Tag: Zac Goldsmith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the alternative Colne Valley tunnelling scheme for High Speed 2 as proposed by Hillingdon Council; and if he will meet the hon. Member for Richmond Park, the Leader of Hillingdon Council and the hon. Member for Uxbridge and Ruislip Northwood and Pinner to discuss that alternative.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The alternative Colne Valley tunnelling scheme, as proposed by the London Borough of Hillingdon (LBH), has been assessed and evidence was presented to the House of Commons HS2 Phase One Bill Select Committee. The Select Committee highlighted a number of concerns with the tunnel scheme in their statement on the 15th July 2015 which concluded that ‘our overall view is that a convincing case for a tunnel instead of the viaduct has not been made.’ Importantly, the Select Committee noted that the evidence was that a tunnel would not eliminate the impact of construction works in Hillingdon and surrounding areas.

However, HS2 Ltd is currently undertaking a study with LBH to identify how the HS2 construction impacts in Hillingdon can be further reduced. The results from this study are due to be reported in May 2016.

In the meantime, the Secretary of State is happy to meet the hon. Member for Richmond Park, the hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, and the Leader of Hillingdon Council.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) ratify the Cape Town agreement and (b) otherwise tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the High Seas.

George Eustice

The UK supports ratification of the Cape Town agreement and will ratify when legal priorities allow, which is a matter for the Department of Transport. The UK already applies the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels through the Fishing Vessels (EC Directive on Harmonised Safety Regime) Regulations 1999.

The UK Government, through the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), has been at the forefront of international measures to tackle Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, which remains a major threat, not just to the world’s fish stocks, but to its marine biodiversity and the livelihoods and security of coastal communities. The UK acts, alongside other European Union nations, to deny market access to products from IUU fishing, and to support third countries in developing their capability to detect and deter IUU fishing. Ground breaking work has also recently taken place between the MMO and UK based insurance companies to promote and encourage compliance with IUU regulations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potentially constraining effect on Heathrow airport’s growth of that airport’s future carbon emissions.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on noise, air quality and costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will experience an increase in the effect of noise as a result of the current plan to modernise London’s airspace; what assessment his Department has made of the geographical extent of that increase; and what effect the proposed Heathrow expansion would have on those estimates.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government has not undertaken any such an assessments.

Proposals for airspace change in the UK are subject to the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Airspace Change Process. A key part of this process is the requirement for airspace change sponsors to consider the potential noise impacts of their proposal and to consult those who may be affected. The CAA takes full account of the potential noise impact when making its decision.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential (a) direct and (b) indirect costs to the public purse of the proposed expansion of Heathrow airport.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on noise, air quality and costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the safety and noise pollution implications of new flight paths likely to be required as a result of Heathrow expansion.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on noise, air quality and costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department took to ensure Sir Howard Davies was not subject to any conflicts of interest when he was appointed as Chair of the Airports Commission.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Sir Howard Davies was required to complete and sign a register of interest disclosure form stating any potential conflict with his work in leading the independent Airports Commission. Registers of all the Commissioners’ interests are available on the Airports Commission’s website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/airports-commissioners-conflicts-of-interest-disclosure

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implication for his policy of evidence in the Airports Commission consultation of November 2014 which shows that Heathrow expansion will result in no overall increase in the number of UK passengers, business passengers, flights or connectivity because it would be fed by re-distributing growth from other UK airports; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of Heathrow expansion on the diversification of economic growth throughout the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on noise, air quality and costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will revise its consultation paper on air quality draft plans, published on 12 September 2015, to take into account findings by the US Environmental Protection Agency of car manufacturers cheating in vehicle emissions tests.

Rory Stewart

The projections modelled in the draft plans were based on road transport emission factors from COPERT (Computer Programme to calculate Emissions from Road Transport). These take into account the gap between real world emissions and those from testing.