Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the imposition of fines on people who ride bicycles on pavements.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has no plans to review the imposition of fines on people who ride bicycles on the footway.
Except in designated areas (such as shared used paths), cycling on the pavement (“footway”) is an offence under Section 72 of the Highways Act 1835. Officers can issue verbal warnings, fixed penalty notices or report the road user for formal prosecution.
The enforcement of cycling on the footway and other cycling offences is an operational matter for the police.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what was the cost of this year's refurbishment of the House of Lords' River Restaurant.
Answered by Lord Laming
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. A full refurbishment of the seating area, fridges and payment stands in the River Restaurant was carried out in September and October 2019. The new design has increased the number of available seats by four and improved the accessibility and flow of the area.
The costs for this project are laid out below:
Enabling and redecoration works: £35,000
Equipment and fittings: £83,207
Total Cost of Project: £118,207
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government who is (1) accountable for the British Transport Police, and (2) responsible for making operational decisions regarding the deployment of British Transport Police officers on passenger trains across the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The British Transport Police Authority (BTPA), an arm’s length body of the Department, is responsible for setting the BTP’s strategy, policing plans and budget, holding the BTP force to account, and ensuring its effectiveness and efficiency. The Chief Constable of the BTP is responsible for making operational decisions on the deployment of BTP officers on the rail network across England, Scotland and Wales.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is (1) the role, and (2) the total complement, of the British Transport Police.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The British Transport Police (BTP) is responsible for policing the rail network across England, Scotland and Wales, providing a service to rail operators, their staff and passengers. It also polices the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, the Midland Metro tram system, Croydon Tramlink, Tyne and Wear Metro, Glasgow Subway and Emirates AirLine. The BTP has 3107 police officers, 303 police community support officers, 311 special officers and 1567 police staff (as at 31 March 2019).
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Westminster City Council about the reasons for Parliament Square being regularly obstructed by black cabs; and what action that are taking as a result of any such discussions.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department has not had any discussions with Westminster City Council about obstructions around Parliament Square. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and managed by Transport for London (TfL). Roads in London are managed by TfL and the relevant London Borough. It therefore falls to TfL and Westminster City Council to deal with traffic management around Parliament Square.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent drones from interfering with equestrian events, including national hunt racing and flat racing.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
There are already existing laws which provide safety, security and data protection assurance which are relevant here.
The Air Navigation Order 2016 restricts small unmanned aircraft (a drone of between 0-20kg) with a camera from being flown over or within 150m of congested areas, over or within 150m of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 people or within 50m of any vessels, vehicle or structure or people not under the control of the remote pilot.
Furthermore, small drone users that collect personal data must comply with the Data Protection Act 2018, unless a relevant exemption applies.
All drone users should also be aware that the Countryside and Rights of Way Act can apply and restricts people from undertaking any commercial activity, such as filming or photographing, on open-access land without the permission of the landowner. The CAA also require that commercial drone operators obtain a Permission for Commercial Operation (PfCO).
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of the advertising used to promote the rebranding of Virgin Trains to the London North Eastern Railway.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The cost of advertising connected with brand awareness and the launch of London North Eastern Railway (LNER) was approximately £936,000, which includes print, radio and digital marketing. This activity was critical to ensure that customers were aware that the change from Virgin Trains East Coast to LNER would not involve any disruption to services and that the change did not lead to any loss of revenue. This level of marketing spend is comparable with that of other normal intercity train operators.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much (1) has been spent to date and, (2) further has been allocated, for the rebranding of rolling stock and personnel uniforms to London North Eastern Railway from Virgin Trains East Coast.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The estimated cost of rebranding the existing rolling stock and issuing new uniform items to staff is approximately £550,000. The incurring of these costs are normal at the end of any franchise where the operator changes as LNER could not use the Virgin brand following the transfer of the services to LNER.
It was also important to spend this money in order to help establish this new brand in the market and maintain customer awareness of the services on offer. Further expenditure will be incurred in the future on developing and marketing the LNER brand as the operator of the East Coast route. This will be a matter for the LNER Board and decisions will be taken by them on a commercial basis.