Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 26 October (HL10766), how much money has been spent to date on the Crewe leg (Phase 2a) of HS2.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
This is set out in the latest Parliamentary Report on HS2. The Department will continue to work with HS2 Ltd to bring early / enabling site activities to a safe stop and conclude any land remediation activities for the handing back of sites.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 22 November (HL278), whether the Prime Minister's commitment to deliver new rail schemes "far more quickly" than the scrapped Manchester leg of HS2, as set out in their Network North published in October (CP 946), applies to the lines from (1) Burton to Leicester, and (2) Stoke to Leek.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Under the Network North announcement, the Government has committed to delivering both schemes, both of which could be delivered quicker than Phase 2b of HS2 which was due to complete in 2041.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which members of His Majesty's Government are not in receipt of a ministerial salary.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The full list of ministers can be found on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-november-2023
The ministers currently appointed who are not in receipt of a ministerial salary are: Richard Holden MP, Rt Hon John Glen MP, Baroness Nevile-Rolfe DBE CMG, Lord Ahmad, Rt Hon Lord Benyon, the Earl of Minto, Lord Bellamy KC, Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale OBE MP, Andrew Griffith MP, Viscount Camrose, Lord Markham CBE, Rt Hon Earl Howe CBE, Lord Johnson CBE, Lord Offord of Garvel, Baroness Barran MBE, and Baroness Swinburne.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 26 October (HL10766), how much money has been spent to date on the Manchester leg of HS2.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Information related to the spend to date on HS2, including Phase 2b Western Leg, was provided in the most recent Parliamentary Report published in November 2023.
To date, £0.7bn (2019 prices) has been spent on the Phase 2b Western Leg of the HS2 Programme. This funding was used to prepare the Phase 2b Western Leg Bill. Following the Network North announcement, Government is now considering options to repurpose this Bill in order to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail.
The Department for Transport remains committed to providing regular updates to Parliament on the progress of the Programme with a further update expected in Spring 2024.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to paragraph 63 in the Department of Transport's document Network North published in October (CP 946), what is (1) the estimated cost, and (2) the estimated completion date, for the lines from (a) Burton to Leicester, and (b) Stoke to Leek.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Following the Network North announcement, the Department for Transport is in the early stages of planning next steps, including delivery timelines, for individual schemes and is working closely with Network Rail and other delivery partners to develop and deliver on Government priorities. Further information will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the cancellation of the Manchester leg of HS2, whether they will list the proposed new rail schemes, indicating in each case (1) the estimated cost, and (2) the estimated date of completion.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The full list of rail infrastructure schemes has been published on gov.uk and can be found by searching for the title ‘Network North: transforming British transport’.
Officials are in the early stages of planning, including delivery timelines and estimated costs, for these schemes and are working closely with Network Rail and other partners to develop and deliver these Government priorities.
All schemes will be subject to the development and approval of business cases and will undergo all formal governance, in line with relevant fiscal and legal duties.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money has been spent to date on the Manchester leg of HS2.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Spending up to and including February 2023 was reported in the Department’s last HS2 report to Parliament in June 2023. Updated figures will be provided in the Department’s next six-monthly report on HS2.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 September (HL9981), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what has been the average tenure of office notwithstanding machinery of government changes, during the past 10 years, of (1) the Prime Minister, (2) the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and (3) the Secretary of State for (a) Foreign Affairs, (b) Home Affairs, (c) Education, (d) Health, (e) Defence, (f) Transport, (g) Culture, Media and Sport, (h) Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (i) Work and Pensions, (j) Northern Ireland, (k) Scotland, and (l) Wales.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Cabinet Office does not collate this data centrally. Notwithstanding, to assist the noble Lord’s scrutiny, a list has been compiled from public information. The 10 year period used is 4 October 2013 - 4 October 2023.
Where Ministers were in post on 4 October 2013, our calculations have used the start of their tenure, which may precede that date.
