Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2019 to Question 249823, Civil Aviation Authority, what recent estimate he has made of the scale of unlawful passenger transport operations.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The CAA, as the independent safety regulator, has not made an estimate of the scale of unlawful passenger transport operations.
There are strict rules in place that require commercial air transport operations to be operated by the holder of an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and an Operating Licence (OL). It is an offence to operate a commercial air transport flight without an AOC or OL.
Since 2016, the CAA’s investigations and enforcement team has received 21 allegations of illegal public transport. The CAA investigates such allegations and will prosecute people where there is sufficient evidence, and where it is in the public interest to do so. The CAA also conducts spot check visits to airfields and public events where aeroplane and helicopter operations take place, and where it finds evidence that a flight may have operated illegally it has the power to detain an aircraft and, where appropriate, take enforcement action.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2019 to Question 244025 and the Answer of 8 May 2019 249827 on East Midlands Rail Franchise: Rolling Stock , what assurances he has received from the train operator as to which type of diesel trains will replace the current fleet on Midland Main Line intercity services; and where those trains will be procured from.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Abellio’s bid contained assurances regarding the availability, capability and characteristics of the rolling stock that will be introduced on the Midland Mainline. With regard to the procurement of these trains, I refer the Honourable member to the answer given on 8 May [249827].
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2019 to Question 249824 on Railways: Sheffield, which organisation holds the information requested.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Network Rail, who produce industry performance data, may hold the information requested.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2019 to Question 249824 on Railways: Sheffield, what information his Department holds on train punctuality.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department holds various punctuality reports relating to the main industry punctuality measures that have been used historically, the Public Performance Measure and Cancellations and Significant Lateness. This information is held at train operator level, and down to the level of groups of services run by an operator. We do not hold data for individual routes themselves.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2019 to Question 245611 on Aircraft: Accidents, when (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues last had discussions with the football sector on safety and compliance issues in respect of commercial aircraft flights.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Secretary of State and his ministerial colleagues have not had discussions with representatives of the football industry on safety and compliance issues in respect of commercial air flights.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the last date was on which the Civil Aviation Authority conducted a campaign to (a) raise awareness of the dangers of illegal public transport operations and (b) guide consumers on what to look for when chartering an aircraft to ensure the flight is legal; how many illegal operators were identified; how many successful prosecutions there were of illegal operators arising from that campaign; what the outcomes were; how many airfields were revealed to be hosting illegal activity; and what steps (i) he and (ii) the CAA has taken to place an obligation on airfield operators to report suspicions of illegal public transport operations to the (A) CAA and (B) police.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The CAA last conducted a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal public transport operations, and to guide consumers on what to look for when chartering an aircraft to ensure the flight is legal, in 2013. The CAA is planning further work to educate consumers about the rules, and the potential risks of illegal charter flights.
It is not possible to link work aimed at raising awareness directly to specific enforcement actions. The CAA will prosecute people where there is sufficient evidence, and where it is in the public interest to do so, but enforcement action will vary depending on the circumstances of the incident. It includes educating individuals or organisations on the regulations to avoid breaches, a formal warning, the revocation of licences, approvals or certificates, or criminal investigations and prosecutions.
The CAA publishes the detail and outcome of all successful prosecutions since 2005 on its website at https://www.caa.co.uk/Our-work/About-us/Enforcement-and-prosecutions/. These include successful prosecutions for illegal public transport. Earlier this year, the CAA assisted with the prosecution of an individual in the Manchester Crown Court for, among other things, illegal public transport.
Both the CAA and the police encourage the reporting of potential illegal activity at airfields and provide a number of channels, including confidential reporting, for concerns to be reported.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of trains between (a) Sheffield and London and (b) London and Sheffield arrived on time between (i) April 2017 and March 2018 and (ii) April 2018 and March 2019.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department does not hold data on what proportion of trains between London and Sheffield and Sheffield and London arrived on time between April 2017 and March 2018 and April 2018 and March 2019 as it does not have a requirement for information on the performance of specific journeys.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2019 to Question 245609 on Railways: Franchises, whether the recent bidders for the East Midlands Trains franchise were subject to different requirements from those of previous bidders in respect of their responsibilities for pension contributions (a) now and (b) at a later date.
Answered by Andrew Jones
No. Since privatisation, train operators have always been, and will continue to be, responsible for paying employer pension contributions required under the schedule of contributions applicable during their franchise term. There are no plans to change this arrangement.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2019 to Question 244025 on East Midlands Rail Franchise: Rolling Stock, what type of train will replace existing rolling stock; and which train routes those trains will be transferred from.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The procurement of the trains that replace the current rolling stock is matter for the new operator.