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64110

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: Visual Impairment
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 use of bioptic devices to facilitate driving for those with impaired vision.
tabling member printed	Baroness Scott of Needham Market
uin	HL614
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2014 answer text <p>The use of bioptic devices has been considered by an expert working group established by the European Commission Driving Licence Committee, which included a representative from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.</p><p> </p><p>They concluded that the minimum standards for driving should not be changed before further research is conducted into the evidence and technological development of the devices.</p><p> </p><p>The use of bioptic devices for driving would be considered only if they do not compromise road safety.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 01/07/2014 12:42:31 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	2542 label Biography information for Baroness Scott of Needham Market

64126

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	Channel Tunnel
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to transfer responsibility for economic regulation and railway safety within the Channel Tunnel from the Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission to the United Kingdom and French rail regulators; if so, by what date; and, if not, why not.
tabling member printed	Lord Berkeley
uin	HL630
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2014 answer text <p>The British and French Governments will move economic regulation of the Tunnel from the Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) and its French equivalent, and put in place a charging framework by 31 March 2015. We are working with the French Government and anticipate that those commitments will be resolved by March next year. There are no plans to transfer railway safety from IGC.</p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 30/06/2014 12:59:43 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	3526 label Biography information for Lord Berkeley

63814

registered interest
date	24/06/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Ferries: Minimum Wage
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the national minimum wage provisions are applied in the case of the crews of ferries operating on routes into and out of the United Kingdom.
tabling member printed	Lord MacKenzie of Culkein
uin	HL598
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2014 answer text <p>The Government is currently reviewing the application of the legislation to seafarers. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), where responsibility for the NMW legislation lies, are leading this review. It will primarily consider those seafarers working on ferry services. It is considering the Irish Sea routes as the maritime unions have raised concerns in regard to services on those routes. Other routes where potential avoidance or lack of awareness of the legislation is evident will be considered in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Government, industry stakeholders and unions are working on this review.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 01/07/2014 12:41:15 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	2507 label Biography information for Lord MacKenzie of Culkein

63815

registered interest
date	24/06/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Shipping: Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made as to whether the present level of United Kingdom seafarer training is sufficient to prevent long-term shortages of seafarers.
tabling member printed	Lord MacKenzie of Culkein
uin	HL599
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2014 answer text <p>The maritime sector is vitally important to the UK economy and the Government is keen for talented individuals, trained to the highest standards, to continue to enter the industry. The Government produces and publishes National Statistics on the number of UK certificated seafarers and ratings currently estimated to be active at sea and on the number of sea cadets in training. The Department for Transport carefully monitors these statistics each year (or when updates are available).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It is evident that there is a decline in seafarer numbers and this was a key subject of discussion at a recent Maritime round table which included Ministers and representatives from industry and the Unions. To address this decline, the Support for Maritime Training programme (SMarT) budget was increased by 25% to £15m in September 2013. The SMarT budget supports the cost of training for both ratings and cadets.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government also has a number of other policies in place to address the decline including:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Maritime apprenticeships, where the maritime sector is playing a key role in helping shape the future of apprenticeships through a ratings trailblazer which was announced in March 2014.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>The UK's tonnage tax regime has a mandatory training link where currently one trainee officer is trained each year for every 15 officer posts in a company or group's fleet. This training link will pilot an extension to allow three ratings to be trained in place of one trainee officer.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 30/06/2014 12:58:18 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	2507 label Biography information for Lord MacKenzie of Culkein

63816

registered interest
date	24/06/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Maritime and Coastguard Agency
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of surveyor posts in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are unfilled; and what steps are being taken to rectify the situation.
tabling member printed	Lord MacKenzie of Culkein
uin	HL600
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2014 answer text <p>The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has a complement of 205 posts which either involve the physical activity of surveying, or where the job is graded at the same level as a surveyor. Of these posts, 24% are unfilled, although a high proportion are vacant because the postholder has been seconded or temporarily promoted to other roles which do not entail surveying. In these cases, their marine surveyor skills remain available to the MCA.</p><p> </p><p>The MCA continues to campaign on a national basis to fill vacancies and the last campaign was launched in May 2014. Interviews are planned for week commencing 30 June.</p><p> </p><p>The MCA is trialling Skype interviews to improve the accessibility for candidates working overseas or on vessels.</p><p> </p><p>The MCA has been running a Graduate Scheme for marine surveyors since 2010.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 01/07/2014 11:48:16 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	2507 label Biography information for Lord MacKenzie of Culkein

