The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to source additional funding for any shortfall in funding between what Heathrow Airport Limited commits to pay for a third runway and the estimated cost.
Mr Robert Goodwill
All of the promoters have proposed privately-funded schemes, and as privately-owned companies we expect airports to fund the development of new airport capacity fully.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-10-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allocate additional funding to the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
Mr David Gauke
At the Spending Review in 2015, the Government set out its plans to invest more than £300m to support the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. This will increase cycling and walking by improving infrastructure and encouraging active travel, particularly in children.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what account the Government’s forthcoming review of the night noise regulations for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports will take of the WHO Europe’s recommendation that noise at night should not exceed 40 dB Leq.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The WHO’s 2009 Night Noise Guidelines for Europe do not refer solely to noise from aviation, but are based on the Lnight,outside indicator which measures the average noise that individuals are exposed to over all nights of a year – including from all transport sources and non transport sources such as industry and the neighbourhood.
One of the environmental objectives of the current night flight restrictions is to limit and where possible reduce the number of people significantly affected by aircraft noise at night. This is based on the measure of the area and number of people within the 6.5 hour night quota period contours, and in particular the 55dB LAeq contour. This is the threshold also used in the WHO Night Noise Guidelines for Europe. This is also consistent with the Government’s overall policy on aviation noise to avoid significant adverse impacts.
The Government’s proposals for the night flight restrictions from October 2017 will continue to take account of the latest evidence on the health impacts of night flights.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the effect of the palliative care currency will be on statutory funding for children’s hospices.
Ben Gummer
NHS England is responsible for the annual grant to children’s hospices and for determining how it will be allocated each year. The palliative care currency is designed to provide a basis for local commissioning discussions, by clearly identifying the costs of care. The currency is being tested by NHS England locally, to ensure it makes sense to commissioners and providers, and the results will be published later in the year. The intention is that there will be an appropriate transition to local commissioning of children’s hospices, but they have pledged to continue the grant until a sustainable alternative means of local funding is in effect.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department’s work on assessing the three airport options proposed by the Airport’s Commission includes a review of the safety and security risks associated with an (a) additional or extended runway at Heathrow and (b) additional runway at Gatwick Airport.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government continues to consider the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many emergency landings there have been at Heathrow Airport in the last five years.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department does not collect data on how many emergency landings there have been at Heathrow Airport. However if serious enough, such incidents would be counted amongst data for safety related events. These are defined as an event which endanger or which, if not corrected or addressed, could endanger an aircraft, its occupants or any other person. They have to be reported to the Civil Aviation Authority as part of the Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Scheme (MORS).
Occurrence reporting is now covered by (EU) Regulation No 376/2014. The Regulation requires that the reporting, analysis and follow-up to such occurrences remain confidential. However, the Regulation does permit information to be released on request to interested parties that have a genuine safety related need for the information. An application can be made at www.caa.co.uk.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department acquired the land for the new Nishkam School site in West London before planning permission for that school was granted; and whether the valuation of that land was based on an assumption that planning permission would be granted.
Edward Timpson
The Syon Lane site was acquired by the Department for Communities and Local Government on behalf of the Education Funding Agency (EFA) as a permanent site for Nishkam School West London. When full, the school will provide 1,400 places for local children.
Where possible, sites for new free schools are secured with exchange subject to planning approval. The decision to proceed with the purchase was taken following confirmation from Hounslow Local Planning Authority that the proposal to develop a school on the site would be consistent with local planning policies, so an argument could be made for such a development.
The land valuation undertaken to inform the purchase took account of its designation as Metropolitan Open Land and an estimation of the value of the land should its planning status change to permit the construction of a school building.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drivers have avoided disqualification from driving within the last year by pleading the loss of their licence would cause exceptional hardship.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Information about drivers who have not been disqualified from driving as a result of a court accepting that disqualification would lead to exceptional hardship is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The Government is committed to making sure that sentencing for those who kill or cause serious injury on the roads is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation on driving offences and penalties before the end of the year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the aircraft noise attitudes survey carried out by Ipsos Mori on his behalf; and how he plans to use the findings of that survey to inform aircraft noise policy.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government is currently analysing the results of the survey carried out by IPSOS Mori to produce a report, which will be independently peer reviewed. The Government hopes to publish a report later this year on the findings.
The report along with other relevant robust evidence will be used to inform the Government in setting out its aviation noise policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-02-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the planned increase in stamp duty on the ability of people to purchase a retirement property in advance of selling their primary home.
Mr David Gauke
From 1 April 2016 higher rates of SDLT will be charged on purchases of additional residential properties, such as second homes and buy-to-let properties. The higher rates will be 3 percentage points above the current SDLT rates. This is part of the Government’s commitment to supporting home ownership and first-time buyers.
The Government has carefully considered the case where a purchaser buys a new main home in advance of selling an old one. Where there is a temporary overlap between replacing and selling a main residence, the Government intends that higher rates will apply but the purchaser will be entitled to a refund of the higher amounts when they dispose of their previous main residence within 18 months.
The Government has consulted on the changes to ensure they are introduced in a fair way. The final policy design will be confirmed at Budget on 16 March 2016.