Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact on the bus industry of increased traffic congestion, in particular in respect of (1) bus speeds, (2) the deployment of additional vehicles to maintain service intervals, and (3) the attractiveness of the bus as a means of travel; and whether they have discussed this subject with the bus industry and local highway authorities.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Managing traffic congestion on the local road network, over which most buses operate, is the responsibility of local highway authorities.

The Government recognises that traffic congestion impacts on the punctuality and reliability of bus services and continues to work collaboratively with the bus industry, local authorities and other stakeholders to promote effective strategies to tackle this issue, such as operator/authority partnership working and the introduction of bus priority measures.

The average traffic speed on locally managed ‘A’ roads in England is estimated to have decreased by 3.3% since 2014, when the Department started measuring speeds over the full 24 hours of the day.

Bus punctuality data is collected and managed by local authorities, and published by the Department for Transport in online statistical tables.

The Department publishes two measures of bus punctuality for frequent and non-frequent bus services. A frequent service is one that has six or more buses per hour.

For frequent services, statistics by local authority are available in table BUS0903. This measure represents the excess waiting time arising from irregular gaps between services.

The proportion of non-frequent bus services in England running on-time is published in table BUS0902. Both tables are attached to this response.

The latest statistics show that in 2014/15, 83% of non-frequent services ran on-time compared with 80% in 2009/10. ‘On-time’ is defined as one between 1 minute early and 5 minutes 59 seconds late.

Ministers and officials have discussed the issue of congestion with Greener Journeys and representatives of the bus industry and local authorities, including at an event in the House of Commons on 14 September.

01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the total number of passengers travelling independently through flight-only sales or independent bookings that have been affected by recent restrictions on UK-bound flights from Sharm el-Sheikh airport; and what steps the Government has taken to support those passengers.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department for Transport has been in constant contact with tour companies and airlines operating in Sharm-el-Sheikh. All have been working in collaboration to ensure that information on flights to the UK has been provided to UK nationals on a timely basis, supported by travel advice issued through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who have also been providing consular assistance on the ground. Since flights restarted on Friday 6 November 2015, over 16,000 passengers have returned to the UK. This includes those that travelled independently, for example on a flight only basis. Flights on 17 November saw the return of all UK nationals that wished to do so.

01/01/2023
Richard Burgon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-12-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s announcement on Government shares in Lloyds Banking Group, published on 18 December 2014, whether he had set a target for the (a) number of shares to be sold and (b) price per share for Lloyds Banking Group at the time of that announcement.

Harriett Baldwin

In December 2014 the Chancellor launched a trading plan to sell the Government’s stake in Lloyds Banking Group, which has since been extended twice; in June and December 2015. The number of shares sold over the course of the trading plan is subject to an overall volume limit of up to but no more than 15% of the aggregate total trading volume in the LBG over the duration of the trading plan.

The final amount sold will depend on market conditions, among other factors. Shares will not be sold below the average price the previous government paid for them, which was 73.6p.

As outlined to the House at the time of the trading plan’s launch, a statement with further details will be laid before Parliament when the plan concludes.

01/01/2023
Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what process the trade supplement for an RAF weapon technician was decided under Armed Forces Pay Reform.

Penny Mordaunt

For Other Ranks, the Ministry of Defence uses a long-standing and rigorous process of Job Evaluation (JE) to determine the pay treatment of each trade. In the current binary pay model which consists of High and Low Pay Bands, JE evidence assigns the role of the RAF Weapon Technician to the High Pay Band. In the new pay system, with its four supplements and greater flexibility, the same JE evidence assigns the Weapon Technician to Supplement 2, while other trades in the RAF’s Trade Group 1 (TG1) (Aircraft Engineering) are assigned to Supplement 3. This does not mean there has been a reduction in the Weapon Technician’s technical status or intrinsic value. It reflects the fact that the other trades in TG1 continue to score higher in the JE process and therefore continue to be treated differently in pay terms.

No-one will take a pay cut on transition to the new model and Service personnel will continue to be eligible for any Government approved pay award. Incremental progressions will also continue to be a feature of the new pay model, though rationalised.

01/01/2023
Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is and what guidance it issues to civil servants on the acceptance and declaration of corporate gifts.

Mark Lancaster

The Department’s rules on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality state that every head of Division or Commanding Officer must maintain a hospitality log in which to record contact with persons, firms or organisations holding, or seeking to obtain, Government contracts. All offers of gifts, complimentary vouchers, other incentives, and hospitality made to Crown Servants whether accepted or declined must be recorded in the log. Senior management are responsible for undertaking regular reviews of the hospitality log. The guidance is set out in the "Defence Business Services Gifts, Reward, and Hospitality Policy" documents which are available on the Department’s intranet site.

The Department’s policy is based on the rules of standards and conduct found within the Civil Service Code and is consistent with approaches taken by other Government Departments.

01/01/2023
Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the change was in the level of government reimbursement to local authorities for the cost of the English National Concessionary Transport Scheme between 2010 and 2015.

Andrew Jones

This data is not held by the Department for Transport.

In 2010-11, £223m was paid to local authorities as a specific grant to deliver the National Concessionary Transport Scheme. In 2011-12, this funding was transferred to the Local Government Finance Settlement, from where it has been delivered since. As the settlement distributes un-ringfenced funding to cover a number of services delivered by local authorities, it is not possible to identify the level of funding within the settlement specifically for national concessionary transport from the point the funding was transferred.

01/01/2023

Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil servants were employed in each location at the Skills Funding Agency in the last year for which figures are available.

Nick Boles

The number of civil servants employed by the Skills Funding Agency is shown in the attached table and represents the position as at 31 December 2015.

Location	Total
SFA Birmingham	53
SFA Bristol	18
SFA Cambridge	24
SFA Chatham	20
SFA Coventry	381
SFA Fareham	23
SFA Gateshead	51
SFA Home	7
SFA Leeds	61
SFA Liverpool	16
SFA London	114
SFA Manchester	50
SFA Nottingham	17
SFA Plymouth	16
SFA Reading	30
SFA Sheffield	13
Grand Total	894

01/01/2023

Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the taper arrangements will be for the proposed phasing in of EU migrants’ entitlement to in-work benefits.

Mr Shailesh Vara

I refer the right hon. Member to the February European Council Conclusions. The restrictions on in-work benefits will apply to each newly arriving EU worker for a period of four years from the commencement of employment, with the limitation tapered “from an initial complete exclusion but gradually increasing access to such benefits to take account of the growing connection of the work with the labour market of the host Member State”. Precise details are a matter for the implementation of the proposal, and further announcements will be made in due course.

01/01/2023
Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has given permission for Southern rail services to be cancelled during the planned strike in July 2016.

Claire Perry

We are not aware of any planned official strike in July 2016.

01/01/2023
Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guarantees they plan to give that, once the new funding system for supported housing comes into place in 2019–20, existing tenants will not be affected negatively by any changes.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable through our welfare reforms. That is why we have exempted supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance policy until 2019/20, from which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents. The new funding model will include a ring-fenced local top-up to ensure that funding is used only for supported housing provision and will support existing tenants.

The funding will be administered locally so that local authorities can respond flexibly to local need. We believe local authorities are best placed to make decisions about how to support vulnerable people in their areas and to commission the supported housing services that are needed locally.

01/01/2023