Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the potential benefits for Wales of HS2 Ltd procurement contracts.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 has huge potential to support growth across the UK including Wales and will promote regeneration, boost skills and generate new jobs for people across the region. Our procurement process is open to all bidders with the relevant experience and required credentials and ensures value for money for the taxpayer. HS2 Ltd has a continuing programme of engagement with local businesses, attending events arranged by local Chambers of Commerce and other networks to ensure that the procurement opportunities of the project are spread across all four nations of the United Kingdom. To date, 26 Welsh companies have provided goods or services to the project, including 16 SMEs.
Aside from procurement contracts, the Department forecasts the north-east Wales economy will be boosted by £50m annually by HS2's quicker journey times.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the amount of UK steel which could be procured for the HS2 project.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is anticipated that around two million tonnes of steel will be used across the HS2 programme.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a nationwide independent Road Collision Investigation branch.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Department has sponsored the RAC Foundation to conduct the Road Collision Investigation Project which is ongoing and will report by Summer 2022. This project is seeking to establish whether there is a business case for putting more resource into the investigation of road crashes and if so, to identify how best to develop it. Considerations will include whether the future service should be nationwide and independent among other options. Their recommendations, together with learning from the ongoing Roads Policing Review which will report in 2021, will provide the evidence base necessary for an informed assessment to be made.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will use UK-produced steel for the HS2 project.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
The Government’s guidance on the procurement of steel was published in November 2015 and subsequently updated in December 2016. All major government projects are required to take cognisance of the Crown Commercial Service Procurement Policy Note 11/16: “Procuring Steel in Major Projects - Revised Guidance” (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-1116-procuring-steel-in-major-projects-revised-guidance ).
Whilst HS2 Ltd. does not directly buy steel, it does apply a strategic and transparent approach to the sourcing of steel for the HS2 Programme through its Tier 1 contractors and their supply chains. HS2 Ltd ensures a fair procurement process which complies with UK procurement law and the Government policy on the procurement of steel.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress the road collision investigation project led by the RAC Foundation has made; and what plans he has to extend that scheme to Wales.
Answered by George Freeman
The Road Collision Investigation Project is ongoing. Progress to date includes:
A report on Models and methods for collision analysis giving the rationale for taking a systems approach to collision investigation.
RCIP Feasibility Study carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory to assess the validity of the AcciMap framework
This work is being led by the RAC Foundation, in collaboration with and supported by the Department for Transport (DfT), Highways England (HE), the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and other national and local organisations.
Three police force analysts are all using the Collision Reporting and Sharing System managed and funded by the Department for Transport - no Welsh forces use this system at present, though it would be open for them to do so. The learning from the project will be published in due course and will be available to all of central and local government (including devolved administrations), and all GB police forces.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the £500 million Restoring Railways, Connecting Communities funding he plans to allocate to (a) Wales and (b) cross-border services between Wales and England.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We have announced £500m funding for reopening railway lines and stations closed in the Beeching era, but it is too early to say how much of this will be spent within Wales or on cross-border services. This depends on the schemes put forward for consideration and I have invited the Hon. Member to our briefing on 4th February where she can learn more about this. A new £20m round of funding is allocated to support new stations on the network. In the previous round a new station at Bow Street, Ceredigion, was one of five in England and Wales that secured funding.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to introduce statutory targets to reduce levels of overcrowding on rail services.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department expects all its operators to provide sufficient levels of service to meet passenger demand. We are taking steps to increase capacity wherever possible and many operators are introducing new trains this year. The Williams Rail Review will shortly propose comprehensive measures to improve how the railway works for passengers.