Tag: Lord Berkeley

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-12-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what licences and permissions have been granted for the dumping of dredged material in the sea off Lantic Bay, east of Fowey in Cornwall.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) licences the disposal of dredged material at sea under the Marine and Coastal access Act 2009.

Lantic Bay (PL060) is an approved disposal site that has been in use for a number of years. Since vesting the MMO has issued three licences for disposing dredged material at the Lantic Bay disposal site:

• Licence L/2011/00050 to Fowey Harbour Commissioners for the disposal of 45,000 tonnes of sediment per year. The licence was for a period of three years starting on 27^th May 2011 and expired on 26^th May 2014;
• Licence L/2014/00146 to Fowey Harbour Commissioners for the disposal of 80,000 tonnes of sediment per year. This licence commenced on 1^st May 2014 and is valid for 10 years;
• Finally, licence L/2013/00396/4 to the Victoria Wharf Group Ltd for the disposal of 10,000 tonnes of sediment from Corporation Wharf, Plymouth valid from 1^st November 2015 to 28^th February 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 3 March (HL6235), what assessment they have made of whether a procurement process where there are only two genuine bidders complies with the EU rules and procedures for public contracts, which state that a minimum of three bids are required, and whether they have sought from the EU a derogation from that rule.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Rail franchising competitions are governed by Regulation 1370/2007 and not the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Therefore, although the Department fully applies the EU treaty principles of transparency, equal treatment and non-discrimination, it is not obliged to follow the processes and procedures set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

Where a competition is to be held, Regulation 1370/2007 requires a fair competitive procedure, but does not stipulate the minimum number of bidders that is required to evidence this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 30 March (HL7064), what was the actual number of HS2 trains of both sizes, and for Phases 1 and 2, used in the Rolling Stock Strategy previous to the one currently in the process of completion.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

HS2 Ltd are in the process of completing their Rolling Stock Strategy which will contain greater detail on the fleet sizes expected to be procured. Our current assumption is outlined below.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what have been the maintenance costs of Tinsley Viaduct since its construction, and what effect the underlying geological faults and old mine workings have had on the cost of maintenance.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Highways England currently only has readily available the details of maintenance costs for Tinsley Viaduct covering the past 6 years. In this period, maintenance schemes on the viaduct have cost approximately £1 million per year. Highways England are not aware of any effects the underlying geological faults or mine workings have had on maintenance costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether consultants working for HS2 Ltd will be prevented from participating in any tender for main contractor roles in the design and delivery of HS2 in order to avoid any conflict of interest and to ensure a fair tender process.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

HS2 Ltd has a Conflicts of Interest Panel that considers actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis. This Panel is chaired by HS2 Ltd’s General Counsel. This Panel is supported by an in-house Compliance team.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-12-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 10 December (HL Deb, col GC213), whether HS3 has now been subsumed into the Northern Powerhouse rail network.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Northern Powerhouse Rail network develops the HS3 concept to offer a vision for radically improved journey times and service frequencies between the major cities of the North, building on the substantial rail improvements to which the government is already committed.

In November, the government and Transport for the North published the Northern Transport Strategy: Autumn Report, providing a progress update on the Northern Powerhouse Rail network.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much compensation has been paid or committed to any company involved in cross-channel traffic because of losses or additional costs due to the number of migrants in the Calais area.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The department has not paid or committed to pay compensation to any company involved in cross-channel traffic because of losses or additional costs due to the number of migrants in the Calais area.

The Business Support Helpline is available to businesses seeking advice on managing disruption.

In the 2015 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer committed £250 million to finding a long term solution to Operation Stack.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans there are for the future of the RMS St Helena when it ceases to provide a shipping service between St Helena and Cape Town; and what alternative arrangements are being made to supply St Helena with goods not suitable for air transport.

Baroness Verma

St Helena Line has appointed a ship broker to handle the sale of the RMS St Helena when she is withdrawn from service in July 2016.

The St Helena Government has signed a contract with AW Ship Management Ltd to commence an unsubsidised freight service between Cape Town and St Helena in June 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-05-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria are used by HS2 Ltd to challenge the locus standi of petitioners to the Lords Select Committee.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The rules relating to locus standi are set out in the Lords Standing Orders for Private Business 114-118 and the basis for our decisions was included in a note that accompanied the challenge notices sent to petitioners last week. The note explained that individuals or businesses whose property or interests are directly and specially affected by the scheme have locus. Therefore, petitioners who are listed in the Book of Reference, and whose property and interests may well be affected, have not been challenged. Local authorities on the route, who may have locus at the discretion of the Select Committee, have not been challenged, as they will represent issues pertaining to the inhabitants of their area. Individual petitioners have been challenged when their property or interests are not affected by the scheme or where this affect is not sufficiently different from that of the general public.

Standing Orders also allow discretionary locus for groups representing amenity or recreational interests. Groups have only been challenged on the basis that they do not sufficiently represent amenity or recreational interests or other petitioners have a much stronger claim to represent such interests.

The Government has also chosen not to challenge members of this House, where they are not directly and specially affected, in keeping with the approach taken in the Other Place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the station to be built at Euston in accordance with Additional Provision 3 to the High Speed Rail (London–West Midlands) Bill will be designed in such a way that Regulation 3 of the Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) (England) Regulations 2009 applies.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Regulation 3, of The Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) (England) Regulations 2009, provides a definition for whether a railway station is classified as a sub-surface railway station. The definition is based on the extent of enclosed/below ground platforms and tracks within a public railway station. When the definition is met the Regulations apply.

The high speed station at Euston is defined as a sub-surface railway station (as per Regulation 3). The Regulations are applied to the design of the high speed station, and the existing LU Station.

The Regulations have not been applied to the existing conventional station, which is not currently classified as a sub-surface railway station.