Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of asylum seekers claim to be under the age of 18 once they have reached their assigned hotel or army camp.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what fiscal provision has been made to cover the costs of relocating key Network Rail and DfT Operator Limited personnel to Derby, as part of establishing the new headquarters of Great British Railways.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The work to establish GBR Headquarters in Derby is continuing. It is not, at this time, confirmed which key roles will be based in Derby. Should any key roles be relocated, the costs associated with this will be defined as part of formal consultation.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which bodies Great British Railways will be statutorily required to consult when proposing service or infrastructure changes.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Government is bringing track and train together in Great British Railways (GBR), which will be a directing mind able to take long-term strategic decisions to make the best use of the network and which will deliver benefits for passengers, freight users and taxpayers. GBR will set out their plans for passenger services and infrastructure in an Integrated Business Plan, which the Secretary of State will approve. When GBR proposes to update its business plan, under the Railways Bill it will be required to consult the Office of Rail and Road and Passenger Watchdog, as well as seek approval from the Secretary of State. This will ensure that there is expert, third party scrutiny on proposed material updates before delivery changes
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Great British Railways will be required to publish a separation policy for its operational and infrastructure functions.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The aim of the Railways Bill is to unite track and train and to reduce the fragmentation that comes with the separation of infrastructure and passenger services operations – a model which has repeatedly failed passengers over many years. However, where there is a need for safeguards, there will be separation. For example, there will be separation of decision-making between GBR's retailer and the wider retail industry management functions for which GBR will be responsible. This will be delivered via a code of practice, which will be owned and managed by the ORR and have the force of a licence condition.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Great British Railways will be required to publish all access decisions and criteria used in determining them.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
GBR will take access decisions against duties clearly defined in the bill and public law principles including to act fairly and transparently. As ORR do now, we would expect GBR to publish its access decisions. GBR will be required in Legislation to publish its criteria for taking access decisions in its Access and Use Policy.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to establish an independent mechanism for public reporting of rail safety incidents.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The main independent mechanism for publicly reporting safety incidents on the railways is the Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System (CIRAS). The Office of Rail and Road also operate an anonymous whistleblowing service. Therefore, no plans exist to create an additional independent mechanism for public reporting of rail safety incidents.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what process Great British Railways will follow when preparing and consulting on its long-term strategic plan for the rail network.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
GBR will engage with stakeholders as it develops its short, medium and long-term plans. However, it will be a matter for GBR to decide on its systems and processes when it is established.
With regard to the Secretary of State's Long-Term Rail Strategy, allowed for in the Railways Bill recently introduced, there will be extensive engagement with key stakeholders as the strategy is developed with statutory consultees, such as the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Post Office and (b) banks on expanding the range of banking services available at post offices.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of access to cash and banking services for individuals and businesses, including those who may be in vulnerable groups or require assistance and is supportive of industry initiatives that improve access to these vital services.
The Post Office plays a key role in supporting access to banking services. Under the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement between the Post Office and 30 banking firms, personal and business customers can withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK. The specific services provided under the Framework are subject to commercial negotiations between individual banks and the Post Office, and the Government has no role in deciding what these arrangements are.
The Government would welcome continued collaboration between Post Office and the banking sector, on a commercial basis and will look to host joint discussions with Post Office and the banking sector in the coming months.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what targets for emissions reduction will apply to Great British Railways.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We remain committed to addressing the environmental challenges faced not only by rail – which is already a comparatively low-emission way to travel – but across transport. We will set out long term environmental expectations for GBR through the Long-Term Rail Strategy and these will also be outlined in GBR’s business plan.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Great British Railways will be required to publish an annual environmental performance report.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We expect that GBR will include detail in their annual report and accounts as Network Rail do today, and for GBR to comply with all legal requirements. We remain committed to addressing the environmental challenges faced not only by rail – which is already a comparatively low-emission way to travel – but across all transport modes.