Tag: Lord Berkeley

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by the Earl of Courtown on 12 January (HL Deb, col 137), whether they will place a copy of the details of the £1 million competition to boost ideas to get more tourists on to the railways and out and about in the UK in the Library of the House, and explain the significance of that competition for rail safety.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Prime Minister has announced a £1 million ‘Rail for Tourism innovation’ competition to call for ideas to transform the travel experience for visitors to the UK and make exploring the UK by rail more attractive to tourists. This is to be run by the Future Railway Programme, which is part of the Rail Safety and Standards Board. Details are being developed. Once published, a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

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 destinations are currently licensed to accept spoil from the Thames Tideway Tunnel, and what commitments have been given about whether such spoil may be sent to landfill permit sites.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

There are many sites across the country licensed to accept the type of excavated material and waste from the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT). Tideway, the Infrastructure Provider set up to finance, build, maintain and operate the TTT, is assessing several sites that were identified as part of the information submitted for the Development Consent Order consent to receive the TTT excavated material. In order to meet Tideway’s commitment to transport by river, it is focussing on sites in the Thames Estuary. The type of permit these sites require is being assessed in line with current statutory guidance. A number of applications have been made and are being determined by the Environment Agency.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support they plan to provide to air services to and from St Helena when the new airport opens there.

Baroness Verma

As part of Her Majesty’s Government’s commitment to provide for the Overseas Territories’ reasonable assistance needs DFID will fund over the first two years any shortfall between the costs of operating the weekly service from Johannesburg and revenue from ticket sales.

A revenue management strategy is being developed by the air service provider in collaboration with the St Helena Government. This will be regularly reviewed to ensure that self-sustainability is reached as soon as possible.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the cost of HS2’s AP3 design for its part of Euston Station and, within that cost, what allowances have been made for (1) inflation, (2) property purchase and compensation, (3) demolition, and (4) provision for taxis, buses and connections to London Underground and Crossrail 2, if built.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The latest cost estimate for Euston is £2,250m. This is based on the revised proposal for Euston included in the 3rd Additional Provision (AP3) to the Phase One hybrid Bill, deposited in Parliament in September 2015.

This figure is at 2nd quarter 2011 price levels and excludes land and property, inflation and contingency costs.

The property purchase and compensation costs for the AP3 proposals are included as part of the wider property budget for Phase One of HS2.

This estimate includes provisional allowances for demolition, station connections for taxis & buses and connections to London Underground. Due to their commercial sensitivity, figures for those provisional allowances are not currently available for release.

The AP3 proposals do not include a connection for Crossrail 2, however the design of the high speed station has been coordinated with the promoters of the Crossrail 2 scheme and AP3 does not preclude a connection.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19 September (HL1473), who are the members of HS2 Ltd.’s Conflict of Interest Panel; which cases of potential conflict of interest they have considered in the last year; what was their decision in each case; and whether they intend to publish this information every six months in the future.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

It is not possible to provide the names of HS2 Ltd’s Conflict of Interest Panel Members, nor details of specific cases which have been heard as we do not consider doing so would be consistent with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). Unfair disclosure of personal data is a breach of the First Data Protection Principles under the DPA.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-01-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether current railway legislation permits a managing director of a railway undertaking to hold a senior management position on the infrastructure management company on which that railway undertaking operates.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Current railway legislation does not prohibit an arrangement of this sort. However, railway legislation contains safeguards designed to prevent conflicts of interests arising in respect of infrastructure management and the management of railway undertakings, particularly as regards the allocation of track access rights and the determination of charges. It would be for the infrastructure manager to satisfy themselves that such an arrangement complies with all relevant legislation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the completion date, and (2) the impact on electricity sale prices, of (a) the Swansea Lagoon project, and (b) the Hinkley Point nuclear power station.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

EDF have said that they expect Hinkley Point C to start generating electricity in 2025. Hinkley Point C is a good deal for everyone including consumers – Hinkley would provide reliable energy at an affordable cost, powering nearly six million homes for around 60 years and creating more than 25,000 jobs.

The negotiations regarding a Contract for Difference for the proposed Swansea Bay lagoon remain ongoing.

On 10 February, the Government announced an independent review to consider alternatives approaches to financing tidal lagoons, providing an evidence base to ensuring decisions are taken in the best interest of bill-payers.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government for which projects and for what reasons the Highways Agency has requested an additional £140 million funding.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

£140m was allocated to Highways England to complete schemes which had not been included in the five year road programme detailed in the Road Investment Strategy.

The funding was used to complete the ‘pinch point’ programme, Dart Charge implementation, as well as the completion of various small improvement schemes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the following European Union implementing acts, when those acts were due to be transposed into UK law; when they intend to have transposed each; why they have not yet done so; and what action the European Commission has taken against the UK government for any delay: (1) Implementing Regulation (EU) 909/2015 regarding charging and direct cost; (2) Implementing Regulation (EU) 545/2016 regarding framework agreements; (3) Implementing Regulation (EU) 171/2015 regarding licensing; (4) Implementing Regulation (EU) 10/2015 regarding applicants; (5) Implementing Regulation (EU) 869/2014 regarding the principal purpose and economic equilibrium test; (6) Implementing Regulation (EU) 429/2015 regarding noise differentiated track access charges; and (7) Implementing Regulation (EU) 1100/2015 regarding rail market monitoring.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

These implementing Regulations are directly applicable and do not require transposition into UK law. Their legal effect in the UK derives from the European Committee Act 1972.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the planned expansion of Luton Airport from 10 million to 18 million passengers a year, they intend to include in the specification for the new Midland Main Line longer-distance passenger service a requirement that four trains per hour per direction should call at Luton Parkway in order to increase the percentage of air passengers arriving by rail.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The next East Midlands franchise is due to start in July 2018 and we are currently undertaking a process of information gathering to develop the high-level view of the franchise specification. We are due to begin a public consultation later this year to inform the specification. Until the views submitted through the public consultation are understood and further analysis is conducted on the options for the franchise, a firm decision cannot be taken at this stage. I would encourage the noble Lord to make his views known through the formal public consultation process when it opens.