companies and (b) for any other reason since May 2010.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Department had a sanction imposed by HM Treasury of £398,500 in March 2014. This took the form of a budget reduction rather than the payment of a fine or penalty.

    This related to the Chief Executive and Finance Director at Directly Operated Railways Ltd who were originally engaged off-payroll and brought onto the payroll more than six months after the guidance came into effect.

    There have been no other similar cases in the Department for Transport.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Association of Train Operating Companies on the National Rail Conditions of Carriage.

    Stephen Hammond

    Information on all Ministerial meetings and their purpose is available on the Gov.uk website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-and-special-adviser-meetings-data-for-department-for-transport.

    “

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of rail freight access and path allocation over the Welwyn Viaduct beyond January 2018; and what discussions he held with rail freight (a) operators and (b) industry groups regarding future freight access over the Welwyn Viaduct before he approved the InterCity East Coast invitation to tender.

    Stephen Hammond

    The East Coast Main Line franchise was the subject of a full consultation prior to the issue of the Invitation to Tender. The Freight Operating Companies and the Rail Freight Group were included in this consultation and at least two of the Freight Operating Companies responded.

    The primary responsibility for the allocation of paths on the rail network rests with Network Rail. However, Network Rail needs to take account not only of the Department’s requirements in its franchise specifications but also of existing track access rights held by other train operators, passenger and freight, subject to the ORR’s responsibilities as independent regulator.

    The Department is represented on the cross-industry planning (the IPG) group that has been established to review future capacity requirements of all operators on the route.