The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-06-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which applications under section 100 of the Planning Act 2008 an Examining Authority has appointed a person to act as assessor.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
There has been only one application for development consent where an assessor has been appointed by under section 100 of the Planning Act 2008. This was for the Preesall Saltfield Underground Gas Storage project.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-11-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, where they are working to enable housing developments on Network Rail’s and London and Continental Railways’ land estate, what conditions will be set to ensure that noise and vibration issues are minimised.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Summer Budget stated “the government will introduce a new approach to station redevelopment and commercial land sales on the rail network, building on the experience of regenerating land around Kings Cross Station and Stratford in East London – the government will establish a dedicated body to focus on pursuing opportunities to realise value from public land and property assets in the rail network to both maximise the benefit to local communities and reduce the burden of public debt”. Discussions are taking place to develop an approach that maximises value for the taxpayer and supports the safe and efficient operation of the rail network.
The disposal of Network Rail’s assets must be in accordance with its network licence, which is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road. London and Continental Railways’ asset disposals are approved by the company’s board and the Department for Transport.
Sale contracts for land will not impose conditions on the seller in relation to noise and vibration. Proximity to the railway and related issues such as noise and vibration are generally considered as part of the planning process, which is regulated by the relevant planning authority in accordance with environmental legislation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-02-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Type 45 destroyers will have additional generating capacity installed, and what is the estimated cost of that work.
Earl Howe
The current planning assumption is that all six ships in the class will have additional generating capacity installed. The total cost of implementing the diesel generator upgrade will be determined at the main investment decision.
I am withholding details of our current cost estimates as premature disclosure of this information could prejudice the commercial interests of the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-16.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the (1) internal diameter, (2) cross-sectional area, and (3) maximum design speed allowable, in each of the HS2 train running tunnels, and what assessment they have made of how those compare to equivalent running tunnels on high speed lines in France.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The design of HS2 tunnels has been considered in three separate groups, namely:
a, Cut & cover tunnels are twin cell tunnels with each cell measuring 7m wide x 9m high, giving a cross sectional area of 63m2 for a maximum nominal line speed of 360km/h.
b, Bored tunnels with a maximum nominal line speed up to and including 230km/h have been designed with an internal diameter of 7.55m, giving a cross sectional area of 44.77m2.
c, Bored tunnels with a maximum nominal line speed between 231 km/h and 360km/h have been designed with an internal diameter of 8.8m, giving a cross sectional area of 60.82m2.
The cross sectional area of a tunnel is dependent is on a number of factors, including; maximum nominal line speed, tunnel length, railways structure gauge, railway system spatial requirements, aerodynamics including statutory requirements, operations and maintenance requirements including evacuation and safety. The impact of these factors has been assessed when determining the appropriate diameter/cross sectional area of each of the tunnels on the HS2 Phase 1 route. For this reason it is not appropriate to make a direct comparison between HS2 tunnels and those constructed in France or elsewhere in the world.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Minute to Parliament describing the contingent liability with an indicative value of up to £500 million, as created by the Market Disruption Facility agreed and signed by the Secretary of State and Bazalgette Tunnel Limited on 24 August 2015 in connection with the Thames Tideway Tunnel project was published, in the light of the fact that the potential exposure of the public purse exceeds £300,000; and when a Minute to Parliament was published in respect of the further contingent liability created by the Secretary of State in connection with the same project through his agreement to the Contingent Equity Support Agreement, signed on the same day with the same party, in the light of the fact that the liability could be as great or greater than that in the Market Disruption Facility.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra did not submit departmental Minutes on the various limbs of the Government’s contingent financial support package for the Thames Tideway Tunnel because the Secretary of State has statutory authority to give financial assistance for major water or sewerage infrastructure projects under section 154B of the Water Industry Act 1991. This is consistent with the approach set out in HM Treasury’s guidance, Managing Public Money, paragraph A5.4.21 & Box A5.4C.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-06-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Thames Tideway Tunnel project will send clean excavated materials to landfill permit sites as a waste or to be beneficially reused as a material or product as recovery in accordance with its commitment to reduce waste to landfill in the development consent order.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Tideway, the infrastructure provider set up to finance and deliver the Thames Tideway Tunnel, has been assessing several sites identified through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process to receive the tunnel excavated material.
Amongst other things this assessment looks at maximising the beneficial use of excavated material and its transport by river to meet environmental commitments made under the DCO. The relevant site operators have already made a number of applications to the Environment Agency (EA). The type of permit these sites require will be assessed by the EA in line with its guidance. This guidance is currently being revised following a recent Court of Appeal judgment which in some cases may lead to the reclassification of some waste activities as disposal rather than recovery. It is possible for appropriate disposal to deliver beneficial use such as habitat creation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-11-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the roles and responsibilities of the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure UK are, to whom they report, and what overlaps there are between them, if any.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The National Infrastructure Commission is an independent advisory body, currently operating on an interim basis. It will deliver a long-term plan and assessment of national infrastructure needs and publish advice on specific infrastructure issues. The Commission reports to the Chancellor.
Infrastructure UK is a specialist unit within the Treasury that works on the UK’s long-term infrastructure priorities and secures private sector investment. It provides commercial support for infrastructure projects, administers the UK Guarantee Scheme, and reviews and refines the way that Public Private Partnerships are run in the UK. Infrastructure UK reports to the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury and to the Treasury Permanent Secretary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-02-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will launch an independent inquiry into the reported power failures on Type 45 destroyers, and the case for increasing their power capacity by 50 per cent.
Earl Howe
There is currently no plan to launch an independent inquiry into the reported power failures on Type 45 destroyers or the case for increasing their power capacity.
As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we have committed to investing in the necessary improvements in the Type 45 power and propulsion systems to address issues and ensure future capability requirements can be met. Decisions will, of course, be fully scrutinised at each of the formal procurement investment decision points as the programme progresses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-16.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of (1) the number of HS2 trains of each size required for HS2 Phase 1 and HS2 Phase 2, and (2) the total cost (a) of each type of train, and (b) for each phase.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Functional Response annexed to the Development Agreement outlines what HS2 Ltd will deliver to satisfy the Sponsor’s Requirements, including capacity requirements for both phases of the new railway. 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.
As part of the Spending Round announced in November 2015, the rolling stock funding envelope has been integrated with the relevant Phase specific infrastructure funding envelope as shown below.
|
Phase One |
27.2 |
|
Phase Two |
28.5 |
|
Programme Total |
55.7 |
Note. The above table shows information in £Billion at 2015 prices.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Chief Executive of the Water Regulator OFWAT was permitted to participate in a promotional video for the services of PwC, which is adviser to the Regulator both for PR14 and the Thames Tideway Tunnel, many of the UK water companies, and the owners of Thames Water, the sponsor for the Tideway Tunnel; and whether this is contrary to the Civil Service Management Code, clause 4.1.3.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
OFWAT’s Chief Executive took part in a digital case study describing the challenges of its 2014 price review (PR14) and the role of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) as the PR14 delivery partner, contracted through open competition, to bring new skills and knowledge to OFWAT’s workforce to help secure a successful outcome. The case study was produced after the PR14 programme had ended and reflected the conclusion from OFWAT’s ‘lessons learned’ exercise that the delivery partner arrangement had been successful.