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1653781

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Department for Business and Trade
answering dept id	214
answering dept short name	Business and Trade
answering dept sort name	Business and Trade
hansard heading	Trade Agreements
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff in her Department worked in the trade negotiations group as of 18 July 2023.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	194770
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2023 answer text <p>As of 30/06/23 the Department for Business and Trade (ex-DIT only) had 527 members of staff working on free trade negotiations. Due to the recent Machinery of Government changes, this figure does not include staff from the former Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) who have transferred to the Department of Business and Trade. In addition, our headcount figures are updated monthly, and therefore the most recent headcount figure is accurate as of 30/06/23.</p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 26/07/2023 15:49:32 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1653782

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: Ticket Offices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 193235 on Railways: Tickets, by what means he was first made aware of proposals to close a majority of staffed railway ticket offices in England.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	194771
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2023 answer text <p>Ministers regularly hold meetings with stakeholders, including the Rail Delivery Group and train operating companies, on challenges to the rail network. This includes discussions on modernising and improving the customer experience.</p> answering member constituency Bexhill and Battle answering member printed Huw Merriman question first answered 24/07/2023 08:48:51 answering member 4442 label Biography information for Huw Merriman
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1653783

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Department for Business and Trade
answering dept id	214
answering dept short name	Business and Trade
answering dept sort name	Business and Trade
hansard heading	Trade Agreements
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much the then Department for International Trade spent (a) negotiating and (b) implementing free trade agreements in financial year 2022-23.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	194772
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2023 answer text <p>The then Department for International Trade spent £46.2m in 2022-23 on the negotiation and implementation of Free Trade Agreements.</p><p>This enabled the Government to ratify new trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, which could lead to a £10.4 billion and £1.7 billion long run increase in bilateral trade respectively, conclude negotiations with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and progress negotiations with India, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Canada, Mexico, Israel, and Switzerland.</p> answering member constituency Wealden answering member printed Ms Nusrat Ghani question first answered 02/08/2023 14:06:22 answering member 4460 label Biography information for Ms Nusrat Ghani
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1653784

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Overseas Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2023 to Question 193678, what advice her Department provides to students living in the UK on a student visa and who need to apply for a new student visa without departing the UK because the award for their current course has been deferred as a result of the University and College Union marking and assessment boycott.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	194773
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2023 answer text <p>Students and sponsors should refer to paragraph 5.32 onwards of the sponsorship duties guidance. Where a formal award has not yet been issued, a student on a course at degree level or above at a sponsor which is a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance, can request formal written confirmation from their sponsor stating that they are highly likely to complete their course successfully.</p><p>The Department for Education will continue to engage with the HE sector over the coming weeks to help better understand the boycott’s impact on students and the mitigating actions HE institutions are taking to protect their students’ interests.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick question first answered 26/07/2023 11:56:10 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1653785

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: Midlands
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) projected end date is, (b) forecast spend in the financial year 2023-24 is, (c) initial planned whole life costs were and (d) delivery confidence assessment is of the Midlands Rail Hub programme; and when each of those figures were last reviewed.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	194774
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2023 answer text <p>The Midlands Rail Hub is projected to enter service in the early 2030s, and the forecast spend in 2023/24 is £7.98m. Initial planned whole life costs (at the time of the 2019 Strategic Outline Business Case) were £1,544m. The Delivery Confidence Assessment remains Amber, as set out in the Infrastructure and Projects Authority Annual Report. This detail is reviewed quarterly in line with the requirements of the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio.</p> answering member constituency Bexhill and Battle answering member printed Huw Merriman question first answered 24/07/2023 08:57:17 answering member 4442 label Biography information for Huw Merriman
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1653786

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
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, what the (a) projected end date is, (b) forecast spend in the financial year 2023-24 is, (c) initial planned whole life costs were and (d) delivery confidence assessment is of the TransPennine Route Upgrade; and when each of those figures were last reviewed.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	194775
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2023 answer text <p>The current forecast end date for the TransPennine Route Upgrade programme is between 2036 and 2041, but benefits will be released in phases from 2025.</p><p> </p><p>Forecast spend in 2023-24 is circa £650m and the total programme investment is estimated between £9.0bn and £11.5bn. Whole life costs are estimated at £12.1bn: up-front capital expenditure accounts for the significant proportion of this. All of these figures are from the 2021 business case; an update is currently in progress.</p><p> </p><p>The Infrastructure and Projects Authority rated the TRU programme’s delivery confidence as Amber in January and May 2021.</p> answering member constituency Bexhill and Battle answering member printed Huw Merriman question first answered 20/07/2023 13:23:09 answering member 4442 label Biography information for Huw Merriman
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1653787

