Tag: Lord Greaves

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what improvements will take place under the new Northern Rail franchise on the Blackpool South and Preston to Colne service, other than the replacement of the Pacer trains.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Preston-Blackpool South will get a Sunday service all year round. At present the line shuts down for a period in the winter, but from Dec 2017 at least an alternate-hours service will operate all year round. Colne-Preston will get a full hourly Sunday service – twice as many trains on Sunday compared to now, and with the entire Northern fleet being refurbished, passengers will notice rolling stock improvements across the franchise.

Accrington and Blackburn stations will become Northern Connect stations so will be staffed from 6am to 10pm (if they don’t already have staffing hours longer than this), with WiFi and catering outlets. All Northern stations with more than 10 passengers per day will have ticket machines, real-time information and help points.

Beyond that there is a franchise wide, £38m investment in bringing stations up to standard, with benefits for many stations, which includes new platform seating, replacement shelters, new waiting rooms and toilets, and customer information screens.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current status of the Big Society programme; which department and Minister is responsible for it; what projects are currently active; what is the budget for each of those projects; what changes have taken place to the programme since the general election; and what procedures are in place to report to Parliament on the programme.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Big Society programme remains a key manifesto commitment for the Government. The 2015 Spending Review saw this commitment reaffirmed with, for example, funding for the National Citizen Service increased to over a £1 billion creating the next generation of community minded volunteers. An additional £100 million in funding for Social Impact Bonds has also been pledged to reduce demand on public services. These programmes are helping to create a stronger, more engaged nation where people and neighbourhoods are able to take greater responsibility with improving the country.

These programmes are regularly reviewed and reports are publicly available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 January (HL5309), what assessment they have made of whether it will be legally possible to restrict their community-based language training offer to Muslim women.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The new English language scheme will not just be restricted to Muslim women. It will reach tens of thousands of the most isolated women and will be targeted to specific communities based on Louise Casey’s on-going review into integration in England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving to simplifying the Governance for Railway Investment Projects process.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Her Majesty’s Government has no plans to simplify the Governance for Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) process.

GRIP underwent a full review and subsequent update by Network Rail in 2015, and has been designed in alignment with PRINCE2 which is recognised as best practice framework for project management globally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether introducing an elected mayor will be a requirement of all future devolution deals with combined authorities.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Development of devolution deals is a bottom up process, in which areas bring us their proposals for the powers and budgets they want devolved to them. The accompanying governance arrangements they propose to support those powers and budgets must be commensurate with the scale of devolution they are seeking.

Elected mayors provide that strong, single point of accountability which is essential for any devolution deal of the scale and ambition of the deals we have announced for Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region, Tees Valley and the North East.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of (1) the number of unaccompanied refugee children who are waiting at or near Calais and other Channel ports on the European mainland in the hope of crossing to England, and (2) how many of those are dependents or close relatives of persons who are living in the UK.

Lord Bates

The management of the migrant camps in Calais is the responsibility of the French Government. The UK Government does not routinely assess the numbers of migrants (including children) in Calais, or hold a breakdown of their ages. EU asylum rules oblige Member States to bring together close family members, including children. For a refugee child to be reunited with family members in the UK, a claim must first be lodged with the French authorities. The French and UK Governments are actively encouraging and assisting migrants in the Calais area to claim asylum in France.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is a requirement of the new Northern Rail franchise that the Pacer trains that will be withdrawn from service in the North of England will be scrapped or whether they can be redeployed elsewhere.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There is no such requirement in the new Northern Franchise Agreement. As the Pacers are owned by two Rolling Stock Companies, any future use is for them to decide.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have commissioned or have plans to commission a review of the activities and achievements of the Big Society programme since its inception; if so, who is conducting this review and when it will report and to whom; and if not, why not.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Big Society programme remains a key manifesto commitment for the Government. The 2015 Spending Review saw this commitment reaffirmed with, for example, funding for the National Citizen Service increased to over a £1 billion creating the next generation of community minded volunteers. An additional £100 million in funding for Social Impact Bonds has also been pledged to reduce demand on public services. These programmes are helping to create a stronger, more engaged nation where people and neighbourhoods are able to take greater responsibility with improving the country.

These programmes are regularly reviewed and reports are publicly available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 January (HL5309), when Louise Casey’s review into boosting opportunity and integration amongst isolated groups started work; what are its terms of reference; who is directing its work; what is the estimated cost of the review; when it is expected to report and to whom; and whether its findings will be made public.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Prime Minister commissioned Louise Casey CB to carry out a review of how to boost opportunity and integration in isolated and vulnerable communities in July 2015. She is considering issues including: how we can ensure people learn English; how we can improve academic and employment outcomes, especially for women; and how state agencies can work more effectively with these communities to promote integration and community cohesion. Louise will provide an interim report to the Prime Minister and it will be published shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what government funds now exist to support brownfield housing; how much is available and for what purposes; what are the procedures for distribution of these funds, and how much has so far been disbursed from each of them.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

We are making available £1.2 billion through the Starter Home Land Fund to prepare suitable brownfield sites to support at least 30,000 Starter Homes. A prospectus about the Starter Home Land Fund was published at the Budget in March 2016. £9 million has already been invested since the Fund’s establishment in April 2016.

We announced at Spending Review that £2 billion in loans will be made available to invest in infrastructure needed for major housing developments. We would expect at least 50 per cent of this funding to support housing on brownfield sites. Full bidding guidance will be available when the fund is launched.