The Government works closely with the full spectrum of food and drink businesses across the country to promote growth, jobs, productivity and exports. We engage with businesses both directly and through trade associations, Local Enterprise Partnerships, regional food groups and other business groups. We support them in their efforts to address economic challenges and mitigate regulatory and compliance issues, and prepare successfully for EU exit.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4033", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Rutley"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Macclesfield"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "David Rutley"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-05-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-05-01T09:10:33.177Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-04-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Food"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the development of local food plans.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4449", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Anna Turley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Redcar"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Anna Turley"} ], "uin" : "248052"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1121778", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1121778/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Whilst decisions on staffing are for individual operators, the Government has been clear that it wants to see more staff on our railway, not fewer, and it is not aware of any plans by franchised operators to remove guards from train services.<\/p>
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With respect to the mode of train operation and guards, the ORR, the independent rail regulator, and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) have found that Driver Controlled Operation (DCO), where the train driver has responsibility for opening and closing the doors and dispatching the train from a station but a guard / second crew member continues to be rostered on the train, is safe.<\/p>
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An RSSB report also concluded that the introduction of DCO according to the standard safety management requirements that all rail companies routinely meet does not increase any other passenger safety risks and furthermore that cancelling a DCO train in the absence of its guard / second crew member is more risky than running it with only its driver.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3996", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Jones"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harrogate and Knaresborough"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Jones"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-04-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-04-25T13:16:52.443Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-04-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Railways: Safety"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the safety of train passengers when train guards are removed.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4449", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Anna Turley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Redcar"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Anna Turley"} ], "uin" : "245851"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1121779", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1121779/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Department works with the British Transport Police (BTP) to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour on the railways in Great Britain. Under their franchise agreements, Train Operating Companies are required to work with the BTP to manage and reduce railway crime. British Transport Police officer numbers have remained relatively stable on the network over the last five years and are currently (2017/18) nearly 3,100 by comparison to just over 2,900 in 2009/10.<\/p>
With growing passenger numbers, the Department has been clear that it wants to see more train operating company customer-facing staff on the railways, not fewer.<\/p>
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<\/p>
The BTP keeps records of crime reported on the railways. Crime figures should be considered in the context of rising passenger numbers, with crimes per million passenger journeys remaining relatively low and having decreased overall between 2014 and 2017.<\/p>
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With regard to factors influencing the levels of report crime on trains, the BTP has run a number of successful initiatives in recent years to encourage more reporting of crimes, which is likely to be a factor in the numbers of crimes reported. For example, BTP has a popular dedicated crime reporting text service - \u201861016\u2019 \u2013 which allows people to report offences to the police easily and discreetly.<\/p>
<\/p>
The levels of crime that are seen on the railway broadly mirror those seen across society as a whole, as recorded by the territorial police forces.<\/p>
<\/p>
A recent report by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) concluded that driver controlled train operation by comparison with conductor operation does not increase passenger safety risks.<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/p>
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<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3996", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Jones"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harrogate and Knaresborough"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Jones"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-04-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-04-25T13:31:44.083Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-04-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Railways: Crime"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of staffing reductions on levels of reported crime on trains.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4449", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Anna Turley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Redcar"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Anna Turley"} ], "uin" : "245852"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1122021", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1122021/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) policy has not generated revenue for the public purse. However, this policy has saved over £1.7bn since its introduction in April 2013. A breakdown by financial year is provided in the table below:<\/p>
<\/strong><\/p> Total Estimated Housing Benefit RSRS Deductions, 2013/14 to 2017/18 (£m pa)<\/strong><\/p>