Tag: Nadine Dorries

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to make travel on the Thameslink line more accessible for disabled passengers.

Claire Perry

On the Thameslink route, the new Thameslink trains currently being manufactured will enter service later this year. The full fleet will be in service by the end of 2018. The train specification was developed to meet the latest standards and is fully compliant with accessibility standards for heavy rail (the Persons of Reduced Mobility Technical Specification for Interoperability – PRM-TSI).

To aid boarding and alighting, the Thameslink Programme is providing dedicated ramps at stations and on board the trains, in addition to raised platform areas at busy central London stations that will step free from street level to the new trains. The boarding positions will be clearly indicated for disabled users.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the travel experiences of blind and partially sighted people; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

The Government plans to publish an accessibility action plan (AAP) to improve the travel experience of disabled people, including blind and partially sighted people. We are working with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) to assess what information should go in this publication and how to update any other Departmental guidance to make it used and useful to visually impaired people and a wide audience. We plan for the AAP to be ready for wider consultation in the summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the future of the EU sanctions regime against Russia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

The UK strongly supports the EU’s strategy for resolving the Ukraine crisis through diplomacy underpinned by sanctions pressure. Sanctions on Russia are an important way for the EU to support a peaceful resolution of the crisis through full implementation of the Minsk agreements. As the European Council made clear in March 2015, sanctions against Russia must remain in full until the Minsk agreements are fully implemented.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-12.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s policies to tackle bank fraud and scams; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government takes all types of fraud, including those targeted at banks’ customers, extremely seriously.

The Home Office is the lead Government department on crime, including fraud, and crime prevention overall. In February 2016, the Home Secretary announced a new Joint Fraud Taskforce. The Taskforce is a collaboration of banks, law enforcement and Government. This is the first time these organisations have come together to tackle fraud, and particularly to focus on those issues that have been considered too difficult for a single organisation to manage alone. The Taskforce seeks to identify the issues that will make the biggest difference to our collective fight against fraud.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to adverse weather conditions in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Claire Perry

The latest rail reporting period was 18th October to 14th November. There were 757 full and 1,623 part cancellations attributed to Network Rail causes. The causes include infrastructure failures, poor railhead conditions, external incidents (e.g. trespass and vandalism) and adverse weather related incidents. The Department does not hold disaggregated data that shows individual causes. The latest rail reporting period was 18th October to 14th November. There were 757 full and 1,623 part cancellations attributed to Network Rail causes. The causes include infrastructure failures, poor railhead conditions, external incidents (e.g. trespass and vandalism) and adverse weather related incidents. The Department does not hold disaggregated data that shows individual causes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of recent political developments in Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

Ukraine has been in a political crisis since the resignation of the Economy Minister in February . Our message to Ukraine’s leaders during this time has been to stay focused on delivering reform, especially tackling corruption. The President, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet of Ministers and Parliament (Rada) have a shared responsibility to work together on this.

On 14 April Volodymyr Groysman, the Rada Speaker, was appointed Prime Minister together with a new Cabinet. We hope this will give the Government of Ukraine the stability it needs to deliver the security and prosperity which the people of Ukraine demand.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions Ministers have had with Govia Thameslink on improving the punctuality and reliability of that company’s train service in the last six months.

Claire Perry

I am chairing a monthly meeting involving Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Southeastern and Transport Focus to monitor and co-ordinate improvements in both performance and passenger experience in the South East. This work builds upon the Joint Improvement Plan that was developed in the Spring. This Group is absolutely committed to see improvement and, crucially, to make sure that rail customers see the benefits of these improvements.

GTR failed to meet their benchmark for cancellations set out in their Franchise Agreement and in the view of the Secretary of State they are also likely to exceed their delay minutes benchmark in the near future. In order to address their poor performance and hold them to account we issued them with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR have submitted their plan and once the measures are agreed by the Secretary of State they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement. Officials regularly monitor GTR’s performance and this will include the delivery of the measures and performance improvements agreed through the Remedial Plan. Non-compliance may result in further enforcement action in line with the Franchise Agreement should the need arise.

Network Rail’s performance is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road, who have recently agreed a £4.1m package of improvements to be delivered by Network Rail on the Southern part of GTR franchise area in order to address performance issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the strength of German-Russian relations and their (a) effect on European energy security and (b) implications for the UK.

Mr David Lidington

Germany’s relations with Russia like those of all other EU Member States, have been significantly impaired by Russia’s aggressive behaviour in recent years. Germany has adopted all measures agreed by EU and NATO Member States in respect of their economic and political relationship with Russia.

It is an overriding principle that in their dealings with Russia, all EU Member States ensure that they fully comply with EU legislation, including internal energy market legislation and competition law. This legislation provides a clear and stable framework that enables the delivery of sustainable, secure and competitive energy and supports long term investment in Europe’s and the UK’s energy market.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to driver shortage in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Claire Perry

Figures for driver attributed cancellations the whole of the TSGN franchise in the last four periods are below. This data represents the first four periods since Southern Railway joined Govia Thameslink Railway at the end of July. This data does not differentiate between cancellations due to driver shortage and operational issues.

	Rail Period 1605 26/7-22/8	Rail Period 1606 23/8-19/9	Rail Period 1607 20/9-17/10	Rail Period 1608 18/10-14/11
Full cancellations	1093	1331	723	706
Part cancellations	458	410	406	411
Total	1551	1741	1129	1117

The Department does not hold information on cancellations due to sickness.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the Government has spent on prostate cancer research in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Dr Daniel Poulter

The following figures provide an annualised estimate of Government funding for prostate cancer research, provided by the National Cancer Research Institute Cancer Research Database 2009 to 2013.

	2009 £	2010 £	2011 £	2012 £	2013 £
Prostate Cancer	7,895,544	7,158,048	7,095,581	9,484,685	8,276,039

These figures include only direct spend on prostate cancer research, or spend which directly supports prostate cancer research; it does not include fundamental research that could have implications for prostate cancer in the longer term.