Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following their decision to refuse permission for the building of the Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange, what plans they have to increase the volume of freight carried by rail.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government continues to support modal shift from road to rail through the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme, which we have extended to at least 31 March 2026. As stated in our consultation document on proposals to reform our railways, there will be a statutory duty on Great British Railways to promote the use of rail freight, alongside a growth target set by the Secretary of State. We will also include safeguards to ensure that freight operators continue to receive fair access to the network. Both Government and Great British Railways will work with the rail freight industry on further actions to support growth.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 26 February (HLWS493), what is the meaning of "immobilise" in relation to the UK-owned civil separated plutonium inventory at Sellafield.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Immobilisation will place the separated plutonium into an inherently safer and more stable form, which reduces the long-term management burden during storage and is suitable for a geological disposal facility. The NDA is working with commercial partners and the UK National Nuclear Laboratory to develop suitable technology options which would put the material into a ceramic form which would be both radiation tolerant and resistant under GDF conditions.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to page 15 of the consultation document, UK Emissions Trading Scheme Scope Expansion: Maritime, on what date they intend the UK-wide Islands Forum to meet; and when the last meeting of the Islands Forum took place.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The last meeting of the Islands Forum took place on the 8th of May 2024 on the Isle of Anglesey, North Wales.
At present, there are no dates set for future meetings of the Islands Forum. My department is continuing to work closely with other UK Government departments to determine the future of the forum, which we will communicate in due course.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of comments by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, reported in New Civil Engineer on 4 March, that spending "vast sums" on High Speed 2's bat tunnel is "ludicrous", why they have allowed construction to continue at a cost of £119 million.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The cost of the Sheephouse Wood bat structure is £95m in 2019 prices. It has been designed and constructed to comply with species protection laws as they currently stand, and to fulfil the requirements of the licence issued by Natural England in 2023. Abandoning construction in advance of any changes to the relevant legislation would be a breach of the conditions under which the new railway can be legally operated, and a presumption of the will of Parliament. Furthermore, and in common with much of the civil engineering structures for HS2, construction of the bat mitigation structure is well advanced and forms part of an integrated design for the railway in the Calvert area. In such circumstances, decommissioning and removing the elements of the structure already built, and redesigning and then constructing an alternative scheme for this section of railway would - at this stage in the construction schedule - cost more than completing the existing structure.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will name the accounting officers, officials and ministers with responsibility for HS2 from 2015 to present.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Within the Department for Transport, the Permanent Secretaries and Principal Accounting Officers with responsibility for High Speed Two (HS2) from 2015 to present are Philip Rutnam and Bernadette Kelly. The Directors General and Senior Responsible Owners for the project during that time period are David Prout, Michael Hurn (acting), Clive Maxwell, and Alan Over.
With respect to ministers, the Secretaries of State for Transport since 2015 bore ultimate ministerial responsibility for the project. In chronological order, they have been Patrick McLoughlin, Christopher Grayling, Grant Shapps, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Mark Harper, Louise Haigh, and Heidi Alexander.
Under the Secretary of State for Transport, various ministers have shared ministerial responsibility for HS2 within the Department since 2015. In chronological order, they have been Robert Goodwill, Paul Maynard, Nusrat Ghani, Andrew Stephenson, Trudy Harrison, Kevin Foster, Huw Merriman, and Lord Peter Hendy.
Within HS2 Ltd, individuals holding Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer responsibilities since 2015 have been, in chronological order, Simon Kirby, Roy Hill, Mark Thurston, Sir Jon Thompson, Alan Foster, and Mark Wild.
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 financial and operational implications of continuing to rely on ground-based precision approach infrastructure (such as instrument landing systems) in poor weather conditions following the loss of European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) enabled approaches; and what steps they are taking to mitigate the impact on aviation safety, regional connectivity, and emergency air services caused by the absence of EGNOS for precision landing guidance.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Larger UK airports and many regional airports have Instrument Landing Systems in place and therefore a satellite-based augmentation system) such as European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), is primarily beneficial at smaller regional airports and General Aviation aerodromes during periods of poor weather resulting in restricted visibility. Flights that are taking place continue to do so safely, following alternative Civil Aviation Authority approved procedures.
Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) will, in the UK, be supported through a GNSS Point in Space ‘PinS’ approach to helicopter landing sites at trauma hospitals which will greatly assist in increasing the utility of air ambulance helicopters in poor visibility conditions.
Government is considering options for UK access to a satellite-based augmentation system, following our withdrawal from the EU's EGNOS system. This work is continuing and no decision has yet been made.
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 impact of the removal of localiser performance with vertical guidance approaches on general aviation, emergency medical services, and regional airports; and what steps they are taking to mitigate the economic and operational impact of the loss of European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service services.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Larger UK airports and many regional airports have Instrument Landing Systems in place and therefore a satellite-based augmentation system) such as European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), is primarily beneficial at smaller regional airports and General Aviation aerodromes during periods of poor weather resulting in restricted visibility. Flights that are taking place continue to do so safely, following alternative Civil Aviation Authority approved procedures.
Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) will, in the UK, be supported through a GNSS Point in Space ‘PinS’ approach to helicopter landing sites at trauma hospitals which will greatly assist in increasing the utility of air ambulance helicopters in poor visibility conditions.
Government is considering options for UK access to a satellite-based augmentation system, following our withdrawal from the EU's EGNOS system. This work is continuing and no decision has yet been made.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the European Commission and other relevant EU bodies on securing the reinstatement of UK access to the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service for localiser performance with vertical guidance approach procedures; and what timeline they have established for restoring this capability to UK airports.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Government are resetting the relationship with our European friends to strengthen ties, secure a broad-based security pact and tackle barriers to trade. However, the Government is still considering options for UK access to a satellite-based augmentation system, following our withdrawal from the EU's EGNOS system. This work is continuing and no decision has yet been made.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the reasons why the European Union has provided European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service services to non-EU countries, including Iceland and Serbia, at no cost; and what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK receives fair and equitable treatment in its access to the service.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not made an assessment of the EU's reasons for providing European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) services to Iceland and Serbia, and respects the EU's decision-making independence on whether to grant EGNOS working agreements to non-EU countries. UK businesses and organisations are able to use the freely available "open" EGNOS signal. The Government is considering options for future UK access to a Satellite Based Augmentation System such as EGNOS, and no decision has been taken.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of UK-based infrastructure in supporting the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS); and what discussions they have had with European counterparts on the potential for the UK’s continued hosting of that infrastructure to facilitate the restoration of EGNOS services for UK aviation.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK continues to host two Ranging Integrity Monitoring Stations, in Glasgow and Swanwick, that support European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) services. The Government is considering options for future UK access to a Satellite Based Augmentation System such as EGNOS, and no decision has been taken. The Government has not had any discussions with European counterparts on the restoration of EGNOS services.