Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an official in his Department has examined the feasibility of (a) partially and (b) wholly selling his Department's share of National Air Traffic Service Holdings.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
In 2012, following a call for evidence to explore the options for the future of the government’s 49% shareholding in NATS, the government announced that it planned to retain its share in NATS Holdings. However, as with all government held assets, the government continues to keep ownership options under review.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many stations on the Greater Anglia rail franchise have ticket offices.
Answered by Claire Perry
There are 131 stations managed by Abellio Greater Anglia, whilst their services call at 147 stations. Of those 131 stations 67 have staffed ticket offices.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the Government of the new Greater Anglia rail franchise.
Answered by Claire Perry
The current Direct Award for the Greater Anglia franchise which started in July 2014 is a premium paying franchise, therefore there is no cost to the Government.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that ticket machines on the Greater Anglia rail franchise provide the same value and ticketing options as ticket offices.
Answered by Claire Perry
Following the ticket vending machine summit held in December with the rail industry, the industry has committed to improving and simplifying the rail ticketing system so that passengers can be confident of making the right choice when they buy their tickets from any retail outlet. As part of this, rail operators have agreed to improve the information passengers receive when buying tickets from ticket machines. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has also issued a Code of Practice on ticket retail information, which the industry is expected to follow. We are closely monitoring the progress the industry is making.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the (a) Government and (b) bidders of the tendering process for the new Greater Anglia rail franchise.
Answered by Claire Perry
Our current estimate of the cost for the tendering process is £6.63m through to June 2016. This is in line with the costs of other franchising projects, taking into account recommendations made in Richard Brown’s Review into Rail Franchising. The actual spend will be published annually in our Departmental accounts. With regard to bidders costs, the Department makes no such estimate - this is an internal matter for bidders,
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what services are outsourced under the Greater Anglia rail franchise; and whether he plans to require such services to be brought in-house when the next such franchise is let.
Answered by Claire Perry
There are no such outsourced services. Decisions regarding outsourcing are commercial ones best made by the operator, not dictated by the Department.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff are employed by Greater Anglia rail passenger services as (a) station staff, (b) ticket office staff, (c) guards or train crew, (d) cleaning staff, (e) catering staff, (f) security staff, (g) administrative staff and (h) managerial staff.
Answered by Claire Perry
As of 12 June 2015, there are 3,133 staff employed by Abellio Greater Anglia (AGA). On the AGA Franchise, the Department monitors the staffing levels of guards and train crew (1090 on 12 June), cleaning staff (220 on 12 June) and catering staff (57 on 12 June). The Department does not monitor the other categories to this level of granularity.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ensure that bidders for the next contract for the Greater Anglia rail passenger service take steps so that the living wage is paid through the contract chain.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department is open to receiving bids for the East Anglia franchise containing commitments to pay the living wage but salary and benefit arrangements are a matter for employers to determine.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many stations there are on the Greater Anglia rail franchise; and how many of those stations are unstaffed.
Answered by Claire Perry
There are 131 stations managed by Abellio Greater Anglia, whilst their services call at 147 stations. Of those 131 stations, under the terms of the Franchise Agreement, 67 have staffed ticket offices. All other staffing decisions are a matter for the operator and they have no need to inform us of their decisions.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff are employed by Greater Anglia rail passenger services.
Answered by Claire Perry
As of 12 June 2015, there are 3,133 staff employed by Abellio Greater Anglia (AGA). On the AGA Franchise, the Department monitors the staffing levels of guards and train crew (1090 on 12 June), cleaning staff (220 on 12 June) and catering staff (57 on 12 June). The Department does not monitor the other categories to this level of granularity.