Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many schedule 16 orders to take temporary possession of land and property were issued by HS2 Ltd in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018 and (e) 2019.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Up to August 2019, HS2 Ltd has served 2,119 such notices:
(a) 0 notices were served in 2015;
(b) 0 notices were served in 2016;
(c) 343 notices were served over 66 locations in 2017;
(d) 1022 notices were served over 141 locations in 2018;
(e) 754 notices were served over 68 locations in 2019 (up to 01/08/19).
Schedule 16 (S.16) of the High Speed Rail Act (London-West Midlands) Act 2017 provides the nominated undertaker (HS2 Ltd) with the ability to temporarily possess land required to deliver Phase One of the railway. As the Act received Royal Assent on 23 February 2017, HS2 Ltd had no powers to serve S.16 notices before this date.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff HS2 Limited made redundant in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018 and (e) 2019.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Between 1 April 2015 to end of August 2019, HS2 Ltd have made a number of organisational changes (including the relocation of HS2 Ltd’s head office to Birmingham). These changes have resulted in a total 115 redundancies – details of which are published in each years’ Annual Report and Accounts. The details of how many people and the costs by financial year are published in HS2 Ltd’s annual report and accounts.
Of the 115 made redundant no one from HS2 Ltd has entered into a Non-Disclosure agreement. However, 31 of these individuals have entered into Settlement Agreements which contain mutual confidentiality obligations to protect individuals’ personal information such as what monies are owed. These obligations do not apply where information is required to be disclosed by law or where a protected disclosure is made by the employee under whistleblowing legislation. It should be noted that no one made redundant from HS2 Ltd has raised any such protected disclosure.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff made redundant by HS2 Limited in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018 and (e) 2019 had non-disclosure requirements included in their redundancy settlements.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Between 1 April 2015 to end of August 2019, HS2 Ltd have made a number of organisational changes (including the relocation of HS2 Ltd’s head office to Birmingham). These changes have resulted in a total 115 redundancies – details of which are published in each years’ Annual Report and Accounts. The details of how many people and the costs by financial year are published in HS2 Ltd’s annual report and accounts.
Of the 115 made redundant no one from HS2 Ltd has entered into a Non-Disclosure agreement. However, 31 of these individuals have entered into Settlement Agreements which contain mutual confidentiality obligations to protect individuals’ personal information such as what monies are owed. These obligations do not apply where information is required to be disclosed by law or where a protected disclosure is made by the employee under whistleblowing legislation. It should be noted that no one made redundant from HS2 Ltd has raised any such protected disclosure.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many section 16 orders were issued by HS2 Ltd in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018 and (e) 2019.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The Department is unaware of section 16 orders in relation to HS2.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost has been of the use of section 16 by HS2 Ltd in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018 and (e) 2019.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The Department is unaware of section 16 orders in relation to HS2.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost of redundancy payments to former HS2 Ltd staff is.
Answered by Paul Maynard
HS2 publish Annual Reports and Accounts which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hs2-annual-reports-and-accounts The Annual Reports and Accounts provide details about the cost of redundancy payments in each year since HS2 Ltd was established.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many compromise agreements entered into by HS2 Ltd with former staff included non-disclosure provisions.
Answered by Paul Maynard
As of the end of August, a total of 48 former staff have signed Settlement Agreements with HS2 Ltd.
The Settlement Agreements that have been signed all contain mutual confidentiality obligations which protect personal information such as what monies are owed. These obligations do not apply where information is required to be disclosed by law or where a protected disclosure is made by the employee under whistleblowing legislation. It should be noted that no former employee of HS2 Ltd has raised any such protected disclosure.
Before any Settlement Agreement is signed by HS2 Ltd and the employee, a certificate from an independent legal adviser must be provided, evidencing that legal advice has been given to the employee as to the effect of the terms of the Agreement. This process can lead to requests for changes to the template Agreement, which HS2 Ltd accepts where feasible.
As noted in the response to PQ 281612 and PQ 281613, HS2 Ltd has not entered into any Non-Disclosure Agreements with any HS2 employee.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of settlement agreements entered into by HS2 Ltd with former staff included non-disclosure provisions.
Answered by Paul Maynard
As of the end of August, a total of 48 former staff have signed Settlement Agreements with HS2 Ltd.
The Settlement Agreements that have been signed all contain mutual confidentiality obligations which protect personal information such as what monies are owed. These obligations do not apply where information is required to be disclosed by law or where a protected disclosure is made by the employee under whistleblowing legislation. It should be noted that no former employee of HS2 Ltd has raised any such protected disclosure.
Before any Settlement Agreement is signed by HS2 Ltd and the employee, a certificate from an independent legal adviser must be provided, evidencing that legal advice has been given to the employee as to the effect of the terms of the Agreement. This process can lead to requests for changes to the template Agreement, which HS2 Ltd accepts where feasible.
As noted in the response to PQ 281612 and PQ 281613, HS2 Ltd has not entered into any Non-Disclosure Agreements with any HS2 employee.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under what authorised scheme redundancy payments were made to former HS2 Ltd staff.
Answered by Paul Maynard
HS2 Ltd has authorisation to offer redundancies on statutory terms.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that Government's policies on (a) the protection of civilians and (b) atrocity prevention are implemented in Sudan; and what assessment he has made of the effect of those policies on bilateral relations with that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The UK continues to engage with a range of opposition, members of the protest movement as well as the Transitional Military Council (TMC). The UK, alongside Troika partners Norway and the US, has called for all sides to engage in an inclusive dialogue that leads to a swift, orderly and peaceful transition to civilian rule. On 29 May our Ambassador delivered this message to Yassir Arman of Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) and encouraged all armed movements to return to Sudan and take part in the talks to agree a civilian-led transition and achieve peace. We have condemned the way that the opposition leaders have since been treated by the TMC since they returned.
On 4 June in a joint Troika statement, we condemned the recent violent attacks by Sudanese security forces against peaceful protestors in Sudan which left many civilians dead or injured. We also expressed serious concern over TMC's announcement that it would cease negotiations and called for an agreed transfer of power to a civilian-led government. Our Embassy in Khartoum calls on members of the Transitional Military Council both in public and directly to take the steps needed to improve the situation in Sudan, including the release of all political detainees
On 6 June, I summoned the Sudanese Ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to express our grave concerns at the use of violence against civilians by the Sudanese authorities. The UK has called for the human rights of all Sudanese people to be respected, and the resumption of the political process leading to an agreed peaceful transfer of power to a civilian-led government, as demanded by the Sudanese people. We will continue to engage with all sides to support a settlement that works for all Sudanese people.