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66185

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what professional development courses are made available to staff of his Department; and what the cost to the public purse is of each such course.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	204351
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Department makes available to its staff any and all professional development courses from the training market which enable it to ensure that staff have the most relevant knowledge, skills and expertise to do their jobs effectively and so meet the Department's objectives.</p><p> </p><p>It is therefore not possible to provide a complete list of all professional development courses available to staff.</p><p> </p><p>The cost of training is closely monitored to ensure that expenditure is kept within budgetary provisions.</p><p> </p><p>The Department also complies with the appropriate procurement route in order to ensure that professional development training is fit for purpose and offers good value for money.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 14/07/2014 15:48:23 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

66186

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Senior Civil Servants
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many senior civil servants appointed to positions in his Department since 2010 were previously (a) political appointees within that Department and (b) employed by a political party.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	204332
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The department does not hold data relating to political activity prior to appointment, of its Senior Civil Servants. However, all Senior Civil Servants within our department must adhere to section 14 of the Civil Service code relating to Political Impartiality which can be found at</p><p><a href="http://resources.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/civil-service-code-2010.pdf" target="_blank">http://resources.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/civil-service-code-2010.pdf</a><strong><strong><strong><strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><strong><strong><strong></strong></strong></strong></strong></p><p /><p><strong><strong><strong></strong></strong></strong></p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 14/07/2014 15:46:33 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

66187

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Bus Services: Visual Impairment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Fifth Report of the Transport Committee of Session 2013-14, on Access to Transport for Disabled People, HC 116, what assessment he has made of the progress of bus operators in installing audio-visual announcement systems for people with sight loss as recommended in paragraph 29 of that report.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	204357
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Department for Transport recognises that many people find audio and visual announcements useful for travelling. Given the obvious benefits of these systems to blind and partially sighted passengers, we are keen to encourage operators and local authorities to invest in this technology for their buses, where possible.</p><p> </p><p>However, we also understand that the installation of this technology comes at a considerable cost.</p><p>My noble colleague, Baroness Kramer, wrote to bus operators on 4<sup>th</sup> February 2014 to encourage the development of more affordable audio-visual systems. In addition, on 2<sup>nd</sup> July 2014 Baroness Kramer outlined plans for a further research initiative, run by the Department for Transport and the Transport Systems catapult, involving small businesses and academic institutions to encourage further innovation in this area.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 14/07/2014 15:33:20 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

66188

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Freedom of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on legal fees in cases relating to the release of information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	204284
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The amount spent by this Department and its Executive Agencies on external legal fees relating to requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, namely payments to the Treasury Solicitor's Department and counsel, in each of the last five financial years, is as shown in the table below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial year</p><p> </p></td><td><p>External legal spend (excluding VAT)</p><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£17,495</p><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£32,404</p><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£311</p><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£3,068</p><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£69</p><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15*</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£31,785</p><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /> <p> </p><p /> <p>*Includes figures for payments of fees made to date.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 14/07/2014 15:41:32 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

66189

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Bus Services: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the results of the bus driver disability training review.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	204356
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Department for Transport has recently reviewed the use of a derogation applied under EU Regulation 181/2011 (concerning bus/coach passenger rights) exempting bus and coach drivers from undertaking mandatory disability awareness training.</p><p> </p><p>To inform the review, on 24 February 2014 my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer, wrote to bus industry representatives, disability stakeholders and charities seeking their input, to determine whether drivers are receiving adequate disability awareness training under the current voluntary arrangement.</p><p>Having received and considered many comprehensive responses, Baroness Kramer will share her findings with Ministerial colleagues shortly and discuss how to best to proceed.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, a summary of responses received in relation to the review will be made available on the Government's website in due course.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 14/07/2014 15:31:32 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

66190

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Air Travel
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what occasions each Minister within his Department has taken domestic flights on official business since May 2010.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	204302
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Details of all Ministerial Overseas travel is published on a quarterly basis at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-transport&amp;publication_type=transparency-data" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-transport&amp;publication_type=transparency-data</a></p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 14/07/2014 15:44:17 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

