Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of data available to his Department on the prevalence of parental alienation.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In October last year the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) launched its Child Impact Assessment Framework (CIAF) which sets out how children may experience parental separation and how this can be understood and acted on by Cafcass.
Cafcass is planning to undertake a review of its case records featuring actual or alleged alienating behaviours so that it has a clearer evidence base on the prevalence of parental alienation and its relationships with other case factors. This study will commence once the CIAF has been fully embedded into practice.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the Overseas Territory of Anguilla of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The UK Government is working closely with the Government of Anguilla to enable them to understand the implications of the UK leaving the EU. Ministers and officials regularly engage with representatives from Anguilla and the other Overseas Territories through the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council which last met on 4 and 5 December 2018. This mechanism for dialogue ensures that assessments about the potential effects of EU Exit on their territories can be shared.
The Government is committed to working with Anguilla through the negotiation process with the EU, and getting a deal that works for the whole British family, which includes Anguilla.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to give statutory force to his Department's guidelines to school's governing bodies on exclusivity arrangements for the sale of school uniforms.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government remains committed to putting the school uniform guidance on a statutory footing and will do so when a suitable legislative opportunity arises.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the policy is of the Bradford coroner on the use of digital scans to establish cause of death rather than tradition post-mortems; and how many times such scans have been used in (a) 2017 and (b) 2018 to date.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The use of digital scans to establish cause of death is a matter for individual coroners who decide how to proceed in light of guidance from the Chief Coroner. The guidance can be found on his website at:
www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/guidance-no-1-use-of-port-mortem-imaging.pdf
The figures for the number of post mortems held in 2017 which involved less invasive techniques are available at:
Bradford is in the West Yorkshire (western) coroner area, in which 267 less-invasive post mortems were conducted in 2017.
Annual coroner statistics are collected at the end of the year. Statistics for 2018 will be published in May 2019.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which rail franchises are required to provide train services on Boxing Day, and what those requirements are for each franchise.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Franchise Agreement train service specification (typically Train Service Requirements) are published on the .GOV website and the General Provisions include the specified service requirements for Bank Holidays and Boxing Day, the table below lists the requirements per franchised operator.
The Christmas and New Year period is historically a time for major engineering works around the rail network as fewer people are travelling, therefore the ability to schedule the specified Boxing Day train services may be adversely affected.
All operators publish changes to their train services for Christmas and New Year, such advice is available through the National Rail website under “Holidays and events.”
Boxing Day (26 December 2018) service requirements:
Franchise (TOC) | Franchise Agreement requirement and Boxing Day services |
Chiltern (Chiltern Railways) | No services are required |
Cross-Country (ArrivaXC) | No services are required |
East Anglia (GreaterAnglia) | On Boxing Day, train services shall be provided between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport, calling at Tottenham Hale (or Seven Sisters), Harlow Town and Bishop’s Stortford. The First Service shall arrive at Stansted Airport no later than 0715 and the Last Service shall depart London no earlier than 2315 such that a minimum of 35 services are provided between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport. The First Service from Stansted Airport shall arrive at London no later than 0720 and the Last Service shall depart Stansted Airport no earlier than 0030 such that a minimum of 37 services are provided between Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street. [This year a half-hourly Stansted Express train service to/from Tottenham Hale]. |
East Midlands (EMTrains) | No services are required |
Essex Thameside (c2c) | No services are required |
Great Western (GWR) | No services are required |
Integrated Kent Franchise (Southeastern Railway) | No services are required. [This year a High Speed (HS1) service will run between London St Pancras International and Ashford International]. |
LNER | No services are required |
Inter-City West Coast (Virgin Trains) | No services are required |
Northern (Arriva Rail North) | For the duration of Train Service Requirement(s) 2 and 3, on Boxing Day the Franchisee shall operate a minimum of sixty (60) Passenger Services, on such Routes as the Franchisee may determine. [Northern have requested that this not be delivered for this coming Boxing Day, this is a matter for Rail North who is currently considering this request]. |
