Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of journeys made from Dronfield train station to Manchester Oxford Road train station in the 2017-18 financial year.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Passenger demand flows between specific stations and on specific routes are not publicly available as this data is commercially sensitive. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish data on the estimates of the total number of passengers entering and exiting each station in Great Britain.
Total number of station entries and exits, 2017-18 financial year
Station name | Entries and exits |
Dronfield | 202,622 |
Manchester Oxford Road | 8,558,308 |
Liverpool Lime Street | 16,032,460 |
Manchester Piccadilly | 27,724,962 |
Additional years are available at the following link:
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage/
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using British Model Flying Association drone registration data to avoid duplicate registrations in the UK Drone Registration Scheme.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Small unmanned aircraft (SUAs) can be enormously beneficial, both commercially and as a leisure pursuit. However, SUAs also have the potential to pose a safety and security threat so it is important that those operating them understand the law and their responsibilities as a remote pilot of an aircraft in UK airspace.
The changes to the Air Navigation Order laid before Parliament in May 2018 require that all operators of SUAs of all types weighing 250g – 20kg must register their aircraft by 30 November 2019.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is working with the British Model Flying Association to see whether, as a service to their members, they may want to assist in the initial upload of data. The CAA will be launching an awareness-raising campaign to ensure that new and existing operators and remote pilots of small unmanned aircraft (SUAs) are aware of the requirement to register and take a competency test by 30 November 2019.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to publicise the UK Drone Registration Scheme to (a) new and (b) drone owners.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Small unmanned aircraft (SUAs) can be enormously beneficial, both commercially and as a leisure pursuit. However, SUAs also have the potential to pose a safety and security threat so it is important that those operating them understand the law and their responsibilities as a remote pilot of an aircraft in UK airspace.
The changes to the Air Navigation Order laid before Parliament in May 2018 require that all operators of SUAs of all types weighing 250g – 20kg must register their aircraft by 30 November 2019.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is working with the British Model Flying Association to see whether, as a service to their members, they may want to assist in the initial upload of data. The CAA will be launching an awareness-raising campaign to ensure that new and existing operators and remote pilots of small unmanned aircraft (SUAs) are aware of the requirement to register and take a competency test by 30 November 2019.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria his Department used to calculate the £950,000 cost of the annual upgrade of the UK Drone Registration Scheme.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
The Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) consultation document explains that the predicted 170,000 unmanned aircraft operator registration figure has been calculated using adoption rates for other national registration schemes (such as those in Ireland and the United States) against the UK population, and available research on drone use and attitudes.
The document also sets out the rationale for the cost of ongoing upgrades to the service. The initial scheme will be launched with a minimum scope and service level and, in common with best practice and the Government Digital Service framework, the CAA plans to make minor service improvements and major functionality improvements. Major improvements may include a renewal invitation process and incorporate the existing unmanned aircraft service for commercial operators.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what evidence his Department based its estimate of the predicted registration of 170,000 drone users within the first 18 months of the UK Drone Registration Scheme.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
The Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) consultation document explains that the predicted 170,000 unmanned aircraft operator registration figure has been calculated using adoption rates for other national registration schemes (such as those in Ireland and the United States) against the UK population, and available research on drone use and attitudes.
The document also sets out the rationale for the cost of ongoing upgrades to the service. The initial scheme will be launched with a minimum scope and service level and, in common with best practice and the Government Digital Service framework, the CAA plans to make minor service improvements and major functionality improvements. Major improvements may include a renewal invitation process and incorporate the existing unmanned aircraft service for commercial operators.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the UK Drone Registration Scheme on levels of criminal activity involving drones.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
The Government’s response to the 2018 consultation on ‘Taking Flight: The Future of Drones in the UK’ sets out that it is likely that the majority of users of small unmanned aircraft (SUAs) who break the law, do so unintentionally. Therefore, the introduction of a registration and education scheme will raise awareness of how to safely fly an unmanned aircraft. SUAs will be required to display their registration number on their aircraft, which will help law enforcement agencies identify the operator of the aircraft where an offence has been committed whether intentionally or otherwise.
The Government recognises that a requirement to register will not prevent criminals intent on breaking the law from causing damage and disruption. That is why it plans to introduce the Unmanned Aircraft Bill, which includes new police powers to help tackle the misuse of unmanned aircraft.
The Department for Transport is also working closely with Home Office, other Government departments, police forces, airports and other stakeholders to ensure a joined up, holistic approach to safety and security in relation to unmanned aircraft.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence 300, what the rationale was for the provision to enable an operator to drill to a depth of 4,500 metres.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), in its role as independent regulator for oil and gas, is responsible for issuing Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences (PEDLs).
The drilling depth specified in the licence for PEDL 300, issued in September 2016, was stated by INEOS as part of their licence application, and sought to target prospective geological formations which, at that time, were thought to lie at that depth. Various other consents and permissions (such as planning permission, environmental permits, drilling consent, etc) are required before any drilling operations can take place.
In line with the above, INEOS’ application for planning permission at Bramleymoor Lane, Derbyshire, allows for a well to be drilled to an approximate depth of 2,400m, at which INEOS believe the target geological formations are now thought to lie.
The OGA has not at this stage received an application from INEOS for consent to drill the well. At the time of such an application, and subject to other necessary permits, the licensee can seek agreement to reduce the original commitment depth after explaining their geotechnical rationale.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve early diagnosis of ovarian cancer and (b) reduce the level of variation in diagnosis times between clinical commissioning groups.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The NHS Cancer Programme is committed to improving early diagnosis as outlined in the Long Term Plan ambition to diagnose three-quarters of all cancers at stages 1 and 2 by 2028. This includes all stageable cancers.
To achieve this ambition, the NHS Cancer Programme is working on a number of programmes to improve early diagnosis rates for all cancers. The Rapid Diagnostic Centres (RDCs) are a new flagship policy in the Long Term Plan that offer patients a range of tests in the same day with rapid access to results. These RDCs starting to be rolled out in 2019/20 and will support the overall early diagnosis ambition. The RDCs will upgrade and bring together the latest diagnostic equipment and expertise, building on 10 models piloted with Cancer Research UK, which have focused on diagnosing cancers where patients often present with non-specific symptoms, often the case with ovarian cancer, and may go to their general practitioner many times before being sent for tests, such as blood and stomach cancers.
A new cancer diagnosis standard, designed to ensure that patients find out within 28 days if they have cancer, will be introduced in 2020. All hospitals in England are now collecting data on how long it takes patients to reach cancer diagnosis, and they are working to improve performance over the next year and reduce unwarranted variation, for example geographical variation.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the merits of including an interface to automatic number plate recognition systems for the new computerised transit system.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
We are exploring innovative solutions to make the transit process more efficient in the future. This will include consideration of introducing an interface between the new computerised transit system and automatic number plate recognition systems. However, a decision has yet to be made on the final solution.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on when in hydraulic fracturing operations the operator knows which type of water treatment and disposal facilities will be needed for the (a) treatment and (b) disposal of the waste water.
Answered by Claire Perry
As part of the environmental permit application, and before any hydraulic fracturing can take place, operators must submit a waste management plan to the Environment Agency for approval. This describes the processes and the types of extractive waste that will be generated at the site. The plan must set out how the operator will manage, minimise, reuse, recycle and dispose safely of the extractive waste, and how they will monitor the extractive waste.