Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish submissions made by the Wales Rail Board to his Department.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The aim of the Wales Rail Board is to facilitate open and honest collaboration between the Welsh and UK Governments, and routine submissions to ministers are not in the public domain.
Future formal outputs from the Board may be published by agreement between the UK and Welsh Government.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the Wales Rail Board has met since it was established.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Wales Rail Board was inaugurated in March 2022 and has met on a total of six occasions to date.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the membership of the Wales Rail Board.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Wales Rail Board is a senior director-level meeting comprising members as shown below. Representatives of other organisations attend the Board by invitation.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on plans for a new Swansea Parkway train station.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are working with Transport for Wales, Welsh Government and local authorities to develop plans for better connectivity within South West Wales, including new station provision. The Government has established a Wales Rail Board with the Welsh Government, to develop a strategic programme and prioritisation for the future progression of rail schemes in Wales.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish his Department's expenditure on Network Rail operations in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Network Rail’s expenditure for England in the past five years (excluding interest, tax and centrally managed costs) was as follows shown in £m:
| 2021-22 | 2020-21 | 2019-20 | 2018-19 | 2017-18 |
Operating Costs | 3,082 | 3,053 | 2,595 | 2,274 | 2,041 |
Traction electricity, Industry costs and rates | 769 | 758 | 710 | 667 | 577 |
Renewals | 3,244 | 3,234 | 2,410 | 2,547 | 1,875 |
Enhancements | 1,616 | 1,443 | 1,504 | 2,450 | 2,774 |
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Total | 8,711 | 8,489 | 7,220 | 7,938 | 7,267 |
By way of context, 93% of rail journeys in Great Britain started or ended in England over the 5-year period covered above.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish his Department's expenditure on Network Rail operations in Wales in each of the last five years.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Network Rail’s expenditure for Wales in the past five years (excluding interest, tax and centrally managed costs) was as follows shown in £m:
2 | |||||
| 2021-22 | 2020-21 | 2019-20 | 2018-19 | 2017-18 |
Operating Costs | 184 | 177 | 163 | 141 | 122 |
Traction electricity, industry costs and rates | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 17 |
Renewals | 222 | 203 | 163 | 161 | 186 |
Enhancements | 10 | 16 | 116 | 230 | 177 |
Total | 434 | 414 | 460 | 551 | 502 |
The higher level of enhancement costs in earlier years is mostly due to the Great Western Electrification Programme.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to bring forward legislation to retain Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 in UK law before the 2023 sunset contained in the Retained EU Law Bill.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department is currently in the process of reviewing its stock of Retained EU Law, including Regulation (EC) No.261/2004. The Department will set out its approach to each piece of Retained EU Law in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that people entering or leaving the UK by air benefit from the protections of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 by entering into bilateral treaties with third countries.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to protecting the rights of passengers when travelling by air.
Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 as retained in UK law (Regulation 261/2004), makes provisions on the rights of passengers in the event of flight cancellations, long delays, or denied boarding. It applies to all flights departing from the UK, arriving to the UK on a UK or EU carrier, or arriving in an EU member state on a UK carrier. The rights of passengers travelling on any other flight will depend on the laws of the country it departs from, and where the carrier is registered.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the Treasury internal review into HS2 reported in the Financial Times on 17 October 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We will not comment on the detail of leaked reports or on commercially sensitive matters. HS2 is well underway delivering vital infrastructure investment to contribute to Britain’s economic growth with 27,000 people working on it already.
We do not intend to publish the review as this was internal advice to the Minister for HS2. We report on the programme's status to Parliament every six months and Ministers will provide their next update to Parliament shortly.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from the Welsh Government in relation to future investment in the rail network in West Wales.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Investment in the rail network in Wales is coordinated through a number of Metro Development Strategy Boards, which meet regularly. The Department for Transport is represented on the Swansea Bay and West Wales Board alongside Welsh Government and other key stakeholders including Network Rail.