Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what was the cost of supply and repair of the front door system to Peers' Entrance, and what action he is taking to ensure that the system operates efficiently and reliably at all times.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The supply of the Peers Entrance works was competitively procured and benchmarked against other projects within Parliament to provide assurance around value for money.
For security reasons, the Houses do not publish capital expenditure on security mitigating projects as providing this level of detail could enable an individual to infer the extent and nature of the works, and thus the vulnerabilities which they were intended to mitigate.
There is no additional cost to the House in repairing defects with the door, as these defects are covered as part of our supply contracts for the main works. £1,500 in maintenance costs have been incurred for call outs where operator or user error have been the cause.
The House Administration is undertaking urgent work with operational staff and with our contractors to address and resolve the ongoing issues with the door.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money is raised annually from the victim surcharge.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The surcharge (often referred to as the victim surcharge) was first introduced in April 2007 and changes were introduced on 1 October 2012, 1 September 2014, 8 April 2016, 28 June 2019, 14 April 2020 and then again on 16 June 2022.
When a court passes a sentence, it must also order that the relevant surcharge is paid. The amount of the surcharge depends on the sentence and whether at the time the offence was committed the offender was an adult or a youth (under 18 years of age), or if the offender is an organisation.
Revenue raised from the surcharge provides a contribution towards Ministry of Justice-funded victim and witness support services.
HMCTS accounts for the amount of victim surcharge imposed and collected in the annual HMCTS Trust Statement. The Trust Statement was introduced in 2010-11 prior to that the data was not collated centrally. The table below illustrates the amounts imposed and collected each year since April 2010. The amounts collected will include receipts for amounts imposed in prior years.
Financial Year | Victim Surcharge Imposed £000 | Victim Surcharge collected £000 |
2010-11 | 12,552 | 10,516 |
2011-12 | 11,234 | 10,165 |
2012-13 | 14,331 | 10,518 |
2013-14 | 30,970 | 19,548 |
2014-15 | 35,203 | 24,569 |
2015-16 | 37,866 | 28,307 |
2016-17 | 44,785 | 31,029 |
2017-18 | 46,603 | 35,022 |
2018-19 | 45,521 | 33,529 |
2019-20 | 44,424 | 39,689 |
2020-21 | 36,647 | 35,039 |
2021-22 | 46,654 | 37,852 |
2022-23 | 65,270 | 41,314 |
2023-24 | 104,032 | 65,496 |
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the annual revenue raised from the victim surcharge is given to organisations that support road crash victims and their families.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Victim Surcharge is not a standalone funding stream and instead provides a contribution to the overall Ministry of Justice Victim and Witness budget, which is used to commission practical, emotional and therapeutic support for victims of all crime at a national and local level. Therefore, we are unable to say how much is given specifically to organisations which support victims of road traffic incidents.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the total annual victim surcharge is raised from traffic offences.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce roadside cameras, following trials carried out between October 2022 and February 2023.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department does not have any current plans to undertake further trials of roadside noise cameras. The trials demonstrated that this technology currently has the potential to be used for enforcement, but only when accompanied by human review of the recorded evidence, which is likely to lower the cost effectiveness of deploying the technology in many circumstances.
It is ultimately for local authorities and the police to consider what the most appropriate enforcement routes may be for addressing issues with excessive vehicle noise within their area. The use of noise camera technology has already been taken forward by some local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the most recent cost estimates for High Speed 2 include finance costs, or charges on the public money that will be spent on the project, in accordance with Treasury requirements and the government financial reporting manual; and what debt ratio, discount rates and assumptions were used.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The HS2 project is funded via capital contribution by the Department for Transport (DfT). Financing costs or charges on public money are not incurred by HS2 Ltd. As a Non-Departmental Public Body, HS2 Ltd also adopts the interpretations of Internation Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and additional disclosure requirements contained in the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) for the relevant financial year, where these are compatible with the requirements of the Companies Act. HS2 Ltd does not have debt as the Company is fully funded by HM Treasury/DfT. The key assumption for cost estimates is that they are currently presented in Q3 2019 prices. Regarding discount rates, the DfT’s Economic Appraisal of HS2 as presented in the “Phase One Full Business Case” (April 2020), which included the expected benefits, Ticket Revenues, construction costs and Operating Costs, were all discounted and presented in Net Present Value (NPV) terms in line with the DfT Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) and HM Treasury Green Book guidance.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Port of London Authority regarding the requirement set out in its latest draft Harbour Revision Order for property owners to pay for licences for use of balconies overhanging the River Thames; and whether it is their understanding that such a requirement will apply to the parliamentary estate.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Harbour Revision Orders (HRO), and the associated consultations for these orders are conducted by the Marine Management Organisation who handle direct discussions with HRO applicants in the majority of cases.
