Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to his Department has been of the compensation payments to customers made by Govia Thameslink Railway in relation to its rail franchises in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The total cost of compensation payments was £6.6m in the 12 months up to 21 July, the latest date for which data is available.
The disruption suffered by passengers on Thameslink and Great Northern services following the May timetable change was completely unacceptable. The railway industry is funding a special compensation scheme which will provide the most affected season, daily and carnet ticket holders with compensation for this disruption. The Department is reviewing GTR’s compliance with its contractual obligations, and if it is found that GTR are in breach of their contract then we will take appropriate action.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been paid in (a) compensation payments to customers and (b) penalty payments to his Department by Govia Thameslink Railway in relation to its rail franchises in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Govia Thameslink Railway paid £5.5m in compensation payments to customers in the last 12 months up to 23rd June 2018, the latest date for which data is available.
The Department for Transport agreed a £5m per annum settlement with Govia Thameslink Railway for their performance payments for the period from September 2016 to September 2018.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the cost to charities running not-for-profit community minibus services of the proposed new guidance requiring advanced driving licence qualifications.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government published its consultation on the use of section 19 and section 22 permits for road passenger transport in Great Britain on 8th February 2018. The consultation focused on ensuring domestic legislation and guidance is aligned with EU Regulation 1071/2009 on road transport operators. An impact assessment was published alongside the consultation. To help build a stronger evidence base in relation to the potential impacts of the proposals, the consultation requested information from those providing community transport services as to how they operate.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what risk assessment has been conducted on the proposed new guidance for drivers of not-for-profit community bus services.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government published its consultation on the use of section 19 and section 22 permits for road passenger transport in Great Britain on 8th February 2018. The consultation focused on ensuring domestic legislation and guidance is aligned with EU Regulation 1071/2009 on road transport operators. An impact assessment was published alongside the consultation. To help build a stronger evidence base in relation to the potential impacts of the proposals, the consultation requested information from those providing community transport services as to how they operate.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of Southern trains have operated without an onboard supervisor in each month since guards were discontinued.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
In January 2017, Southern launched the on-board supervisor on routes where the technology allows the driver to control the doors. The conductors on these services were moved to an on-board supervisor (OBS) role. Since then approximately 1.3% of these services have operated without their rostered on-board supervisor for the full journey. This only happens in certain exceptional circumstances such as staff sickness or the second staff member running late.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to assist former employees of Monarch Airlines since its collapse.
Answered by John Hayes
We have been working across government to ensure the almost 2,000 former Monarch employees receive the support they need. I am pleased that other airlines are already appealing to Monarch’s former employees. For instance, Virgin Atlantic are offering a fast track recruitment process for cabin crew and pilots, and easyJet have invited applications for 500 cabin crew vacancies and for direct-entry Captains or First Officers who meet Captain qualifications.
The Job Centre’s Rapid Response Service is also helping employees make the transition into new roles with tailored support. All former Monarch employees will have received information from Jobcentre Plus outlining the support available to them. In total, Jobcentre Plus has pulled together a list of more than 6,300 vacancies across the major UK based airlines, which will help former Monarch employees remain in the airline industry.
There are also special arrangements for employees who are owed redundancy payments following the insolvency of their employer. The Redundancy Payments Service in the Insolvency Service can pay statutory amounts owed to the former employees from the National Insurance Fund. This may include redundancy pay, notice pay and pension contributions. Information on how to claim any money owed can be found on www.gov.uk or by contacting the Insolvency Service on 0330 331 0020.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the involvement was of Monarch Airlines crew in repatriating UK passengers after the collapse of the airline.
Answered by John Hayes
I am not aware of any direct involvement from Monarch Airlines flight crew in repatriating passengers after the collapse of the airline.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government has taken to help former Monarch Airlines employees who did not receive redundancy payments.
Answered by John Hayes
We have been working across government to ensure the almost 2,000 former Monarch employees receive the support they need. I am pleased that other airlines are already appealing to Monarch’s former employees. For instance, Virgin Atlantic are offering a fast track recruitment process for cabin crew and pilots, and easyJet have invited applications for 500 cabin crew vacancies and for direct-entry Captains or First Officers who meet Captain qualifications.
The Job Centre’s Rapid Response Service is also helping employees make the transition into new roles with tailored support. All former Monarch employees will have received information from Jobcentre Plus outlining the support available to them. In total, Jobcentre Plus has pulled together a list of more than 6,300 vacancies across the major UK based airlines, which will help former Monarch employees remain in the airline industry.
There are also special arrangements for employees who are owed redundancy payments following the insolvency of their employer. The Redundancy Payments Service in the Insolvency Service can pay statutory amounts owed to the former employees from the National Insurance Fund. This may include redundancy pay, notice pay and pension contributions. Information on how to claim any money owed can be found on www.gov.uk or by contacting the Insolvency Service on 0330 331 0020.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to bring forward proposals for a rail ombudsman.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I have been leading discussions with industry and consumer bodies about introducing a rail ombudsman that would improve the passenger voice in rail and provide independent binding resolution of complaints. Work on the detail of the scheme, which is being developed by a Task Force which includes the Rail Delivery Group, Transport Focus, London TravelWatch and the Office of Rail and Road, is progressing.
I anticipate being in a position to provide a further update by the end of the summer when the work of the Task Force has been further developed.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the Gibb Report on the Southern Rail franchise before the end of June 2017.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Chris Gibb report was published by the Department for Transport on 22 June 2017. The report is now available on the GOV.UK website along with the Secretary of State’s response.
Please see links provided: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/southern-rail-network-gibb-report
SoS response link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gibb-report-on-southern-rail-network-government-response