Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government last reviewed the security situation at Sharm El Sheikh airport; and what the outcome of that review was.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Transport undertakes aviation security assessments at overseas airports. UK aviation security experts are working closely with their Egyptian counterparts on the ground. It is long standing government policy not to comment on security matters, however I can confirm that we continue to work in partnership with the Egyptian authorities and are grateful for their close engagement and support.
We look forward to achieving the return of flights to Sharm el-Sheikh when the situation allows.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on Government support for local authorities to maintain local roads.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Secretary of State for Transport meets regularly with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to discuss a wide range of issues.
The Department for Transport is allocating over £6 billion in capital funding to support local highway authorities in England, outside London, to maintain the roads for which they are responsible. This includes a £296 million pothole action fund in order to repair potholes and to stop them forming.
The funding is not ring-fenced and it is entirely for each authority to determine how their funding allocation is utilised based on their needs and priorities.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether rail operators will contribute to the airwave replacement programme for British Transport Police.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We expect the costs of the Airwave replacement programme for the British Transport Police to be reflected in the policing charges levied on the rail operators by the British Transport Police Authority. The position will be kept under review.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what requirements he places in franchise agreements with train-operating companies for minimum staffing levels.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not generally specify staffing levels for rail franchises, as it is up to the relevant train operator to ensure it has sufficient staff in place to provide the services to which it is committed. However, the franchise agreement does contain provision limiting the amount of change in staffing levels, which can be made in the final year of the franchise without the consent of the Secretary of State.
We aim to work with the industry, and recognise that a growing railway needs more customer-facing staff.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s target is for efficiency savings by British Transport Police; and how he intends to allocate proceeds from that efficiency programme.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The British Transport Police Authority identified savings of over 8% to be made during the period of the Spending Review from the British Transport Police’s core budgets. Any efficiency savings can potentially be reinvested into counter terrorist activities, depending on the need identified by the Chief Constable, and subject to the approval of the British Transport Police Authority.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what capabilities are exempt from his Department’s target for efficiency savings by the British Transport Police.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In agreeing the British Transport Police Authority’s proposals for efficiency savings as part of the Spending Review, it was made clear that any savings should ensure that any material impact on the operational capability of the British Transport Police (BTP) is minimised; counter terrorist activity was exempt from the Spending Review process. The efficiency savings target includes the BTP’s core policing activities only; enhanced policing services, which are provided to operators on request on a commercial basis, are excluded from the target.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is his policy for the British Transport Police to be merged with other police forces; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is considering a broad range of options to optimise the protection of critical infrastructure such as nuclear sites and railways, including the future roles of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, the Ministry of Defence Police and the British Transport Police.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of the Airwave replacement programme for the British Transport Police; and what additional funding his Department will provide to the British Transport Police to complete that programme.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The current estimated total life cycle costs up to 2026/27 for the implementation and transition to the new Emergency Service Network, which will replace Airwave, is currently £78.6m. Many of the costs have been estimated on the basis of information supplied by the Home Office programme that is delivering the Emergency Services Network. The costs of implementing the Airwave replacement programme are a cost of policing the railway, to be met from the policing charges levied on rail operators for the provision of policing services.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to change the number of British Transport Police control centres.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. We have been informed by the British Transport Police (BTP) that there are no current plans to change the number of BTP control centres.
Asked by: Paula Sherriff (Labour - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what additional expenditure the British Transport Police has incurred on counter terrorism in (a) 2017-18 to date and (b) 2016-17; and what additional funding his Department provided to that organisation for counter-terror operations in those periods.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The British Transport Police’s counter terrorism capability, forms an integral part of its policing of the railways, and is therefore not readily distinguishable within the overall costs of policing. The funding required to deliver it is met by the rail industry, and is regularly reviewed to ensure that it continues to provide a safe rail network for its staff and the travelling public. The Department has not provided any direct funding to the BTP during the current or the last financial year.