Asked by: Lord Haselhurst (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the Very Light Rail prototype under development by Coventry City Council and the University of Warwick.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Very Light Rail in Coventry is an emerging technology being researched and developed by Coventry City Council (CCC) and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). Local proposals to develop this technology include building a demonstrator route in Coventry City Centre.
WMCA has included the development of Very Light Rail within its £1.05 billion City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) programme agreed with Government. Investment decisions on the Very Light Rail programme are subject to approval by the Department for Transport.
The Department’s officials have reviewed the Strategic Outline Business Case for the VLRRP, which is now being progressed through bespoke governance as a Research and Development project to reflect the novel nature of the Very Light Rail prototype.
Asked by: Lord Haselhurst (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has for the implementation of the Teaching Excellence Framework.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
As set out in our White Paper, “Success as a Knowledge Economy: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice” we plan to implement the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) in stages.
Further detail on the timeline for Year Two is set out in the TEF Technical Consultation.
Asked by: Lord Haselhurst (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if he will bring forward proposals to establish a Joint Committee on Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster.
Answered by Chris Grayling
I expect to bring forward proposals to establish a Joint Committee on Restoration and Renewal before the House rises for the summer recess.
Asked by: Lord Haselhurst (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on rail franchising in the Greater Anglia region.
Answered by Claire Perry
Our policy is for franchising in the Greater Anglia region and nationally to support economic growth and deliver improvements for passengers.
We held a public consultation on the future of franchising in the East Anglia region and the results of this will be taken into account in the requirements for the current franchise competition.
We expect bidders to exceed these requirements. The Invitation To Tender will be provided to bidders in August and we will announce a winner in July 2016.
Asked by: Lord Haselhurst (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Written Statement of 8 January 2015, HCWS176, when the results of the review of the Government's overseas scholarships schemes will be available; and if he will make it his policy that no changes to the governance of those schemes will be made without prior consultation of Parliament.
Answered by David Lidington
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 8 January (HCWS176) the findings of the report are expected to be laid in the libraries of both Houses later this month, and published on line shortly after that.
Asked by: Lord Haselhurst (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Written Statement of 8 January 2015, HCWS176, what provision has been made for public consultation as part of the review of the Government's overseas scholarships schemes.
Answered by David Lidington
This overarching Review builds on the work of the two previous Triennial reviews, into Commonwealth and Marshall scholarships, including their public consultations. It focuses on whether there are synergies for better efficiencies between the three schemes.