Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 June (HL516), what assessment they have made of the levels of punctuality and reliability of trains on the East Coast Main Line required to facilitate a proposal to integrate 24 trains per hour through the central core of Thameslink via Blackfriars.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Network Rail and the relevant train operators will continue to develop the detail and performance implications of the 2021 timetable in line with the industry’s normal timetable development process, under the oversight of the Office of Rail and Road.

    With regard to the operation of the Thameslink central core, this is a matter for Network Rail and the relevant train operators, under the oversight of the Office of Rail and Road. The industry is continuing to develop plans for integrating the 24 trains per hour proposed to run on the Thameslink route at peak times from December 2018 with other services on the East Coast Main Line, including the implications for punctuality and reliability.

    After consulting with Network Rail we have established that there were five ‘unplanned closures’, on various sections of the line, on five separate days in August, two of which were infrastructure related and three as a result of passenger action.

    Network Rail have defined days with ‘unplanned closures’ of the East Coast Main Line as days where there are more than five cancellation events. A cancellation event covers any service suffering one or more of the below events:

    • Full Cancellation
    • Part Cancellation
    • Diversion
    • Fail to stop
    • Change of Origin
  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many of the recommendations made by the HS2 Ltd Residents’ Commissioner in her published reports have been adopted in full by HS2 Ltd.

    Andrew Jones

    HS2 Ltd continues to use all feedback and recommendations made by the Residents’ Commissioner, including those made in published reports, to help improve the quality of its communication and engagement with communities affected by HS2 proposals.

    In response to recommendations made by the Residents’ Commissioner HS2 Ltd has, for example, expanded its community engagement teams to provide more localised support and information to affected communities, introduced a mobile unit which will have a wider reach where residents not able to attend HS2 Ltd-run events, and raised awareness of the package of HS2 property compensation and discretionary assistance schemes which are available.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with freight and haulier representatives on ensuring better access to food, drink and sanitation facilities as part of his Department’s development of a strategy to improve the running of Operation Stack; and when he expects to announce his Department’s strategy.

    Andrew Jones

    Government continues to work closely with a wide range of key partners on a number of short to long term solutions to Operation Stack. Based on these discussions, Highways England are assessing a number of sites off the strategic road network which could offer a potential long term solution and are exploring these options with landowners and stakeholders.

    As part of this, my Department and Highways England will assess the facilities that will be made available on any such site and will liaise with the freight and haulier organisations in due course.

    At present, an agreement has been reached with the owners of Manston Airfield in Kent to enable Kent Police, Highways England and Kent County Council to use the Airfield on a temporary basis to help reduce pressure on the M20 during Operation Stack. If Manston Airfield were to be required, access to toilet and washing facilities, and access to drinking water, would be provided as a minimum for drivers of parked vehicles as soon as reasonably practicable.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 17 November (HL3625), what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the identification of the ages of Palestinian children prior to their arrest and detention.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised this issue with the Israeli Ministry of Justice (MoJ) when they met on 3 November and were informed that a small number of children under 12 had been detained. The Israeli MoJ stated that once their age was established, the minors were released. They also told officials that if identification was not available, parents of the individuals were contacted via the Palestinian District Coordination Office. Since the publication of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-funded independent report on Children in Military Custody in June 2012, there has been some progress on the issue of children held in military detention in Israel. This includes a pilot to use summons instead of night-time arrests, changes to standard operating procedures on methods of restraint, and steps to reduce the amount of time a child can be detained before seeing a judge. While we welcome improvements, we continue to push for the full implementation of changes and to encourage further changes in practice.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had with Andrew Roberts from the Royal Bank of Scotland to discuss the state of the world economy.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

    Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve rail infrastructure and service in the south of England.

    Claire Perry

    As part of our Rail Investment Strategy, the Government is investing over £15 billion in enhancements to the rail network. This includes the modernisation of the Great Western Main Line, and investing £700 million on infrastructure in the most congested routes in London and the South East. In addition, we are delivering the £14.8bn Crossrail and £6.5bn Thameslink projects.

    Further, our franchising programme is delivering valuable passenger benefits, such as smart ticketing and faster services.

  • Gerald Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gerald Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Jones on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account is taken when assessing people for personal independence payments of the need for aids and appliances as a proxy of the condition of the person being assessed.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The PIP Assessment Guide for Health Professionals carrying out assessments includes guidance on the assessment criteria and how they should be applied.

    Section 3.2 ‘Applying the criteria’ (page 75) explains how to assess a person who is reliant on aids and appliances to complete an activity. This guidance can be accessed on the gov.uk website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449043/pip-assessment-guide.pdf

    “

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners at each establishment have risk indicators which have been identified after completion of a cell sharing risk assessment.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much the Office of the Schools Adjudicator has spent on legal action related to the London Oratory School since 2013; and how much of those costs related to judicial reviews in that period.

    Nick Gibb

    The Office of The Schools Adjudicator has spent £196,201 on legal action in relation to the London Oratory school since 2013, all of which relates to judicial review.

  • Lord Hoyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Hoyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    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.