Asked by: John Stanley (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reason the value of extant standard individual export licences to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories fell from £7.9 billion, as stated in his letter of 12 May 2014 to the hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling, to £93 million, as stated in his letter of 15 December 2014 to the same hon. Member.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The difference is accounted for by one licence, to the value of £7.7 billion, which was surrendered unused by the exporter in August 2014 and therefore ceased to be extant.
Asked by: John Stanley (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will issue a Direction to the Chief Executive of Network Rail to reply to the letter of 27 October 2014 from the hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling on the need to lengthen the platforms at Cowden, Hever and Edenbridge Town stations by 27 July 2015.
Answered by Claire Perry
Network Rail operates at arm’s length from the Department for Transport, and is not expected to involve Ministers in its regular operational decisions such as whether to lengthen the platforms at Cowden, Hever and Edenbridge Town Stations by 27 July 2015.
However, this is an unacceptable delay. I have been advised by Network Rail that they responded on 3 February.
Network Rail has also informed me that it is now able to deliver the platforms referred to in early summer 2016 rather than December 2015 as initially planned in its Control Period 5 programme of works. As an interim measure between the trains being available in July 2015 and the platforms being complete in summer 2016, Govia Thameslink Railway will be able to use rolling stock to lengthen trains to 8-cars, which will be a considerable benefit to passengers suffering overcrowded services.
Asked by: John Stanley (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans to publish the results of his call for evidence on the introduction of a pre-licensing register of arms brokers together with the Government's response in January 2015 at the latest.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The results of the Call for Evidence are still subject to internal discussion across Government. The Government will publish a response as soon as feasibly possible, however this is unlikely to be before the end of January 2015.