Tag: Lord Hoyle

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether steel produced in Britain will be used for the HS2 project.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

It is estimated that HS2 will need approximately 2 million tonnes of steel over the next 10 years. The procurement for the main civil engineering works between Euston and Birmingham is now underway with procurements for the stations and rail systems expected to commence later this year and for rolling stock in early 2017. Subject to Royal Assent, the project will start construction in 2017.

As with the rest of the materials for construction, steel is procured by the supply chain. We positively encourage bids from British companies and are already holding discussions with UK suppliers to make sure they are in the best possible position to win contracts for the steel that will be needed for track, concrete reinforcements, overhead wires and other structures. This Government has put rules in place for all its departments to ensure we can buy the right quality steel, produced under the right conditions – which will be of clear benefit to UK bidders.

HS2 provides an excellent opportunity for businesses across the UK with 25,000 jobs created during construction and 3,000 when up and running.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether steel produced in Britain will be used for the electrification of the Manchester to Blackpool train route.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The electrification of the Manchester to Blackpool train route is still in the design phase and the steel has not yet been purchased.

Network Rail already sources 95% of its steel rail from the UK. Steel for electrification projects has typically been procured by principal contractors from a variety of sources, but Network Rail is currently seeking to aggregate volumes wherever possible and procure materials directly. Total forecast requirement of steel for electrification projects is forecast to be around 175k tonnes over the next 6 years. Network Rail’s strategy is to source this from the UK wherever possible, and the electrification of the Manchester to Blackpool train route will also be in accordance with this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether steel produced in Britain will be used for the construction of the Type 26 Frigates and other vessels announced in the recent Strategic Security and Defence Review.

Earl Howe

As to the source of steel to be used for the construction of the Type 26 Global Combat Ships, I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence Procurement in the House of Commons on 20 January 2016 to Question 22739.

The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (Cmd 9161) also announced that we will launch a concept stage for a new General Purpose Frigate, build two further Offshore Patrol Vessels and buy three new logistics ships to support the Fleet. As with the Type 26 Global Combat Ship, it is too early to say from where the steel for these programmes will be sourced, but a range of UK suppliers and others will be invited to bid and provide steel for these programmes.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role Network Rail has in the HS2 project, and whether it will have a role in deciding where the steel required for that project should be purchased from.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Network Rail will be responsible for undertaking works on their network where they interact with the HS2 network. The materials used for such works will be subject to future procurements. However, currently, around 95% of Network Rail’s total aggregated demand for steel is procured from Tata steel.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the latest figures for the UK’s balance of trade with the EU.

Lord Maude of Horsham

The latest figures for the UK’s balance of trade with the EU are publically available in the ONS Balance of Payments: Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2015 publication.

The UK’s balance of trade in goods & services with the EU in 2014 was -£58.8 billion, relating to £230.2 billion in exports and £289.1 billion in imports.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that airlines monitor the quality of cabin air.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Currently there is no evidence to suggest that continuous monitoring of aircraft cabin air would be worthwhile. The Government concluded in 2014, after a research programme on cabin air quality lasting for several years, that an international approach to any further research into the issue would be most appropriate. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has launched a programme of research into this issue in 2015.

In terms of monitoring individual events, the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Scheme (CAP382) ensures that an event that is considered by crew to be a “safety-related event which endangers or which, if not corrected or addressed, could endanger an aircraft, its occupants or any other person” is reported and investigated.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost of the contract awarded to Sport and Entertainment Ltd for organising the Queen’s Patron Lunch on Sunday 12 June; and why this contract did not go out to tender.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Patron’s Lunch, held on Sunday 12 June is not a government-run event.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to remedy the problems caused by the failure in hot climates of intercooler units on Type 45 destroyers.

Earl Howe

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Mr Philip Dunne) in the House of Commons on 8 February 2016, to Question number 25165. Type 45 destroyers were designed for world-wide operations, from sub-Arctic to extreme tropical environments and continue to operate effectively in the Persian Gulf and South Atlantic at all times of the year.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will list the balance of United Kingdom payments to and receipts from the European Union for each of the last 10 years.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The United Kingdom’s contribution to the EU budget, net of rebate and total receipts, for the last 10 years is as follows:

Year	Gross contributions post rebate	Total public and private receipts	Net contribution	Net contribution
	€bn	€bn	€bn	£bn
2005	12.16	8.67	3.49	2.46
2006	12.38	8.29	4.09	2.80
2007	13.43	7.42	6.01	4.03
2008	10.11	7.31	2.80	2.06
2009	10.11	6.25	3.86	3.68
2010	14.66	6.75	7.91	7.09
2011	13.83	6.57	7.26	6.21
2012	16.18	6.93	9.24	7.82
2013	17.07	6.31	10.76	8.78
2014	14.07	6.98	7.09	5.91

These figures are taken from the EU’s Financial Report 2014, where comprehensive figures for the UK’s contributions and receipts, as well as those for all other Member States, for all years from 2000-2014 are available. The latest version of this report can be accessed at the European Commission’s website.^[1]

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/budget/financialreport/2014/foreword/index_en.html

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the United Kingdom’s three largest (1) exports to, and (2) imports from, the European Union.

Lord Maude of Horsham

The three largest UK exports to, and imports from, the European Union in 2014 are set out in the table below. These data are on a balance of payments basis.

Three largest UK exports to the European Union in 2014 Value (£ billion)
Finished manufactures (SITC 7+8) 63
Semi-manufactures (SITC 5+6) 43
Fuels (SITC 3) 27

Three largest UK imports from the European Union in 2014 Value (£ billion)
Finished manufactures (SITC 7+8) 114
Semi-manufactures (SITC 5+6) 66
Food, beverages and tobacco (SITC 0+1) 27
Source: ONS UK Trade August 2015 release
Note: the assessment of the top three was made across goods and services,
but services categories do not rank in the top three