Asked by: Teresa Pearce (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) his Department has completed its evaluation of bids and (b) he has completed his consent relating to the tender for the Southeastern franchise; and whether his Department currently has credible live bids for that tender.
Answered by Andrew Jones
We are still in the evaluation phase of the competition. My Department wants to ensure that the franchise meets the needs of passengers and taxpayers and will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Teresa Pearce (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the protocol is for the annual write-off of irrecoverable Dart Charge debts; and whether there is ministerial sign-off of those debts.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Irrecoverable cases have been written off in accordance with a defined set of agreed business rules which were reviewed and agreed with the National Audit Office as the auditing authority. Only cases that are assessed to be beyond likely recovery at economic cost are written off. The Minister does not formally approve the write-off of these cases but is required to review and approve the annual accounts prior to formal sign-off by Highways England’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Finance Officer.
Asked by: Teresa Pearce (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what penalty clauses are in place in the Dart Charge operator’s contract in relation to penalty charges not issued on a timely basis.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The DFFC (Dartford Free Flow Charging) contract includes a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) which measures timely issuance of enforcement documentation. This KPI covers the issuance of the following documentation: Penalty Charges; Charge Certificates; Order for Recovery and Warrant of Execution. Enforcement documentation which does not meet set times can attract service points which equate to a financial penalty to the operator
Asked by: Teresa Pearce (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of annual write-offs have related to penalty charges not issued on a timely basis since the introduction of the Dart Charge in November 2014.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Since 2015/16, Highways England (HE) have been required to record estimated revenue loss in respect of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) not issued when they should have been. These figures are included within the annual accounts and are tabled below. In respect of 2018/19, this information will be available once the accounts are published in January 2020.
2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 |
£8.8m | £2.0m-£4.0m | £0.4m-£3.0m |
Source: Dartford & Thurrock River Crossing Accounts 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18.
Asked by: Teresa Pearce (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the level of annual Dart Charge (a) road user charge and (b) enforcement write-offs in respect of the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing since the introduction of the Dart Charge in November 2014.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The table below sets out the annual position as published within the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing annual accounts, as well as the cumulative total. It should be noted that no Penalty Charge Notice cases were formally written off in 2014/15 - the write-off would have materialised in 2015/16. In respect of 2018/19, this information will be available once the annual accounts are published in January 2020.
£m | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | Total |
a. RUC | 0.0 | 0.5 | 6.2 | 4.5 | 11.1 |
b. PCN’s | 0.0 | 10.3 | 42.4 | 38.5 | 91.2 |
Total | 0.0 | 10.7 | 48.7 | 43.0 | 102.4 |
Source: Dartford & Thurrock River Crossing Accounts 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18.
Asked by: Teresa Pearce (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason is the award of the South Eastern rail franchise delayed; what the revised timetable is for that award; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department continues to make progress evaluating bids for the South Eastern franchise. The Department will make an announcement on the intention to award in due course.