Unusually in the case of this HRO, the department had initial discussions with the Port of London Authority around some of its proposed changes, which would have made changes to the powers of the Department within the ports’ operational area.
The Department has been made aware of the concerns of some property owners around the issues of balcony charges, but as the order has gone to an independent public inquiry, the department judged the inquiry to be the correct body to handle this issue.
The department has not made any investigations as to whether this would apply to the parliamentary estate.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reduction in deaths and serious injuries from road accidents that has occurred since the introduction of 20 mph speed limits in built-up areas in Wales; and what studies they have undertaken to determine what reduction could be expected if a 20 mph speed limit was similarly applied to roads in built-up areas of England.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Setting and evaluating national limits in Wales, including the restricted road limit on street-lit roads, is a matter for the Welsh Government. The power to introduce 20mph limits on roads in England rests with local authorities.
The Department for Transport published a comprehensive three-year evaluation of the effect of 20mph limits, which are 20mph schemes relying only on signage, on 22 November 2018. The evaluation looked at twelve case studies in England, including two in city centres.
The evaluation found insufficient evidence to conclude that that there had been a significant change in collisions and casualties following the introduction of 20mph limits in residential areas.
There is some evidence to suggest a positive 20mph impact in one city centre location in Brighton. A blanket 20mph limit was introduced, covering both major and minor roads, and there is sufficient data to show a statistically significant change in collisions and casualties relative to the 30mph comparator area. It should be stressed that this represents just one case study, and the extent to which the findings are transferable to other locations is unclear.
The Department for Transport has regular discussions with our counterparts in the devolved governments, including on road safety.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the provision of hot food options on long-distance inter-city train services that are under public ownership.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There are two train companies under public ownership that operate long-distance inter-city services: London North-Eastern Railway (LNER) and TransPennine Express.
LNER provides catering facilities on all of its services in both standard and first class. Many services include hot food options depending on time of day and route. There are no current plans to expand LNER’s offer.
On TransPennine Express, an enhanced catering option including hot food was introduced on services between Liverpool and Newcastle on 17 February 2025. This followed a successful trial of enhanced catering options on West Coast routes in 2024. The ‘West Coast Kitchen’ initiative exceeded forecasted revenue uplift and has crated additional employment opportunities for onboard catering staff.
As a principally short-distance and commuter operator, Northern does not offer catering on its services.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what investigations they have undertaken about the provision of a link between the new station at Old Oak Common and the proposed new Hythe Road station on the London Overground's Mildmay Line.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The HS2 station currently being constructed at Old Oak Common will connect HS2 services with services on the existing Great Western Main Line including an interchange with the Elizabeth line; provisional journey times are approximately 15 minutes from Old Oak Common to London’s West End, 20 minutes to the City, and 25 minutes to Canary Wharf.
The local area surrounding Old Oak Common station is currently subject to proposals for development by various organisations. Whilst the HS2 Ltd design for Old Oak Common has not yet integrated designs, the urban realm area and station itself has been designed and sized to account for growth. To the east of the site, in the direction of Hythe Road, the station design provides passive provision for both pedestrian and vehicle bridge links so that these can be added later if needed, after the station ceases to operate as a terminus. Note that the proposed station at Hythe Road is a Transport for London proposal and HS2 Ltd isn't delivering any direct scope associated with this station.
HS2 Ltd continues to work closely with the Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation, local boroughs and Transport for London to review potential pedestrian routes and ensure feasibility of proposals for development.