Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate pedicabs.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Outside London, in England and Wales, pedicabs are treated as taxis for the purposes of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 and Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. Accordingly, pedicabs may be regulated as taxis under the provisions of the 1847 and 1976 Acts.
Within London pedicabs are not treated as taxis for the purpose of the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869, which is the equivalent legislation in London.
The Government is open to seeking opportunities to introduce legislation that enables the regulation of pedicabs in London, when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 22 January (HL Deb, col 832) on non-disclosure agreements and gagging orders, what they are doing to satisfy themselves that, in the public sector, taxpayers and licence-fee payers are not paying, through the use of settlement agreements, for wrong doing or management failures to be covered up when it is in the public interest for such matters to be exposed.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
I am sorry that I cannot add to the Answer I gave the Noble Lady on 22 January. The Government has committed to look at the structures around non-disclosure agreements and the evidence that is coming forward about how they are being used.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the results of the Roadside Litter working group.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
As set out in the Litter Strategy for England, the Government is determined to take action to tackle roadside litter, and has established of a working group to explore and understand the practical barriers to keeping our roadsides clear of litter, and to help identify and promote best-practice in roadside litter prevention.
The initial barriers identified by the group related primarily to issues which were already the subject of separate commitments under the Litter Strategy. In order for the group to make meaningful recommendations beyond the content of the Strategy, we have therefore prioritised delivery of these commitments. For example, we have recently laid new regulations which, subject to Parliamentary approval, will give councils in England (outside London) new powers to issue civil penalties to the keepers of vehicles from which litter is thrown. We have also appointed Keep Britain Tidy to carry out the proposed independent assessment of the cleanliness of those trunk roads which are maintained by Highways England and litter collected by local councils.
At the same time, a separate group convened by Keep Britain Tidy, and including Highways England and other members of the roadside litter working group, has continued to meet to consider these issues.
Whilst these recommended actions are being taken there is currently no publishable material from the roadside litter working group. We will consider next steps for this group following completion of the survey of cleanliness and confirmation of the new enforcement powers for councils.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish an update on the work of the Litter Innovation Fund.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The £450,000 Litter Innovation Fund was launched in August 2017 by Defra and DCLG, to provide grants of up to £10,000 to support councils and communities in the development and evaluation of innovative approaches to tackling litter. £45,000 of the funding is ear-marked for projects specifically aimed at tackling litter in the marine environment.
Applications for the first tranche of funding closed in December. The assessment panel had queries on some projects which are currently being followed up with applicants and successful projects will be informed next month. We will publish a list of successful applicants and grant amounts on the WRAP website once they have been awarded.
A second round of applications is expected to open shortly thereafter.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the steps taken by public transport operators to meet their legal duty to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour on vehicles and at stations and stops, and, in particular, of the display of notices against anti-social behaviour such as litter, putting feet on seats, and the consumption of food and drink.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Government is committed to reducing crime, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime wherever it occurs in the transport system. A wide variety of people and organisations are involved in helping to reduce anti-social behaviour and to deal with it when it occurs. These may be transport operators, local authorities, local police, British Transport Police, Passenger Transport Executives, Transport for London, town centre managers, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and schools.
The transport industry, local authorities, the police and others are already investing in and undertaking wide-ranging initiatives to improve the personal security of public transport passengers and staff and to keep our public transport systems as low crime environments.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 14 September 2017 (HL1408) about the steps they intend to take to regulate rickshaws and pedicabs in London, whether they have completed considering the options for regulation.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We have concluded that there is a need to regulate pedicabs and are investigating a suitable legislative slot to do this.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of the use and effectiveness of Community Protection Notices in reducing litter around restaurants and shops.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Community Protection Notice is one of the powers available to the police and local authorities through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to help them to prevent and respond to different forms of anti-social behaviour. We do not require these agencies to report to the Government on their use of the powers and we have made no assessment of their effectiveness in reducing litter around restaurants and shops.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many public transport operators have (1) applied, and (2) been granted, powers by the police to tackle anti-social behaviour since 2012.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Under section 5 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, Transport for London are able to apply to the court to grant an injunction to prevent individuals from engaging in anti-social behaviour and the Mayor of Greater Manchester wrote to the Home Office recently to request similar powers for Transport for Greater Manchester.
In addition, the West Midlands Combined Authority (Functions and Amendment) Order 2017 allows the West Midlands Combined Authority to apply for an injunction against individuals in respect of anti-social behaviour on the bus and tram network in the Combined Authority Area.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what powers currently exist to prevent the operators of rickshaws and pedicabs playing loud music on London's highways.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced a range of flexible powers to make it quicker and easier for police forces, local authorities and other partners to protect victims and communities from anti-social and nuisance behaviour. This includes Community Protection Notices, Public Spaces Protection Order and Dispersal Powers.
It is also an offence under section 97 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 for a person to use a motor vehicle on the road in such a manner as to cause any excessive noise. The police have the power to restrict noise from moving vehicles.
The police also have the power under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles. This can be as a result of driving a vehicle in a careless and inconsiderate manner or driving a vehicle other than on a road, contrary to the Road Traffic Act 1988, or using a vehicle in a manner causing, or likely to cause, alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public.
The Home Office has not issued any guidance on the use of these powers. How these powers are used is an operational matter for the police.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the main recommendations put forward by the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster in its report of September 2016; and when they intend to bring forward a motion for both Houses to debate and decide how the restoration and renewal works should progress.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government is grateful for the valuable work conducted by the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster and has considered the recommendations in its report carefully. It intends to bring forward a motion in both Houses to debate this important matter in the Autumn.