Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of pavement parking on levels of social isolation.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is fully aware that pavement parking can pose problems for pedestrians, particularly for people with sight or mobility impairments. Local authorities already have powers to restrict pavement parking, but the Department has consulted on additional measures to help councils tackle this problem. The Department has not had recent discussions with Gateshead Council, but the consultation was open to all local authorities.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of levels of support for a default pavement parking ban among the general public.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is fully aware that pavement parking can pose problems for pedestrians, particularly for people with sight or mobility impairments. Local authorities already have powers to restrict pavement parking, but the Department has consulted on additional measures to help councils tackle this problem. The Department has not had recent discussions with Gateshead Council, but the consultation was open to all local authorities.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had recent discussions with Gateshead Council on the potential merits of prohibiting pavement parking in Gateshead.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is fully aware that pavement parking can pose problems for pedestrians, particularly for people with sight or mobility impairments. Local authorities already have powers to restrict pavement parking, but the Department has consulted on additional measures to help councils tackle this problem. The Department has not had recent discussions with Gateshead Council, but the consultation was open to all local authorities.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of closing railway station ticket offices in Tyne and Wear on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the North East.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.
Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the potential impact of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement on the rights of rail passengers.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Ticketing and Settlement Agreement is a contract between the Train Operating Companies and the Rail Delivery Group, and sets out the industry led process that train operators must follow when proposing changes to ticket offices. It is a long-standing and well-established process.
Under the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, when proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours (including closures) operators are required, amongst other things, to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers. We would also expect operators to consider equality related needs of passengers and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2023 to Question 188243 on Horticulture: Peat, whether her Department plans to publish guidance to assist organisations in determining whether they qualify as professional growers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Yes, as our legislative proposals are developed suitable guidance will be published in the normal way.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 April to Question 174455 on Horticulture: Peat, what guidance her Department issues on whether constituted allotment associations are professional growers with respect to the ban on peat based products and the delayed timeline for removal of peat from professional growing operations.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government proposes to restrict and ultimately ban the sale of peat and peat-containing products used in horticulture in England by 2030 with restrictions on professional use after 2026. The purpose of the proposed technical exemptions will be to allow time for professional growers, operating on a commercial basis, to overcome technical barriers to adopting peat-free growing media. Whether an organisation is operating on a professional, and therefore commercial, basis will be a matter for individual organisations to assess.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Smart Export Guarantee on private investment in renewable technology; and whether he plans to link the SEG tariffs to the prices suppliers charge customers for energy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) annual report, published by Ofgem in October 2022, highlighted a significant increase in the number of installations registering for a SEG tariff (34,020 installations compared to 4,593 from Year 1).
The SEG is a cost-reflective and market led mechanism. Suppliers determine the value of the exported electricity and take account of the associated administrative costs when setting their tariffs.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that workers on the National Living Wage receive any uplift in pay as soon as it comes into effect rather than after a pay reference period has ended.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
National Minimum Wage (NMW) regulations are clear that all workers must be paid at least the NMW for the hours worked in each pay reference period (PRP). When the NMW rates change, the increase applies to the first PRP starting on or after the date of any change. The Government recognises that low paid workers want to receive the pay rise that they are entitled to as soon as possible after the rates increased on 1 April.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s total annual expenditure was on vessel maintenance, including unscheduled work in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The table below sets out the total annual expenditure, by financial year, of vessel maintenance/refits including unscheduled repair costs to Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels between 2010 and 2022.
Financial Year | Repair costs (including unscheduled repairs) (£million) | Refit cost (£million) |
2010-11 | 1.829 | 38.717 |
2011-12 | 1.283 | 18.853 |
2012-13 | 1.770 | 75.459 |
2013-14 | 2.055 | 80.820 |
2014-15 | 12.994 | 88.887 |
2015-16 | 7.617 | 59.941 |
2016-17 | 8.704 | 24.229 |
2017-18 | 8.350 | 81.379 |
2018-19 | 4.830 | 49.609 |
2019-20 | 7.543 | 64.570 |
2020-21 | 9.760 | 60.513 |
2021-22 | 11.924 | 68.602 |
A breakdown of repair costs into those that were scheduled and unscheduled could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Royal Fleet Auxiliary managed vessels are presently maintained under the Future In-Service Support (FISS) agreement. These contracts were signed in 2018, have a duration of 10 years, are worth approximately £1.1 billion and are expected to deliver around £115 million of savings. Prior to the signature of the FISS agreement, RFA managed vessels were managed under a set of five In-Service Support contracts. These contracts were awarded in 2008 and renewed in 2012 for a further five-year period at an additional cost of £349 million.