South Western (SWR) | No services are required |
Thameslink Southern & Great Northern (GTR) | Train services between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport at half-hourly intervals, to operate from approximately 0500 until approximately 2300; From approximately 0830 until approximately 2100; (i) train services between London Victoria and Three Bridges at half-hourly intervals, calling intermediately at Clapham Junction, East Croydon and Gatwick Airport. Alternate services shall be extended to call at Haywards Heath and Brighton to provide an hourly service between those stations and London Victoria. The requirements for these services may be combined with those between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport; and (ii) stopping train services at half-hourly intervals between: (A) London Victoria and Sutton via Selhurst; and (B) London Victoria and East Croydon via Crystal Palace. [These services will run from London Bridge this year due to infrastructure works preventing services from serving London Victoria. Ticket acceptance is in place and passengers are able to use their ticket on London Underground services between London Victoria and London Bridge]. |
Trans-Pennine Express (First TPE) | No services are required |
West Midlands (West Midland Trains) | No services are required |
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the outcome is of his discussions with Northern and Transpennine on their franchise commitments to provide train services on Boxing Day 2018.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Under the terms of their Franchise Agreement Arriva Rail North (ARN) were required within 12 months of the start date of the franchise to consult with passengers, user groups, Network Rail, other train operators who operate along the affected routes and other relevant Stakeholders on the potential demand for passenger services on Boxing Day and produce a report. This was submitted to the Rail North Partnership team and highlighted that the direct cost of operation would exceed the estimated revenue, and raised concerns regarding access due to significant engineering activity traditionally carried out at this time of year.
Separately ARN’s Franchise Agreement requires the operation of a minimum of 60 services on Boxing Day from 2018. However, Northern raised concerns about their ability to operate a service on Boxing Day 2018, mainly due to engineering possessions along the routes they wish to operate, and have asked for a derogation until the following year to the current Franchise Agreement which is currently being considered.
Under the terms of their Franchise Agreement TransPennine Express (TPE) were required within 12 months of the start date of the franchise to consult with passengers, user groups, Network Rail, other train operators who operate along the affected routes and other relevant Stakeholders on the potential demand for passenger services on Boxing Day and produce a report. This was submitted to the Rail North Partnership team and recommended that there may be an opportunity to work jointly with ARN and RNP to agree to use funds allocated in the Franchise for future service initiatives (the Service Options Fund) to provide a trial service for a future Boxing day, with terms of such a trial being pre-agreed between the parties.
Unlike ARN, TPE has no obligation under its Franchise Agreement to provide Boxing Day services. Opportunities for funding and delivering such services in the future will be considered alongside other franchise enhancement opportunities.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the feasibility study into the restoration of the Skipton to Colne railway link.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The feasibility study into the reinstatement of the Skipton-Colne rail link as part of a route for passengers and freight has only very recently been completed. The Government is considering next steps and expects to make an announcement shortly.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposals for One Yorkshire devolution on the Yorkshire economy.
Answered by Jake Berry
We are considering the material provided.
The Government has already agreed a devolution deal for the Sheffield City Region. We look forward to this being implemented in full. It will bring £900 million of much needed new funding to the city region, and put power in the hands of local people.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the timetable for LNER will include seven direct trains per day between Bradford and London on the east coast line from May 2019.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
LNER is currently working with its industry partners to introduce extra services as soon as possible, including the Bradford services, and the industry is reviewing proposed changes for the May 2019 timetable.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what safeguards will be put in place on the proposed entry level exception sites to prevent homes being resold at market rates.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The new entry-level exception site policy, as set out in the revised National Planning Policy Framework, was published on 24 July 2018. Sites should comprise entry-level homes that offer one or more types of affordable housing, as defined within the revised National Planning Policy Framework’s glossary. Local authorities will determine applications, including where there should be provisions for the homes to remain at an affordable price for future eligible households.