Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2021 to Question 24147, on High Speed 2 Railway Line: Construction, what the highest salary is of a person at HS2 Ltd; and how many HS2 Ltd staff are earning over (a) £100,000 and (b) £150,000.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The highest earning individual at HS2 Ltd is the Chief Executive, Mark Thurston. We publish information regarding remuneration of those earning over £150,000 annually: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/senior-officials-high-earners-salaries
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the longest time is that the DVLA has taken to issue a driving licence in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The information requested cannot be retrieved in the format requested in the time available. Officials from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will write to the Honourable Member when the information is available.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time taken by the DVLA to issue driving licences was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The information requested cannot be retrieved in the format requested in the time available. Officials from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will write to the Honourable Member when the information is available.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving licences the DVLA has issued in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Guidance on how to apply for a driving licence is published on GOV.UK and can be found here.
The volume of driving licences issued in each of the last five years is shown in the table below:
Year | Number of Driving Licences Issued |
2016 – 2017 | 10.4 million |
2017 – 2018 | 11.2 million |
2018 – 2019 | 10.6 million |
2019 – 2020 | 11.2 million |
2020 – 2021 | 8.8 million |
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the guidance issued by the DVLA on the process for issuing and reissuing driving licences.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Guidance on how to apply for a driving licence is published on GOV.UK and can be found here.
The volume of driving licences issued in each of the last five years is shown in the table below:
Year | Number of Driving Licences Issued |
2016 – 2017 | 10.4 million |
2017 – 2018 | 11.2 million |
2018 – 2019 | 10.6 million |
2019 – 2020 | 11.2 million |
2020 – 2021 | 8.8 million |
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost of HS2 Ltd’s office space in London was in (a) each financial year and (b) total since 2018.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
(a) The HS2 Ltd London whole office estate costs are as follows:
2018/19 £7,270,000
2019/20 £5,180,000
2020/21 £5,280,000
Note the figures include rent, VAT on rent, utilities, facilities management costs, National Non Domestic rates and other building costs. Accommodation costs are disclosed in the HS2 Annual Report and Accounts.
(b) The total for the period 2018/19 to 2020/21 £17,730,000
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people are employed by the HS2 project; and what the average salary is.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Staff numbers and average salaries (as at 31 March) are disclosed annually in the Company’s Annual Report and Accounts. However, as of 28 June 2021, HS2 Ltd directly employs 1,597 staff with an average salary of £60,198.44. The salaries are full-time equivalent Basic Pay (annual entitlement at point of reporting). This figure does not include Non-Executive Directors, Independent Panel Members, Project Representatives and non HS2 Ltd staff (secondees, Engineering Delivery Partners, agency staff, etc).
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the office spaces occupied by HS2 in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
HS2 Ltd headquarters is at 2 Snowhill, Snowhill, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GA. In addition, it occupies space at 1 Eversholt Street, London, NW1 2DN and Albany House, Petty France, London, SW1 9EA. The Company also rents one room in Barlow House, Minshull Street, Manchester, M1 3DZ.
This list does not include site offices that are leased and occupied by suppliers working on behalf of HS2 Ltd.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, on Unconscious bias training, what steps he has taken to phase out unconscious bias training in his Department.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
In response to the Written Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, the Department has stopped providing interventions where the evidence does not support their continued use, this has been the case with unconscious bias training.
Most of Civil Service unconscious bias training was delivered via an e-learning platform, and is no longer available through this platform. The Department no longer promotes unconscious bias training to be included as part of any other training that is delivered elsewhere.
The Department is committed to maintaining a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. This includes deploying a range of evidence-based interventions within the Department, for example training to improve fairness in recruitment decisions, or new learning offerings targeted at working on creating more inclusive work cultures. We are using data to inform where bias may be occurring and to help eradicate it, for example in our approach to recruitment. This approach will allow us to ensure that activity can be focused on those interventions which do make a difference in order to progress this important work.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to review the mandatory use of face coverings on public transport.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Since 15 June, passengers travelling on the public transport network have been required to wear a face covering, unless exempt. On 14 December, the Secretary of State reviewed the regulations and deemed that this requirement remained necessary and proportionate in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As set out in the roadmap, the Government will complete a review of social distancing and other long-term measures, which will inform decisions on the timing and circumstances under which the wearing of face coverings and other measures may be lifted. We have seen continued high compliance with face covering regulations and the latest evidence indicates that face coverings are likely to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 where used correctly. As such their continued use is important to ensure that those who need to travel now and in the future are able to do so in safety and with confidence.