Tag: Lord Bradshaw

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 June (HL518), how many unplanned closures of the East Coast Main Line there were in August.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Network Rail and the relevant train operators will continue to develop the detail and performance implications of the 2021 timetable in line with the industry’s normal timetable development process, under the oversight of the Office of Rail and Road.

With regard to the operation of the Thameslink central core, this is a matter for Network Rail and the relevant train operators, under the oversight of the Office of Rail and Road. The industry is continuing to develop plans for integrating the 24 trains per hour proposed to run on the Thameslink route at peak times from December 2018 with other services on the East Coast Main Line, including the implications for punctuality and reliability.

After consulting with Network Rail we have established that there were five ‘unplanned closures’, on various sections of the line, on five separate days in August, two of which were infrastructure related and three as a result of passenger action.

Network Rail have defined days with ‘unplanned closures’ of the East Coast Main Line as days where there are more than five cancellation events. A cancellation event covers any service suffering one or more of the below events:

• Full Cancellation
• Part Cancellation
• Diversion
• Fail to stop
• Change of Origin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why, in the light of the demand for track access exceeding the availability of train paths on the East Coast Main Line, open access operators are paying discounted variable track access charges.

Baroness Kramer

Existing Open Access Operators are charged the same Variable Track Access charges as franchised operators with the exception of the Capacity Charge. This is because implementing the full Control Period 5 (CP5) rates would equate to a real term average increase of 450% in the Capacity Charge from which Open Access Operators have no protection. In light of the Office of Rail Regulation’s statutory duties to promote the use of the railway network, protect the interests of users of railway services and to promote competition in the provision of railway services, they deemed it appropriate to hold Capacity Charge at CP4 rates for both existing services and any new entrant Open Access Operator in line with European law and their statutory duties. Any additional services introduced by existing Open Access Operators will be charged at CP5 rates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to define national standards for the creation of Low Emission Zones so that in future most vehicles are able to enter such zones.

Baroness Kramer

Low Emission Zones (LEZs) are one of a number of measures that can help improve air quality, particularly in urban areas. Introducing LEZs is a decision for local authorities. Government has already provided guidance to local authorities on the design of LEZs, such as which vehicles should be covered and what emissions standards they should meet. The Department for Environment and Rural Affairs is currently working with a small number of local authorities who are examining the value of introducing such schemes.

Government is revising its air quality plans in relation to compliance with EU air quality standards. As part of this we are reviewing all feasible measures including the role of a national framework for LEZs. We will be consulting on revised air quality plans later in the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 9 February (HL4678), whether the rise in suicides on the railway has been analysed by area, age group, sex and ethnicity of those who died.

Baroness Kramer

Details of suicides by area (route), age group and sex are recorded by the rail industry but not ethnicity.

The relevant information is held by RSSB (formerly the Rail Safety & Standards Board) and is analysed to provide evidence to support the development and implementation of the industry’s suicide reduction programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 10 February (HL4677), in the light of the change in franchisee and the expectation of more changes, what steps they are taking to ensure that there are sufficient luggage space and catering facilities for the anticipated use of those trains.

Baroness Kramer

The interior of the Intercity Express Programme is designed flexibly so that it can be adapted to meet different traffic conditions in the future. Operators have been fully engaged in this process. We continue to work very closely with them on the train, including catering provision.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether road safety targets are at present set for local authorities; and, if not, whether they have considered reinstating them.

Baroness Kramer

The Government has not set road safety targets for local authorities, and is not considering reinstating them. However, local authorities are free to set their own targets if they find this useful.

The fact that the Government has not set a target does not mean that it does not consider road safety to be a high priority. The strategic framework includes forecasts of the casualty numbers that we might expect to see through to 2030 from the measures implemented by Government, and the actions of local authorities.

While we believe that previous road safety targets have been useful we do not consider that over-arching national targets are necessary for road safety in Great Britain. This is because we do not believe that further persuasion is needed on the importance of road safety. We expect central and local government to continue to prioritise road safety and continue to seek improvements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the voting protocol for their proposed stakeholder working group on off-road recreational motor vehicles; and what is the proposed timetable for the group to report its findings to ministers and for the ensuing public consultation.

Lord De Mauley

The proposed stakeholder working group on off-road recreational motor vehicles will not need to establish a voting protocol as it will deliver a report stating, if necessary, where there are differences of opinion, or where there is no consensus. It will then be for Ministers to decide what proposals in the report to take forward.

We will set a target timeframe of 18 months for the group to report to Ministers and a public consultation will follow afterwards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much revenue is raised through the O licences of goods vehicles.

Baroness Kramer

The revenue that has been raised by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is £8.2m for the 10 months ending 31 January 2015 (£9.9m for the full year in 2014) from Operator Licences of Goods Vehicles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the revenue raised through the O licences of good vehicles is spent by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency on enforcement activity.

Baroness Kramer

None of the revenue raised through the Operator licences of goods vehicles is spent on enforcement activity by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which government department receives the fines generated from the enforcement of O licences of goods vehicles.

Lord Deighton

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) are the main body responsible for enforcement of operator licences for goods vehicles, although individual police forces also have the power to enforce these provisions. DVSA enforcement action consists of prosecution through the courts – in 2013-14 they reported 174 convictions resulting in courts ordering £103,244 in fines. These fines are collected by the courts and all revenue raised is passed on to the Consolidated Fund, and used to fund general government expenditure.