Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the need to update travel advice for cruise ships.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against ocean cruising informed by public health risk assessments. This advice is kept under continuous review. The risk assessments to inform travel advice from Public Health England and the Department of Health and Social Care are not published separately.
The FCDO remains fully committed to working closely with the Department for Transport and key industry leaders, informed by the changing public health situation during this pandemic to agree on the steps required to restart cruises safely.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total estimated cost of the smart motorway work currently taking place on the M6 motorway; and what is the projected completion date.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
There are three smart motorway schemes under construction currently on the M6. These are between Junction 2-4, Junctions 13-15, and Junctions 16-19.
The projected total cost for all three schemes is £752.7 million. The expected completion date for all the work is March 2022.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the smart motorway work currently taking place on the M6 and other motorways has been evaluated by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Infrastructure and Projects Authority evaluates major schemes within the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) - those projects which are the largest, most innovative or contentious. The projects delivering the smart motorway work taking place on the M6 currently, and on other motorways, are not classified as such and, therefore, are not part of the GMPP. However, Highways England deploys appropriate project management governance and assurance in order to maintain effective delivery of its smart motorway projects.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated annual cost of their decision to suspend annual increases on fuel duty since 2010.
Answered by Lord Bates
The freeze in fuel duty announced at Autumn Budget 2017 is forecast to cost the Exchequer £830 million in its first year. These costs continue in future years.
Freezes since 2011 have meant the Exchequer has not collected around £46 billion in revenues through to 2018-19, and a further £38 billion will be foregone over the Budget forecast period as a result of these previously announced freezes.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions have taken place between the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government about cuts to local authority funding and their impact on supported local bus services.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Secretary of State for Transport regularly meets with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government where a number of issues are discussed, including funding.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact of cuts to local authority funding on the provision of supported bus services.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Central and local government support for local bus services consists of payments for supported services, Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) and concessionary travel reimbursement (effectively a subsidy to concessionary passengers). In 2016/17, estimated total net support paid in England was £2.21 billion, of which £1.03 billion or 47% was for concessionary travel. In real terms, annual total net support for bus services since 2010/11 has averaged 23% more than in the 1996/97 to 2009/10 period.
Local authorities are best placed to decide how to provide supported bus services, reflecting local needs. The Government encourages local authorities, operators and local communities to work in partnership, and we have seen some excellent examples of how this can drive growth. For instance, bus usage in Bristol has increased by 42% since 2009/10 where there is a collaboration between the local authorities and the local bus operator First Bristol; whilst the Liverpool City Region Bus Alliance – between Merseytravel, Arriva and Stagecoach – has achieved impressive strong patronage growth, with the Alliance reporting that bus journeys made by all paying passengers went up by 16.2 per cent overall in the three years up to Autumn 2017.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many motorists have been prosecuted for the inconsiderate use of the middle lane on the motorway network since the announcement that the police would take appropriate action to discourage such behaviour.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they first received notification from Network Rail that the costs of some projected enhancement and electrification schemes were likely to exceed the amounts listed as available to them in the budget for Control Period 5.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
By spring 2014, as Network Rail began to develop designs for its enhancements to a greater level of maturity, it identified increases in cost forecasts on some of the major electrification schemes and discussed these forecasts with the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Very few of the schemes had passed through the ORR’s regulatory process to ascertain their efficient price by this point in time, so the forecasts remained indicative.
In light of this emerging picture, last summer Secretary of State for Transport asked Network Rail as a matter of urgency to provide an update on forecast costs across the whole programme, working with the ORR and DfT officials.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Network Rail enhancement and electrification schemes that have now been paused for reconsideration, whether they plan to take steps to ensure that all other remaining projects set out for completion in Control Period 5 will proceed as scheduled; and if that is not possible, whether they plan to publish a revised and achievable programme of upgrades and enhancements as soon as possible.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Secretary of State for Transport said in his statement on 25 June, important aspects of Network Rail’s investment programme are costing more and taking longer.
The Transport Secretary has paused electrification work on Midland Main Line and preliminary electrification structure work on the North TransPennine Line east of Stalybridge. This will allow Network Rail to plan an integrated programme which delivers reduced journey times, improved performance and capacity, alongside electrification.
All other schemes will continue to be delivered while the new Chair reviews the programme delivery as a whole. He is due to report back to the Secretary of State in the autumn detailing his proposals for re-planning the rail enhancements portfolio.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that any further private sector involvement in Network Rail takes place only after detailed consideration and consultation with the industry and the relevant trade unions; and what assessment they have made of whether the complete privatisation of the company is either feasible or desirable.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The government has asked Sir Peter Hendy, Network Rail Chairman, to lead a review into Network Rail’s investment programme. This will be completed by Autumn 2015.
The government has also asked Nicola Shaw, Chief Executive of High Speed 1, to advise on the longer-term future shape and financing of Network Rail. This work will report in time for Budget 2016.