Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Hitachi on the job security of the staff at its rail plant in Newton Aycliffe.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Hitachi is not currently consulting on any workforce changes at its train manufacturing site in Newton Aycliffe. Ministers and officials in my Department have met Hitachi Rail’s UK management team several times in recent months and have had several exchanges of correspondence to discuss workload and job security at the company’s Newton Aycliffe site.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the speech by the President of Argentina of 2 April 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to upholding the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination. As the Foreign Secretary made clear on his recent visit to the Falkland Islands, as long as the Islanders want to remain part of the UK family, there can be no discussions on sovereignty. The UK looks forward to developing a constructive relationship with Argentina where we can agree to disagree politely on the issue of the Falkland Islands, whilst restarting mutually beneficial co-operation on areas of shared interest.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to expedite compensation for people required to move home for the construction of HS2.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In all cases, HS2 Ltd seeks to provide compensation in as timely a manner as possible. And the focus of the Department for Transport has always been on devising policies to ensure that transactions are progressed promptly. For instance, the streamlined residential blight (SRB) scheme was introduced to provide a quicker route for property owners to sell their home as the process does not require negotiation on the property value and disturbance items. This goes beyond what is mandated in law (through the Compensation Code).
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a statutory definition of co-housing.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
We have no current plans to introduce a statutory definition of cohousing.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will support the introduction of a railcard equivalent with a discount of a third for off-peak rail travel for people (a) living and (b) working in the north of England.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There are a range of existing railcards that offer one third off most rail fares that are available to people living and working in the north of England; these include the Senior Railcard, the 26-30 Railcard and the Disabled Persons Railcard.
Any new discounts or concessions made to rail fares must consider the effect on a certain individual or group and be balanced against the financial impact on fare payers in general and the public purse.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of EU proposals to send profits generated from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We continue to work closely with allies, including the EU Commission, to explore all lawful routes by which immobilised Russian sovereign assets can be used to support Ukraine. G7 Leaders reaffirmed this on 24 February, instructing relevant ministries to continue their work to that end and report back ahead of the G7 Summit in June. We will keep the House updated as this work develops.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of political instability in Vietnam.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We closely monitor political developments in Vietnam, including the recent resignation of President Vo Van Thuong. The UK continues to work with Vietnam and other partners across the Indo-Pacific on long-term strategic priorities such as energy transition and adaptation to climate change, maritime security in line with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, illegal immigration, deepening trade, technology and investment co-operation, and on education and research partnerships.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the correspondence from the WHO Director for Polio Eradication to the Minister of State for Development and Africa of 19 March 2024, if he will take steps to increase funding for programmes for the eradication of polio.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is proud to be a longstanding supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), having contributed £1.4 billion since 1995. Building strong and resilient health systems and reducing the risk of future global health threats are priorities for the UK. The UK is committed to being a supportive partner to the GPEI in the future and will take every opportunity to ensure every child everywhere is safe from Polio.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his Indian counterpart on Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party's receipt of donations through the electoral bond scheme in the context of the Indian Supreme Court's ruling on that matter in February 2024.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In February 2024, the relevant Supreme Court of India judgment included an order to publish electoral bond data. Since then, the data, provided by the State Bank of India (SBI), has been published by the Election Commission.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the decision of the Transport for the North Board to write to him requesting the end of the Avanti West Coast contract.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The challenges faced on the West Coast will remain regardless of the operator, including longstanding restrictive working practices which require the agreement of unions to amend. To place West Coast Partnership under the Operator of Last Resort would remove the opportunity to retain private sector expertise in both the West Coast as an operator and in the HS2 Shadow Operator function. A full response will be provided to the Transport for the North Board in due course.