66191

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	High Speed 2 Line
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of extending the potential economic benefits of extending High Speed 2 to Colchester.
tabling member constituency	Colchester
tabling member printed	Sir Bob Russell
uin	204240
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>HS2 will help to promote economic growth and drive regional regeneration by bringing our major cities closer together, supporting job creation across the country and deliver around £2 of benefits for every £1 spent.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has not assessed the potential economic benefits of extending HS2 to Colchester.</p><p> </p><p>Only last Monday (7th July) Government announced the first instalment of plans to invest at least £12billion in local economies across England in a series of Growth Deals, between 2015/16 and 2020/21.</p><p> </p><p>As part of their Growth Deal the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (which includes Essex as well as Thurrock, Southend, Kent, Medway and East Sussex) has secured some £442 million to support economic growth in the area – with £64 million of new funding confirmed for 2015/16.</p><p> </p><p>As part of this allocation there is £2m for a programme of sustainable transport measures in Colchester, alongside a further £10m for integrated transport packages in the Town Centre. This is on top of a provisional allocation in the region of £3m towards transport improvements in the A133 Colchester to Clacton corridor.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 14/07/2014 15:38:54 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	35 label Biography information for Sir Bob Russell

66197

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: North of England
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the local transport authorities which form Rail North and are jointly responsible for the (a) TransPennine Express and (b) Northern Rail franchises will have the freedom to specify (i) staffing levels, (ii) ticket office hours and (iii) driver-only specification of new rolling stock in the new franchise bids for each line.
tabling member constituency	Wigan
tabling member printed	Lisa Nandy
uin	204185
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Department for Transport is currently conducting a joint public consultation with Rail North which will inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises; no decisions have yet been taken. While the Secretary of State will make the final decisions on the franchise specifications, Rail North authorities are very involved in this process, including having representatives working within the Department for Transport teams. We expect, however, that for both franchises: (i) staffing levels will be left for bidders to propose; (ii) under the current policy bidders are free to propose changes to ticket office hours, but any change could only take place following further public consultation; and (iii) Specification of Driver Only Operation is being considered for the Northern franchise but we expect to leave this free for bidders to propose on the TransPennine Express franchise.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 14/07/2014 15:34:44 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	4082 label Biography information for Lisa Nandy

66199

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Road Traffic
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to reduce congestion (a) in Windsor constituency and (b) around Heathrow Airport.
tabling member constituency	Windsor
tabling member printed	Adam Afriyie
uin	204116
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p>Transport investment is central to the Government's long term economic plan. On 7<sup>th</sup> July we announced £3 billion of funding for new local transport schemes within the Local Growth Fund. This included £96.9 million for the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (which includes Windsor). Of this, £94.6 million will support transport schemes that have been bid for by the LEP and will make a real difference to transport accessibility in the whole of the Thames Valley. These include provisional funding from 2016/17 onwards of £4.75 million for a sustainable transport package across the Thames Valley LEP area.</p><p> </p><p>Local transport in the Windsor and Maidenhead area has, since 2010, also benefited from investment that will reduce congestion in the area. This includes just over £2 million of Local Pinch Point Funding, £16.1million investment in improving the state of the roads and on small scale transport schemes and around £2 million from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund to ease congestion by promoting travel behaviour change through a package of sustainable travel measures aimed at residents, schools and businesses.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to investment in the local network the Government continues to progress the M4 smart motorway. A further formal public consultation on the scheme will be held in the autumn and subject to development consent and the final business case, construction could start in late Summer 2016. As well as this the Highways Agency is taking forward a £2.5 million scheme to improve the links between the M4 and A329(M), to provide increased capacity at the junction and improve traffic flows. The scheme will be delivered by the end of March 2015.</p><p>The Government is also investing around £500 million in Western Rail Access to Heathrow subject to a satisfactory business case and agreement of acceptable terms with the Heathrow aviation industry. This will facilitate direct rail services between destinations in the Thames Valley and Heathrow airport.</p><p> </p><p /> <p /><p /> <p /><p /> <p /><p /> <p /> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 14/07/2014 15:19:51 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	1586 label Biography information for Adam Afriyie

64109

registered interest
date	25/06/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Driving under Influence: Drugs
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the defence of the normal use of prescribed drugs in protecting innocent patients from prosecution for drug driving.
tabling member printed	Baroness Smith of Basildon
uin	HL613
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2014 answer text <p>The Government will not be able to make a full assessment of the effectiveness of the statutory medical defence for those patients legitimately taking medication until the new drug driving offence comes into force next year. We have though appointed a research company who will be evaluating the effectiveness of the new offence including the application of the medical defence and will report in 2016.</p><p> </p><p>The Government set out the actions it proposes to take on minimising any inconvenience on patients in the summary of responses to the consultations on its proposed drugs and limits to be specified in regulations on 27 March 2014, which is available at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/drug-driving-proposed-regulations" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/consultations/drug-driving-proposed-regulations</a> and in the libraries of the House. We do not expect the new drug driving legislation to change for patients from the current position.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 09/07/2014 10:34:16 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	4170 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Basildon