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Great British Railways
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by which date he expects a site for the Great British Railway headquarters to be identified.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	194776
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2023 answer text <p>The Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) is working closely with Derby City Council to identify a suitable site. This collaboration has been underway since Derby was selected as the location for the headquarters of GBR and the site will be confirmed in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bexhill and Battle answering member printed Huw Merriman question first answered 24/07/2023 08:54:33 answering member 4442 label Biography information for Huw Merriman
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1653788

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Great British Railways
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on the transition of Network Rail to Great British Railways as of 18 July 2023.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	194777
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/09/2023 answer text <p>The Department spent £76.5m on the setup and operation of the Great British Railways Transition Team between November 2021 and 24 July 2023.</p> answering member constituency Bexhill and Battle answering member printed Huw Merriman question first answered 04/09/2023 11:14:37 answering member 4442 label Biography information for Huw Merriman
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1653789

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Trains: WiFi
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 the adequacy of WiFi on passenger trains.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	194778
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2023 answer text <p>The Department previously commissioned Transport Focus' '<em>Keeping connected: passengers’ experience of internet connectivity on Great Britain’s railways</em>' report, published on 24 July 2020, assessing on-train wifi and mobile operator connectivity.</p><p>Today the on-train wifi equipment, and hence the passenger experience, depends on the availability of adequate mobile signals.</p><p>We are working with Network Rail, to repeat the measurements of mobile operator signals across the rail network, previously published by Ofcom in 2019.The Department aims to publish this data in late 2024.</p><p>The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology in their Wireless Infrastructure Strategy has also asked Ofcom to increase their reporting of coverage on the rail network with an objective of reporting this annually and presenting this &quot;<em>in a way that provides meaningful information to consumers.</em>&quot;</p> answering member constituency Bexhill and Battle answering member printed Huw Merriman question first answered 24/07/2023 08:57:11 answering member 4442 label Biography information for Huw Merriman
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1653790

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	STEM Subjects: Women
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding for women and girls from lower advantaged backgrounds to study STEM subjects.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	194706
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2023 answer text <p>The Department is committed to ensuring that anyone, regardless of their background or where they live, can pursue an education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The Department funds a number of diversity and inclusion programmes to increase women and girls’ participation in STEM courses and careers.</p><p>In schools, girls’ participation in STEM is already increasing. Girls made up 44% of all STEM entries at A level in 2022 and 51% of all science entries at A level in 2022. Since 2010, there has been a 35% increase in the number of STEM A level entries from girls in England.<sup><sup>[1]</sup></sup> The Department is boosting the take up of STEM subjects by delivering the Prime Minister’s ambition of ensuring all pupils in England study mathematics to 18.</p><p>The Department funds a number of programmes to inspire pupils, including girls, to take STEM subjects and support their engagement. This includes tailored mathematics support for students and teachers through the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme and an Inclusion in Schools project to increase the uptake of A level physics from pupils in underrepresented groups, including girls.</p><p>The Department’s programmes also include £100 million for the National Centre for Computing Education to increase participation in computer science at GCSE and A level, including funding for research on gender balance in computing, the results of which will inform a gender insights programme to support schools’ awareness of barriers to girls’ engagement with computing and help them improve take up of computer science qualifications. Other programmes include a national research trial on improving gender balance for physics, the results of which will be published in 2024, and the STEM Ambassadors programme, which inspires young people from underrepresented backgrounds to engage with STEM subjects. Approximately 45% of ambassadors are women and 15% are from minority ethnic backgrounds, providing young people with a variety of role models.</p><p>The Department aims to maximise opportunities for participation in STEM at every level of education. STEM apprenticeship starts by women and girls continue to increase year on year, with 14,110 starts in 2021/22, up 23.3% from 2020/21 (11,440 starts). <br> <br> The Department supports women and girls’ participation in STEM apprenticeships through the Apprenticeships Diversity Champions Network. The Department is also establishing a network of 21 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) to help close skills gaps in STEM sectors. One aim of IoTs is increasing participation from underrepresented groups at the local level.</p><p>The Department is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on new postgraduate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science conversion courses to boost skills and diversity in AI jobs. In the programme’s first year, 76% of scholarships were awarded to women, 45% to black students, and 24% to students with disabilities. 2,000 additional scholarships are available to be delivered between 2023 and 2025.</p><p>[1] House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (2023), Diversity and inclusion in STEM: Government Response to the Committee’s Fifth Report, p. 8: <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/135/science-innovation-and-technology-committee/publications/" target="_blank">https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/135/science-innovation-and-technology-committee/publications/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 26/07/2023 09:46:16 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon