Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce water (a) usage and (b) bills in his Department; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport has reduced its overall water consumption by 8% (16,000m³) over the last 4 years and the consumption in its office environment has fallen from 7.7m³ per FTE (Full Time Equivalent) to 5.95m³ over the same period.
The Department is constantly looking at ways to reduce its water consumption and has introduced measures where there has been a viable financial and environmental benefit. These measures include rain water harvesting, water pressure reductions, dual flush toilet cisterns, sensor controlled taps and improved leak detection by improved metering.
These reductions in water usage have contributed to lower bills than would have been received if no consumption savings had been made.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that Network Rail operates within its budget for the 2014-15 financial year; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
Network Rail operates under a network licence enforced and monitored by the independent Office of Rail Regulation, which also sets the spending and expected outputs for the railway over the current five-year Control Period 5 covering 2014-19. The Office of Rail Regulation continues to monitor and oversee Network Rail’s delivery of outputs, efficiency and financial performance against what it has challenged Network Rail to deliver in its Determination for Control Period 5.
The Framework Agreement between Network Rail and the Department for Transport sets out the new approach to governance, financing, accounting and budgeting following Network Rail’s reclassification to the public sector. It has been written with reference to “Managing Public Money”, the HM Treasury guidance on the principles for managing public resources.
The Framework Agreement includes a requirement upon Network Rail to provide regular financial information, and to lay a copy of its accounts in Parliament.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on punctuality performance on the Brighton mainline; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
Ministers and officials regularly meet senior figures from Network Rail and across the industry at a range of forums to discuss current issues, including punctuality performance. The current level of performance on Network Rail’s Sussex Route, including the Brighton main line, is significantly below the planned level, and we have made it clear that we expect the industry to do its utmost to deliver the level of performance for which it is being funded. In addition, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), which is responsible for regulating the performance of Network Rail, is working closely with Network Rail with the aim of resolving the current issues which are affecting performance on this route.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure its services are available online; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport (DfT) provides 73 online transactions, including services from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Highways Agency, the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. DfT is transitioning these digital transactions to conform to the Digital by Default Service Standard. In addition to Electronic Vehicle Licensing, the Department has three out of the 25 Digital Exemplars, including View Driving Record, which is Live, and Personalised Registrations and Vehicle Management, which are usable by the public and on track to achieve Live status by April 2015.
Assisted Digital support is in place for each of the services. DfT is committed to continuing to provide multiple channels for accessing its services whilst recognising the savings to the taxpayer that can be realised by encouraging a channel shift to digital wherever and whenever possible, by making its digital services as easy to use as possible in conformance with the Digital by Default Standard.
Our digital team are tasked with improving digital awareness within the Department and ensuring that new developments are delivered in a digital way, whenever possible. They work closely with colleagues in the Cabinet Office and Government Digital Service to promote this approach and put the end user's needs at the heart of all our development, making government services as easy to access and user friendly as possible.
The Department published its Digital Strategy in 2012, which sets out our commitment to raising the bar for our existing digital services, bringing more services online, tackling barriers to entry and helping those not able to use digital to ensure no one is left behind.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how often his Department reviews its processes regarding the logging of emails, letters and other correspondence received; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport aims to respond to 95% of correspondence from MPs and Peers in 20 working days and to 80% of correspondence from members of the public in 20 working days.
Guidance on handling correspondence from Members of Parliament, Peers, MEPs and Members of devolved Administrations is available online at the following link –
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Southern railway on the expansion of the Unizone rail scheme between Hastings and Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
There have been no discussions with Southern on the expansion of the Unizone rail scheme between Hastings and Brighton.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many private finance initiative projects his Department contracted for in each year from 1997 to 2010.
Answered by Claire Perry
This information can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-finance-initiative-projects-2013-summary-data
The data can be filtered by procuring authority and then by date of financial close in order to determine how many PFI projects were contracted by the Department for Transport in a specific year.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total private finance initiative liabilities of his Department are for the next 20 years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department has the following liabilities over the next 20 years under the private finance initiative contracts to which it is counterparty:
These are the latest available figures and represent the forecast nominal cash payments due under the contracts over this period (2014-15 to 2033-34).
The Department also provides financial support to Local Authorities for a number of private finance initiative transport projects, though these are not the Department’s liabilities. Further information on these Local Authority sponsored projects can be found at the following web address. This currently provides information as at 31 March 2013 but will be updated shortly with data as at 31 March 2014:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-finance-initiative-projects-2013-summary-data
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce energy costs in his Department; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport has introduced a number of measures across its organisations to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. These include:-
The Department for Transport is committed to achieving all its sustainability targets and lowering energy costs through improving energy efficiency is seen as a key element in attaining that goal.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to increase capacity at East Croydon station; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
Network Rail’s Sussex Route Study is considering options to enhance capacity right along the Brighton Main Line. A draft report for consultation will be published later this year, and a final report will be publish in 2015 setting out options for potential schemes beyond 2019.