Tag: Lord Greaves

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who appointed John Cridland as chair of Transport for the North and what recruitment process was followed to appoint him; how many hours a week he will work; how much he will be paid, and from which funds; whether this is a fixed term appointment; to whom he is responsible on (1) policy, and (2) pay and rations matters; and what are his terms of reference.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

John Cridland was appointed as Chairman of Transport for the North (TfN) by TfN with the agreement of the Secretary of State for Transport.

This followed an open competition and interview process. He will receive a remuneration of £30,000 per annum for a commitment of 30 days a year, which is commensurate with the level for similar positions. This will be met from the existing TfN budget. The appointment is for an initial two years, and can be extended for up to a further four years. The Chairman is responsible to the TfN Partnership Board in all matters and will receive any terms of reference from that body.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of (1) the number of citizens of other EU countries, other than the Republic of Ireland, who are working in the UK; (2) how many of those are receiving (a) tax credits, and (b) other in-work benefits; (3) how many of the people claiming such benefits have lived in the UK for less than four years; (4) how many UK citizens are working in other EU countries other than the Republic of Ireland; and (5) how many of these are receiving in-work benefits in those countries.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The information is not available in the format requested.

HM Revenue and Customs are planning to publish further information relating to EEA Nationals receiving tax credits early in 2016 once the information has been properly collated.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether persons coming to live in the UK on spousal visas are entitled to make use of existing schemes of English language tuition provided through public funds; and on what terms.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Funding for english for speakers of other languages (ESOL) provision in England is normally restricted to people who have been resident in the UK or another EEA country for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of learning. For the 3-year residency rule not to apply to a person coming to live in the UK on a spousal visa, the spouse in the UK whom they are joining would have to have been resident in the UK for at least 3 years.

Full-funding is prioritised for people who are in receipt of certain work-related benefits and are mandated to undertake skills training to improve their English in order to find work. This is funded through a provider’s Adult Skills Budget. People on other state benefits who are unemployed and where poor English skills are a barrier to finding work, may still be eligible for full funding at the discretion of the training provider. All others can be co-funded but are expected to make a contribution towards the costs of training.

Other opportunities to learn English on publicly-funded programmes include BIS supported community-ESOL programmes and DCLG community-based English language projects.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their definition of community” in relation to the Community Engagement Forum.”

Baroness Williams of Trafford

In his speech on countering extremism in July 2015, my rt. hon. Friend, the Prime Minister said that he wanted to hear directly from all those in our society who are tackling extremism. The Community Engagement Forum is one of the ways the Prime Minister is doing this. The Forum provides a platform for a wide range of partners to share their experiences and learn from each other. Attendance at the Forum is fluid to ensure Ministers can hear from a wide range of partners. The attendees have been from a wide range of backgrounds and were representatives of all parts of the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards are in place to prevent armed opposition fighters funded by Western countries from using their arms and training against unintended targets, or acting in a way that contradicts the Government’s overall strategy in the Middle East, in particular in Syria.

Earl Howe

The US-led programme to Train and Equip members of the moderate Syrian opposition, to which the UK has contributed, incorporated a screening process to determine the suitability of candidates. The training programme itself was designed to reinforce positive behaviours and on completion, successful candidates were required to make a formal declaration committing themselves to the fight against ISIL. Efforts continue to be made to monitor the activities of such individuals and the groups to which they are affiliated, to mitigate the risk that they engage thereafter in activities inconsistent with the aims of the programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what legislation the National Infrastructure Commission currently operates; whether the National Infrastructure Commissioners are being paid allowances or expenses for their work; and if so, on what basis, and how much.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The National Infrastructure does not currently operate under any legislation, but it will be legislated for when parliamentary time allows. Commissioners are being reimbursed all reasonable expenses properly and necessarily incurred in respect of their appointments. They are paid allowances in line with similar government positions.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what type of body is Transport for the North; who made the decision to set it up; what are its terms of reference; whether it has a constitution; what form its controlling body takes, how its composition was decided, and who are its members; whether any members of the controlling body other than the chairman receive remuneration, and if so, on what basis and how much; what is its annual budget, and from which funds that budget is derived; how many staff are employed to work for it; where those staff are based; and what property it occupies, and on what basis.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Transport for the North (TfN) membership is drawn from the North’s combined and local authority, and Local Enterprise Partnership leaders working in a unique partnership with the Government, Network Rail, Highways England and HS2 Ltd. It was established by the Government with Northern leaders in October 2014. The TfN governance framework is outlined in the Principles for Governing the Relationship between Transport for the North (TfN) and the Department for Transport (DfT) document, which is attached and is available on the TfN website. The Chairman of TfN is the only Partnership Board member receiving remuneration for this role. Building on the summer budget commitment to provide funding to TfN, the Government is committing a total of £50m (£10m per annum) over this parliament, enabling TfN to build its capacity and capability to recruit the staff it needs and get on with planning better rail and roads to deliver the Government’s ambitious programme to create a Northern Powerhouse.This is in addition to the £8.5m already provided by DfT and up to £4m committed by the members of TfN. Following the recent appointments of the Chief Executive and Chairman, the recruitment process for both permanent and temporary staff is now underway. TfN is based at temporary premises in Manchester until a permanent location is agreed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the role and responsibilities of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) in relation to flood prevention and defences; whether they have been changed in the light of recent flooding; whether they have asked the NIC for advice following that flooding; and whether they have received any such advice.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The National Infrastructure Commission is an independent body that will advise on the country’s infrastructure challenges by adopting a long-term approach in assessing the UK’s infrastructure needs over a 10 to 30 year horizon.

The Commission will have a mandate to examine all sectors of economic infrastructure – including flood defences, energy, transport, water and sewage, waste and digital communications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to distribute the £20 million funding for English lessons for women speakers of other languages; which bodies will be responsible for delivering the new provision; on what basis it will be allocated; how much will be made available in each year of this Parliament, and what kind of learning provision the money will be used for.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Our new English language training offer, worth £20 million over this Parliament, will be informed by the findings of Louise Casey’s Review of Integration and the learning from the six community-based projects we have funded as part of our current integration programme. In particular, we will work with Louise Casey to identify the most isolated communities in England and on the detail of how the programme will be delivered, to ensure it is targeted at those women who need it most. We are working towards as early a launch date as possible for the programme in 2016-17.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any controls exist over the operation of unmanned ground vehicles (1) on highways, and (2) in other public spaces; whether controls exist over the use of such vehicles on pavements and other walkways, cycleways and bridleways; in the event of an accident or other event involving such a vehicle on a highway, who is responsible (a) for assessing responsibility, and (b) for paying any compensation that might be due; whether such vehicles must display information identifying the owner or controller; whether traffic police have any jurisdiction over such machines when being used on a highway; whether the police or other authorities have any powers to deal with such machines in the event of them causing a public nuisance; and whether insurance is required for the use of such machines.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

All vehicles, including connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), must be used in line with UK road traffic law. Failure to comply with UK law may well result in enforcement agencies taking action.

The Pathway to driverless cars: a regulatory review, published in February 2015, sets out how current laws apply to CAVs, and points to where the position is not clear and should be reviewed further. For example, chapter 13 deals with insurance, and Annex B looks at innovative personal transport.

In addition, to secure the safe development and introduction of CAVs in the UK, the Pathway sets out a number of action points. The government is working on these, including having published the Code of Practice for testing automated vehicles in July 2015, to ensure that British citizens and businesses will benefit from CAVs in the short and long term.