63819

registered interest
date	24/06/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	CHIRP
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will reintroduce some or all of the funding which they withdrew in 2011 to the Confidential Hazardous Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP) so that CHIRP's work in promoting maritime safety may be further developed.
tabling member printed	Lord MacKenzie of Culkein
uin	HL603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2014 answer text <p>Her Majesty's Government has no plans to fund CHIRP for maritime. CHIRP's activities to promote maritime safety have continued since 2011, now funded by maritime sector sponsors. This is a welcome arrangement, which illustrates the commitment of maritime organisations to support safe operations for the benefit of all mariners.</p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 01/07/2014 11:31:53 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	2507 label Biography information for Lord MacKenzie of Culkein

63103

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Driving: Diabetes
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 impact of the time taken to issue new licences to diabetics who are required annually to renew their class C1 driving licences and undertake a medical examination; and whether they have any plans to expedite the process for such drivers to renew their licences.
tabling member printed	Lord Eames
uin	HL512
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2014 answer text <p>No formal assessment has been made on the impact of the time taken to issue a category C1 (small lorries) licence to drivers with diabetes.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been working with key stakeholders and has recently reviewed the application process for all vocational drivers with insulin treated diabetes. As a result, a pilot exercise is currently being carried out where certain aspects of the application process have been streamlined.</p><p> </p><p>Further opportunities to speed up the application process will be explored following the conclusion of the pilot exercise.</p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 30/06/2014 12:59:07 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	2793 label Biography information for Lord Eames

63105

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: China
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what parts of the rail industry and contracts are included in the co-operation agreement between the United Kingdom and China announced on 18 June; and whether Chinese companies will be given any priorities in the award of contracts.
tabling member printed	Lord Berkeley
uin	HL514
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2014 answer text <p>The co-operation agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) between the United Kingdom and China signed on 18 June is designed to promote mutual commercial co-operation and business-to-business collaboration in the field of rail transport where this is deemed to be mutually beneficial.</p><p> </p><p>The agreement contains no contracts and reinforces the concept of a fair and level playing field in line with international and domestic law concerning the transparency of public procurement and the supply of products or services.</p><p> </p><p>The United Kingdom remains open to international investment and welcomes suitably qualified companies from other countries, including China, to participate in our rail market. Companies from China, or any other country, will not receive any priority in the award of contracts and the expanding railway market in China represents a significant opportunity for the United Kingdom to export its wealth of experience and expertise in this area.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 30/06/2014 12:56:28 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	3526 label Biography information for Lord Berkeley

63122

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Invalid Vehicles
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what they are doing to ensure greater take-up of insurance cover by mobility scooter users, and to encourage more training in the use of scooters.
tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
uin	HL531
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2014 answer text <p>The Government has issued guidance for users of mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs which recommends that they take out insurance cover and undertake formal training. The guidance is available at online at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobility-scooters-and-powered-wheelchairs-on-the-road-some-guidance-for-users" target="_blank"><u><u><u><u>www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobility-scooters-and-powered-wheelchairs-on-the-road-some-guidance-for-users</u></u></u></u></a></p><p> </p><p /> <p /><p /> <p /><p /> <p /><p /> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 30/06/2014 12:56:54 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

63123

registered interest
date	23/06/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Taxis: Wheelchairs
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in implementing section 165 of the Equality Act 2010 which places a duty on taxi drivers to assist passengers who are wheelchair users.
tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
uin	HL532
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p>In February 2014, I instructed officials to carry out a survey, through the Disability Action Alliance, in order to provide Ministers with a better understanding of the range of issues facing wheelchair users when using taxis or PHVs around the country. I have shared the survey with Ministerial colleagues and discussions are continuing across Government on how best to address this issue.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Law Commission's recently published (23<sup>rd</sup> May 2014) comprehensive review of taxi legislation also considered this matter and the Government will be responding to this document in due course.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 26/06/2014 12:40:54 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester