Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on employment in Greater Manchester of pausing the Manchester to Leeds electrification project in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018 and (e) 2019.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The department does not have an assessment of the impact of the pause on employment in Greater Manchester.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the effect on the total cost of the electrification of the Manchester to Leeds line will be of a delay in the starting of the project of (a) six months, (b) 12 months, (c) two years and (d) three years.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Any estimate would be significantly influenced by various external factors that will affect the cost and programme, for example resource availability, supplier markets, access regimes, inflation etc. Sir Peter Hendy will look at all of these issues and report to Government in the Autumn with proposals for how the rail upgrade programme will be carried out.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish his Department's assessment of the economic cost to Greater Manchester arising from the pause in the Manchester to Leeds electrification project in each year to 2019.
Answered by Andrew Jones
This Government is committed to electrification and to delivering its benefits in contrast to the lack of ambition of the previous Labour government which managed to electrify just 10 miles of railway in 13 years.
In addition, the Department is already delivering on various rail projects that are already underway that will bring benefits to the north west and beyond, including:
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will estimate the number of apprenticeships that would have been created in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018 and (e) 2019 if the planned Manchester to Leeds electrification had gone ahead.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Network Rail are not able to provide those estimates, as the scheme was at an early stage of development. However, Network Rail are currently recruiting 200 apprentices nationally in 2015.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contract penalties will have to be paid as a result of the pause in the planned Manchester to Leeds electrification project.
Answered by Andrew Jones
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 9 July to the Hon Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), UIN 5693
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many non-executive directors of his Department who were in post before May 2015 have since left the Department's board; what the names and length of tenure of such directors were; and how many and what non-executive director appointments he has made since May 2010.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The two-year appointment of one non-executive, John Kirkland, expired in June. No appointments or re-appointments have yet been made.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many recruitment and employment agencies his Department has used to source staff in each year since 2010-11.
Answered by Claire Perry
The table below provides the number of employment agencies used to source temporary staff (employment agencies are not used to recruit permanent staff) for the Department since 2010 -11. The figures include new contracts and extensions to existing contracts sourced via the Crown Commercial Services Framework.
Financial Year | Number of suppliers used |
2011 - 2012 | 19 |
2012 – 2013 | 30 |
2013 – 2014 | 22 |
2014 – 2015 (Transition year from Crown Commercial Services to Contingent LabourOne) | 25 |
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last five years.
Answered by Claire Perry
The attached tables show the spend, as well as explanatory notes, by the Department and its agencies on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last five years.
Note that by way of context, the total amount spent by the central Department on travel across all modes and classes in 2013/14 was £918,000, which compares to £4.075million in 2009/10.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.
Answered by Claire Perry
The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost, due to the data not being centrally held.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) financial error in (i) his Department, (ii) its executive agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.
Answered by Claire Perry
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by My Rt Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 15 December to Question 217821.