Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the safety of pedestrians in (a) City of Durham constituency and (b) County Durham.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Transport updated The Highway Code on 29 January 2022 to include changes to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders.
The local council has responsibility for making decisions about local roads, based on its local knowledge and taking into account local needs.
Durham City Council was also awarded £528,000 from the Safer Roads Fund in 2016/17 for improvements to the A67. Pedestrian related improvements funded included pedestrian crossing points at various locations along the A67 in Barnard castle and Startforth Park.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2022 to Question 4522 on District Heating: Whitehall, how much was charged to Government Departments by the Government Property Agency for the provision of heating from the Whitehall boiler system in 2022-23.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
A number of departmental buildings have transferred ownership to the Government Property Agency and the details of buildings served by the Whitehall Boiler System are provided in the table below.
Building | Department |
MOD Main Building | Ministry of Defence |
Government Office Great George Street | Government Property Agency |
70 Whitehall | Government Property Agency |
10 Downing Street | Government Property Agency |
Admiralty House | Government Property Agency |
King Charles Street | Government Property Agency |
Old Admiralty Building | Government Property Agency |
Horse Guards | Ministry of Defence |
Dover House | Government Property Agency |
22-26 Whitehall | Government Property Agency |
55 Whitehall | Government Property Agency |
Gwydyr House | Government Property Agency |
36 Whitehall | Government Property Agency |
The total costs that were charged to Government Departments by the Government Property Agency for the provision of heating from the Whitehall Boiler System is as follows;
(a) 2022 - 23: £4.8m
These costs include standing charges for the operation and maintenance of the Whitehall Boiler System along with the cost of actual heat consumed by each building.
Meeting the Greening Government agenda objectives has been a key consideration for the Government Property Agency as the Whitehall Boiler System undertakes a decarbonisation project to support reaching Net Zero. This has involved works to insulate pipework and decommissioning assets that do not support the future operating system. Future phases include works to allow the operating temperature to be lowered to further reduce carbon emissions.
The Whitehall Boiler System energy centre is considering options to achieve Net Zero through a federated approach which may include connecting to district heating networks for an external low carbon heat source. This option can be implemented when the system is operating at a medium temperature. The best source of external low carbon heat for the Whitehall Campus is likely to be achieved by connection to an external low carbon heat source similar to that as proposed under ‘South Westminster Area Network’ (Project SWAN) or a variant on this project.
Currently the project is at development stage and it is proposed that, subject to the required budget being available, works will commence in 2026.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on the horserace betting levy.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department is engaging with representatives of the betting and racing industries and other interested parties as part of our review of the Horserace Betting Levy, which we have committed to undertake by April 2024. The engagement with racing has been channelled through the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) in line with racing’s agreed industry strategy and the engagement with betting has been channelled through the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) as the industry body for UK betting and gaming.
In addition to those organisations, I have also met the Horserace Betting Levy Board, the Horse Racing Bettors Forum and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Racing and Bloodstock; and officials have met the UK Tote, the Federation of Racecourse Bookmakers and the British Association of Racecourse Bookmakers in the past six months.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the safety of pedestrians on rural roads (a) with Transport for London and local authorities in (i) Enfield North constituency and (ii) London and (b) in England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Responsibility for managing London's road network is shared between Transport for London, National Highways and the London boroughs.
At a national level, the Highway Code was updated on 29 January 2022 to include changes to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders. Key changes include the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, strengthening pedestrian priority on pavements and at crossings and guidance on safe passing distances when overtaking cyclists, pedestrians and horse-riders. The changes will lead to improvements in road safety as they encourage more mutual respect and consideration for all road users.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made a recent assessment of the safety of pedestrians on rural roads (a) with Transport for London in (i) Enfield North constituency and (ii) London and (b) in England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Responsibility for managing London's road network is shared between Transport for London, National Highways and the London boroughs.
At a national level, the Highway Code was updated on 29 January 2022 to include changes to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders. Key changes include the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, strengthening pedestrian priority on pavements and at crossings and guidance on safe passing distances when overtaking cyclists, pedestrians and horse-riders. The changes will lead to improvements in road safety as they encourage more mutual respect and consideration for all road users.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the level of understanding among road users of the changes to the Highway Code introduced in January 2022.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The January 2022 changes to The Highway Code to help improve road safety for people walking, cycling and horse riding have been communicated via:
The campaign has been supported by significant media spend, utilising channels such as radio, digital audio, video on demand and social media advertising.
- The percentage of road users reporting to know either a little or a lot about the Highway Code changes increased from 36% in January 2022 to 58% in August 2022, with 83% of road users having heard of the changes by August 2022.
- The percentage of people who agreed that motor vehicles do have priority on the roads fell from 68% in January 2022 to 61% in August 2022.
- 78% of road users correctly identified the need for a 1.5m gap when passing cyclists in January 2022, rising to 84% in August 2022. Understanding that cyclists may ride two abreast also increased from 30% to 46%. The percentage of drivers reporting that they always leave a 1.5 metre gap when passing cyclists rose from 50% in January 2022 to 58% in August 2022.
- Recognition among the target audience of at least one of the campaign assets was 57% at Phase 1 and 53% at Phase 2. Of the respondents that recognised the 30 second hero assets from Phase 2, nearly nine in ten (84%) said they had done something as a result.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to (a) change and (b) eliminate the Horse Passport System.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra carried out a 12-week public consultation last year on Improvements to Equine Identification and Traceability in England. Subsequently Defra published the summary of results and Government response In November 2022. This report sets out Government plans to improve rather than to eliminate the current horse passport system. Notably this will include increased digitisation to make the system more efficient, accurate and easier to use for horse owners. This will better support equine traceability for disease control, equine welfare, trade and public health.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce a national education programme into equine welfare.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
My Department currently has no plans to introduce a government programme in this area. The governments statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids provides owners and keepers with welfare information concerning equines. The Code of Practice can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-welfare-of-horses-ponies-donkeys-and-their-hybrids
In addition, the equine welfare sector promotes good welfare practice through their respective websites and via social media. Advice from the British Horse Society is available at https://www.bhs.org.uk/horse-care-and-welfare/health-care-management/tethering/.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has been found within their Department's estate.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is a tenant within two UK Government Hubs; one is located at Erskine House, 20-32 Chichester Street, Belfast, BT1 4GF which is managed by HMRC. The other is located at 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ, which is managed by the Government Property Agency (GPA). In that light, NIO as tenants would not centrally hold such information.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to acknowledge and commemorate the contribution of British service personnel during the Korean War.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
On 27 July 2023 the Ministry of Defence supported the Royal British Legion to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice. An event was held on Horse Guards Parade with invited veterans and families as well as ticketed guests, with tri-service involvement and representation throughout the Service. The service acknowledged the contribution of the 6,000 Service personnel from across Britain and the Commonwealth during the Korean War, including the 1,100 who lost their lives.