Tag: Lord Kennedy of Southwark

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the marine aggregate industry.

Lord De Mauley

The UK Marine Policy Statement (MPS) is the framework for preparing Marine Plans and taking decisions affecting the marine environment. The MPS sets out the policy objectives for key activities taking place in the marine environment. This includes an assessment of marine aggregate resources, potential impacts from extraction activities and issues for consideration by decision-makers. Within English waters marine aggregate extraction activities are regulated by the Marine Management Organisation.

Government, regulators, The Crown Estate and the British Marine Aggregate Producers Association (BMAPA) have collaborated on an extensive programme of research (over £25 million in ten years) into understanding and minimising the environmental impacts of aggregates dredging. Following the completion of that programme BMAPA and The Crown Estate recently commissioned and published Aggregate Dredging and the Marine Environment – an overview of recent research and current industry practice. The report is available on The Crown Estate website at www.thecrownestate.co.uk

The marine aggregate industry has and continues to engage constructively with Government and regulators in developing marine plans and licensing policy and Marine Conservation Zones.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with representatives of the haulage industry about improving the safety of cyclists and other vulnerable road users.

Baroness Kramer

There have been discussions with representatives of the haulage industry in a number of broader meetings. The meetings included the Commercial Vehicle Road Safety Forum, the Road Haulage Forum and a driver certificates of professional competence (DCPC) stakeholder meeting for the EU review. The subjects discussed included the potential for DCPC, vehicle design and enforcement to improve safety, including of cyclists and other vulnerable road users.

Department for Transport officials have also attended meetings about vehicle construction and to develop a best practice standard for construction logistics. These have been in collaboration with the haulage industry and Transport for London, with the objective of improving road safety for cyclists and other vulnerable road users.

The Department runs a Safety Sub Group of the Minister’s Cycling Stakeholder Forum. This includes members from the haulage industry, such as the Freight Transport Association, Road Haulage Association and Minerals Products Association.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential for greater use of Thames to move freight.

Baroness Kramer

Transport for London has assessed the potential use of the Thames and other waterways in their London Freight Plan.　 The Port of London Authority (PLA), the Mayor of London / Greater London Authority (GLA), Transport for London (TfL) and their partners in the public and private sectors have been working to encourage greater use of the Thames for the movement of freight, including that associatedwith infrastructure products in central Londonsuch as Crossrail, the Tideway Tunnel and Blackfriars Station.

The Department for Transport’s Mode Shift Revenue Support Scheme provides grants to assist companies with the costs associated with running inland water freight transport instead of road, where inland waterway is more expensive. Grant support is being provided for a freight service on the Thames between Denton and Silvertown.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken, in co-operation with the franchise holder, to improve the frequency of train services in South-East London.

Baroness Kramer

On 11^th June 2014, the Government awarded the Thameslink Southern Great Northern (TSGN) franchise to Govia. The franchise will run for seven years from September 2014. During this period Govia will improve the frequency of train services in the south east of London by introducing 24 trains per hour through the Thameslink core route.

The Government will be refranchising the South Eastern network in 2018 and will conduct a formal public consultation before finalising the specification.