Minister | Average Tenure from 4/10/2013-4/10/2023 (Rounded to the nearest day) |
Prime Minister | 979 |
Chancellor of the Exchequer | 699 |
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | 699 |
Secretary of State for Home Affairs | 699 |
Secretary of State for Education | 489 |
Secretary of State for Health | 674 |
Secretary of State for Defence | 729 |
Secretary of State for Transport | 809 |
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport | 368 |
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 506 |
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | 543 |
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | 578 |
Secretary of State for Scotland | 1219 |
Secretary of State for Wales | 674 |
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the average tenure of office notwithstanding machinery of government changes, during the past 10 years, of (1) the Prime Minister, (2) the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and (3) the Secretary of State for (a) Foreign Affairs, (b) Home Affairs, (c) Education, (d) Health, (e) Defence, (f) Transport, (g) Culture, Media and Sport, (h) Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (i) Work and Pensions, (j) Northern Ireland, (k) Scotland, and (l) Wales.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Cabinet Office does not calculate the average tenure of ministerial office. However, details of ministerial office-holders are on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers. Details of the previous holders of each ministerial post dating back to 2010 are also available by selecting each ministerial role on this webpage, then 'previous holders’.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government who are the Trade Envoys; to which country each Trade Envoy has been assigned; and what is the party affiliation of each Trade Envoy and the length of time in post.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
There are currently 36 Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys and information as below.
Country | Trade Envoy | Date of PM Appointment | ||
LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN | ||||
Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina | Mark Menzies MP (Con) | September 2016 & September 2017 for Argentina | ||
Panama, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica | Baroness Hooper of Liverpool (Con) | October 2020 | ||
Brazil | Marco Longhi MP (Con) | August 2021 | ||
AFRICA | ||||
Algeria | Lord Risby of Haverhill (Con) | November 2012 | ||
Uganda & Rwanda (watching brief for DRC) | Lord Popat (Con) | January 2016 | ||
Egypt and Cameroon | Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP (DUP) | January 2016 & August 2021 for Cameroon | ||
Nigeria | Helen Grant MP (Con) | October 2020 | ||
Kenya | Theo Clarke MP (Con) | Reappointed May 2023 | ||
South Africa & Mauritius | Andrew Selous MP(Con) | September 2017 & January 2023 for Mauritius | ||
Tanzania | Lord Walney (Non-Affiliated) | August 2021 | ||
Ghana | Baroness Hoey (Non-Affiliated) | August 2021 | ||
Tunisia & Libya | Yvonne Fovargue MP (Lab) | March 2022 | ||
Angola, Zambia & Ethiopia | Laurence Robertson MP (Con) | Reappointed March 2023 | ||
MIDDLE EAST | ||||
Israel | Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated) | October 2020 | ||
Iran | Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Con) | January 2016 | ||
Lebanon | Lord Risby of Haverhill (Con) | August 2019 | ||
Iraq | Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (Con) | January 2014 | ||
Jordan, Kuwait & Palestine Territories | Baroness Morris of Bolton (Con) | November 2012 | ||
UAE | Gareth Thompson MP (Con) | March 2023 | ||
| ||||
Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan | Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (Con) | April 2016 & Kazakhstan July 2017 | ||
Mongolia | Daniel Kawczynski MP (Con) | October 2020 | ||
Ukraine | Baroness Meyer (Con) | October 2020 | ||
Turkey | Lord Hutton (Lab) | May 2022 | ||
EUROPE | ||||
Switzerland & Liechtenstein | Sir Stephen Timms MP (Lab) | August 2021 | ||
Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia) | Martin Vickers MP (Con) | October 2020 | ||
APAC | ||||
Australia | Lord Botham (Crossbench) | August 2021 | ||
Taiwan | Lord Faulkner (Lab) | January 2016 | ||
Japan | Greg Clark MP (Con) | May 2022 | ||
Thailand, Myanmar, Brunei & Vietnam | Mark Garnier MP (Con) | October 2020 & for Vietnam January 2023 | ||
Singapore | Lord Sarfraz (Con) | January 2022 | ||
Republic of Korea | Sir John Whittingdale (Con) | May 2022 | ||
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines & ASEAN | Richard Graham MP (Con) | Reappointed March 2023 | ||
Cambodia & Laos | Heather Wheeler MP (Con) | Reappointed March 2023 | ||
New Zealand | David Mundell MP (Con) | Reappointed March 2023 | ||
SOUTH ASIA | ||||
Bangladesh | Rushanara Ali MP (Lab) | March 2016 | ||
Sri Lanka | Lord Mervyn Davies of Abersoch (Crossbench) | October 2020 | ||
North America | ||||
Canada | Dame Maria Miller MP (Con) | May 2022 | ||
USA (specific focus on driving trade promotion with existing MOU states) | Sir Conor Burns MP (Con) | May 2023 | ||