Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2001 to Question 144163 on Irish Sea (Pollution), if he will list the pollution incidents involving discharges above 0.01 tonnes in the Irish sea in each of the last 4 years, with the (a) date of the incident, (b) the size of the incident, (c) the name of the company that reported the spill and (d) the name of the company responsible in each case.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The information requested is not recorded in a format that could easily be extracted from or readily available, and it could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the validity of research commissioned by his Department and undertaken by UCL on the effect of vehicle goods checks on traffic levels in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Lord Grayling
This analysis was procured by the Department and undertaken by a third party consultant two years ago. The modelling relies on a set of stylised assumptions to assess a range of scenarios. Those scenarios were developed to examine the sensitivity of traffic flows to delays. They are not a prediction of likely events.
DfT has been fully preparing for a range of scenarios and has focused on no deal planning for some time. We continue to work closely with a range of partners on plans to ensure that trade and traffic can continue to move as freely as possible between the UK and Europe.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of transport spending per capita in (a) Wales, b) London and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Figures on public sector expenditure at a regional level are part of the Government’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics. These provide statistical allocations of public spending according to where the benefits of that spend are accrued, although the complexity of transport networks means that it is not always possible or appropriate to allocate transport spending on a ‘who benefits’ basis. Where this is the case, expenditure has been apportioned based on actual regional spend rather than where the benefit lies. This is particularly relevant for the rail network and highways.
When comparing expenditure across regions a number of factors should be considered. The benefits from spend on transport interventions will often accrue to people far beyond the residents of the immediate local area or region. This is particularly the case for spending on the railways which connect cities and regions across the country and deliver broader benefits beyond the region concerned. In addition, when expenditure is presented on a “per head of population” (or “per capita”) basis, it does not account for the pressure that large numbers of commuters and visitors from outside of a region can add to the transport networks.
The latest CRA statistics, published by HM Treasury on 20th November 2018, include total public expenditure on transport per capita on a regional basis from 2013-14 up to 2017-18, and are published at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-and-regional-analysis.
The statistics include spend on transport by all public sector organisations including the Department for Transport, Local Authorities, Public Corporations (in the case of transport, this is mainly spend by London Underground) and other Government Departments including devolved administrations.
The Department for Transport does not allocate funding to transport on a ‘per head of population’ basis. Investment decisions are based on a rigorous and fair appraisal process that ensures spending goes to the projects and programmes where it delivers greatest value-for-money for both taxpayers and passengers.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being when formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national well-being in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Government has allocated more than £61bn in transport capital investment over the five years to 2020/21. This is record investment that ensures communities become better connected and journeys become easier and more reliable, in recognition of the vital role that transport plays in people’s lives.
The Department takes forward a number of policies that help promote personal wellbeing, including the recently published Inclusive Transport Strategy which aims to make travel easier for disabled people, and the £1.2bn Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy that aims to make cycling and walking the natural choice for short journeys.
The Department is also supporting the Government’s plan to help tackle loneliness as announced by the Prime Minister in January in response to the Jo Cox Commission. We have contributed £1m to the Building Connections Fund and sit on the cross-government group which will take responsibility for driving action on loneliness across all parts of government and keeping it firmly on the agenda.
The Department uses a wide range of measures that help to inform policy formulation, including evidence drawn from across the ONS. As such, it is not possible to identify all specific instances where the use of ONS estimates of personal wellbeing have been used in the last 12 months.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what rules are in place for the testing of (a) drugs and (b) alcohol consumption by commercial pilots.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 sets out a prescribed alcohol limit for people involved in aviation activities, including flight crew. The Act authorises the police to test flight crew for drugs and alcohol after accidents or incidents, or with due cause at any other time.
Under European aviation safety regulations, all UK Air Operator Certificate (AOC) holders should have a drug and alcohol policy, as part of their Safety Management System. Trained staff carry out screening tests usually by mouth swab, breath, blood, hair or urine sample. A confirmed positive result should be reported to the Civil Aviation Authorities medical department. The Civil Aviation Authority publishes guidance for AOC holders on drug and alcohol policies, including testing, which can be found at www.caa.co.uk/cap1686.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has allocated to (a) cycling and (b) walking infrastructure projects in each of the last 20 years.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Department does not hold a detailed breakdown of funding allocated for cycling and walking infrastructure projects in each of the last 20 years.
In total £1.2 billion has been identified which may be invested in walking and cycling in England over the current five-year Spending Review period (2016/17 - 2020/21). The money comes from a range of ring-fenced and non-ring-fenced funding streams across a number of Government departments, as set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, which was published in April 2017 and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy
The Government has made further support available for cycling and walking infrastructure in England through various funds, including the National Productivity Investment Fund, Housing Infrastructure Fund, Transforming Cities Fund and Clean Air Fund. Decisions on bidding for funding/the allocation of awarded funding for dedicated cycle networks are for local authorities to make alongside their other local priorities.
In the previous five-year period (2011/12 – 2015/16), the Government allocated over £900m for Cycling and Walking projects.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of his Department's spend on day-to-day goods has comprised fair trade products in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to which organisations his Department has outsourced functions since 2011.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of workers employed directly by his Department belonged to a trade union in each of the last five years for which data is available.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
We do not hold records of all civil servants within the Department for Transport who are members of trade unions.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) full-time staff, (b) part-time staff, (c) temporary staff and (d) any other staff were directly employed on zero-hours contracts by his Department in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Department (including Central department and Executive Agencies) has had no full-time, part-time, temporary or any other staff employed on zero-hours contracts during the last eight years.