Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2020 to Question 57396 on answered on 17 June 2020 on Driving Tests: Coronavirus, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of providing (a) refunds of theory test fees or (b) a free replacement test where a candidate's theory test certificate expires during the six months following the passing of the Coronavirus Act 2020 without the candidate being able to sit their practical test within the required timescale.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
No estimate has been made of the cost of refunding theory test fees as this is expressly forbidden by the Road Traffic Act 1988 section 91 (except in limited cases not relevant here). The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) pays its contractor, Pearson, per theory test delivered.
The Coronavirus Act 2020 came into effect on 25 March 2020. Around 118,000 theory test pass certificates were due to expire by the end of September 2020. However, on average 14,000 candidates let their certificate expire each month in the normal course of events.
If candidates were exempted from having to pay for one-retest, then the DVSA would have incurred costs of up to £1.5m if all of the 118,000 learners chose to retake the theory test. In addition, applications for a re-test would need to have been validated and systems amended to remove the requirement for payment in these cases. No estimate was made of these additional costs to the DVSA. The fee for any practical test booking was refunded on expiry of the candidates’ theory test certificate.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many regulations he has brought forward under provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 since the passing of that Act.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Secretary of State for Transport has not bought forward any regulations under the provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with National Air Traffic Services on its decision to terminate the contracts of trainee air traffic controllers before they have completed their training.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Ministers have regular contact with NATS to discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their business. We understand that the decision NATS have taken to place at risk the contracts of 122 trainees in their training college, whilst regrettable, has been carefully considered. NATS have committed to staying in contact with the trainees and looking for opportunities to restart their training as soon as possible.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 52100, on High Speed 2 Railway Line: Tree Planting, who fulfils the role of Early Works Contractors on HS2; when those contractors were appointed; what the procurement route used in those appointments was; and how many (a) defective and (b) failed plant materials those contractors have replaced.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Enabling Works Contracts (EWC) for Phase One were awarded to joint venture (JV) organisations in November 2016, covering three geographic Areas (North, Central and South). The enabling works contractors are Laing O’Rourke and Murphy Group (LM-JV) for Area North; Morgan Sindall, BAM Nuttall and Ferrovial Agroman (Fusion JV) for Area Central; and Costain and Skanska (CS-JV) for Area South. The Procurement route used for the EWC Contracts was the OJEU negotiated procedure. The announcement regarding the awarding of contracts can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hs2-names-enabling-works-contractors
No plants have been rejected by the Independent Inspector as being defective. Out of a total of 553,233 trees planted between 2017 and 2020, 122,208 have been replacement trees, leaving a net total 431,025 trees successfully planted.
The loss of HS2 plants during hot weather, particularly in 2018, has been consistent with planting carried out by others at the same time, including the Forestry Commission which increased its rates under their grant schemes to allow replacement of the additional losses. The cost of maintaining sufficient water supplies for saplings would have been higher than replanting, and using the quantities of water required to maintain the planting would not have been an appropriate or responsible use of resources at the height of summer. Replacing plants lost is considered a much more cost effective solution, as well as being a more ethical use of resources during unprecedented conditions.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 52100, who fulfils the role of HS2 independent inspector; when that appointment was made; what procurement method was used in making that appointment; and where the independent inspector's reports are published.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Independent Assessor of Plant Material role is undertaken through Aecom Infrastructure and Environment Limited. There are a number of qualified individuals that support that contract. The contract was awarded following a competitive tender process and for a period of two years from 23rd January 2017. The Contract has since been extended until 31st March 2021. The reports are not published, as their intent is to help provide an independent view of plant quality to help ensure that planting is successful, and are not designed to be a public record of the status of the planting that is taking place.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 52101, within what parameters are potential breaches of (a) wildlife and (b) environmental protection legislation investigated by HS2 Ltd.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Every report or allegation of a breach of wildlife or environmental protection legislation is investigated to assess whether a breach has taken place. Allegations may come from a wide range of sources, including direct correspondence, phone calls to the HS2 helpline, media reports, tweets and campaign websites. There are no discretionary parameters as to whether a report is investigated or not.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 52101 on High Speed 2 Railway Line: Environment Protection, how many credible potential breaches of (a) wildlife and (b) environmental protection legislation have been recorded using HS2 Ltd's process of live recording and reporting of breaches.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 Ltd’s live reporting over the past 5 years has recorded 93 possible breaches of Wildlife legislation, and 307 possible breaches of Environmental Protection legislation. HS2 takes credible potential breaches very seriously and each is investigated as necessary with the involvement of the relevant statutory authority where applicable.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the health of saplings planted as part of HS2 mitigation measures; and what steps he is taking to ensure regular monitoring of those saplings.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 Ltd has appointed an independent inspector responsible for checking the quality of cultivated plant material. Plant material is inspected twice a year, including a pre-delivery inspection of its size and quality. The independent inspector also carries out inspections of material delivered to sites to further confirm that it meets the required specifications. The inspector produces a report for each inspection, which includes recommendations for HS2 Ltd or its supply chain as necessary. Material is planted by the Early Works Contractors, who have the responsibility for regular inspection and maintenance during tree establishment, including the replacement of any defective or failed plant material.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2020 to Question 18, how many potential breaches of (a) wildlife and (b) environmental protection legislation have been reported against (i) HS2 Ltd and (ii) their contractors in each of the last five years; and what processes are in place to record and learn from potential breaches.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There have been no prosecutions for breaches in wildlife or environmental protection legislation in relation to HS2 Ltd or its contractors in the last 5 years. HS2 Ltd has a process for live reporting and recording of credible potential breaches and these are reviewed daily, with reporting on a monthly basis at both the programme and senior level. HS2 Ltd takes the risk of breaches very seriously. Were one to occur, this would be investigated as necessary with the involvement of the relevant statutory authority where applicable.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to engage with British Airways to help facilitate job retention in that company.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Chancellor has set out unprecedented support for workers of airline companies and Ministers and officials regularly meet with airline representatives to discuss the challenges they face and possible areas of support. Measures such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are being used across the aviation industry to protect the sector against the Covid-19 economic crisis.
These measures, alongside other Government support measures such as Coronavirus Large Business Loan Interruption Scheme and the Covid Commercial Finance Facility are helping airlines of all sizes get through this crisis and beyond. The Chancellor has noted that under exceptional circumstances bespoke support could be provided to airlines.