Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the economic benefits of (a) dualling the A17 in its entirety and (b) dualling its single carriageway sections.
Answered by Andrew Jones
No assessment has been undertaken by the Department for Transport of the economic benefits of dualling the A17 in its entirety or in single sections. The A17 forms part of the local road network and is the responsibility of Lincolnshire County Council and Nottinghamshire County Council. It is for the councils concerned to develop proposals to dual this road if they wish to do so, working closely with the respective Local Enterprise Partnerships.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the contribution of 14 January 1994 by the then Minister for Public Transport, Official Report, column 432, on Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Compensation), what conclusion the Government drew from its consideration of legal advice commissioned by local authorities.
Answered by Claire Perry
Following the House of Commons Select Committee on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) Bill, an interdepartmental working group on blight (IDWGB) was established to review the impact of blight during major infrastructure projects. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions published the final report of the IDWGB in 1997. This report is in the public domain. The report recommended, amongst other things, the creation of a Property Purchase Guarantee and Compensation Scheme, although this was not adopted by the government of the day.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking with his European counterparts to encourage the reduction of fuel consumption by heavy-duty vehicles across the EU.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
We are committed to reducing the fuel consumption of heavy duty vehicles. We continue to work closely with both the UK industry and our European counterparts to ensure that the recently published EU Strategy for improving heavy duty vehicle fuel consumption and reducing CO2 emissions reflects UK interests, and is ambitious but deliverable, proportionate and cost effective.
Asked by: Stephen Phillips (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems into UK civil airspace.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Department for Transport leads on policy for the operation of civil remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) in the UK. We are working with international Governments, regulators and the industry – including the European Commission and International Civil Aviation Organization – on the development of regulation for the safe integration of RPAS into UK and European airspace.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Safety Agency have a statutory responsibility to deal with the detailed Regulation.
In addition, the Department for Transport currently chairs the cross-Government Working Group on RPAS and sits on the Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation & Assessment Steering Board, which both seek to enable the safe and routine use of RPAS in all classes of airspace without the need for restrictive or specialised conditions of operation. This will be achieved through the coordinated development and demonstration of key technologies and operating procedures.