Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has he made of the effect of the proposed entry level exception sites on the provision of affordable rented homes in England.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The new entry-level exception site policy is set out in the revised National Planning Policy Framework which was published on 24 July 2018. It supports both first time buyers and those looking to rent their first home. The policy should have a positive impact on provision of affordable rented homes as sites should comprise entry-level homes offering one or more types of affordable housing, including affordable housing for rent.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on the feasibility study for the restorations of the Skipton-Colne Railway; and what the timetable is for his receiving the final report from that study.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
We are working closely with Transport for the North and relevant local transport authorities to evaluate the costs, benefits and funding options for reopening the line for passengers and freight, as part of a freight route across the Pennines. It builds on previous work commissioned by the local authorities and local campaign group. Work is in progress and we expect to receive the results later this year in the form of a Strategic Outline Business Case prepared in line with the Government’s new pipeline approach to rail enhancements.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Public Legal Evaluation Panel to date.
Answered by Robert Buckland
As the Government’s pro bono champion, I am able to work closely with those involved in Public Legal Education, supporting initiatives to increase its profile and reach more members of the public.
The Public Legal Education panel is formed of leading organisations who promote the importance of teaching people about the law and their basic civil and criminal rights. It features members from across the legal community, for example the Law for Life, Citizens Advice and the Bar Council.
The Panel are currently combining their resources to map the provision and need of Public Legal Education around the county and to support and drive forward public legal education initiatives so more people can reap the benefits.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Northern Rail and Transpennine on the provision of services on Boxing Day 2018; and what the outcome of those discussions was.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Rail North Partnership has had discussions with the operators regarding the provision of Boxing Day services for 2018. At this time, following the announcement yesterday regarding the timetable for the December change date, we are unable to confirm the plans for Boxing Day in 2018.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to Article 2 (2) of the draft protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland of the draft agreement on the withdrawal of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union, if he will publish the rights and privileges associated with of the Common Travel Area.
Answered by Robin Walker
The UK Government is firmly committed to maintaining the Common Travel Area (CTA) and to protecting the rights enjoyed by UK and Irish nationals when in each other’s state. The Commission’s draft Withdrawal Agreement Treaty text builds on December’s Joint report and confirms that the UK and Ireland can continue to work together as part of these arrangements.
The reciprocal rights for UK and Irish nationals associated with the Common Travel Area are described in the UK Government’s August 2017 position paper on Northern Ireland and Ireland, and include:
● the right to enter and reside in each others’ state without being subject to a requirement to obtain permission;
● the right to work without being subject to a requirement to obtain permission;
● the right to study;
● access to social welfare entitlements and benefits;
● access to health services; and
● the right to vote in local and parliamentary elections.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of international flights (a) to and (b) from each UK airport in the event that (i) the north-west runway at Heathrow is built and (ii) if no additional airport capacity is built in the South East of England.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has fully assessed the impact of expansion in the South East on the UK’s connectivity, as set out in Chapter 3 of the Updated Appraisal Report. The Government is clear that a Northwest Runway at Heathrow will help to secure the UK’s status as a global aviation hub, while regional airports will continue to develop their point-to-point networks.
This conclusion is supported by the analysis which shows that passenger numbers and international flights at airports outside of London are expected to increase by 80% and 71% respectively between 2016 and 2050 with a third runway at Heathrow. In addition, passengers from all across the UK are expected to use the connections made available at an expanded Heathrow, with nearly 6 million additional trips from passengers outside of London and the South East being made via the airport in 2040.
Table 1 below shows the forecast number of international passenger Air Transport Movements (ATM) from the Department’s 2017 UK aviation forecasts.[1] The Government recognises that all three schemes for expansion in the South East are projected to result in regional airports experiencing somewhat slower growth in international flights than they might otherwise have seen. However, there is still expected to be strong growth at non-London airports relative to today. Expansion will also improve the UK’s connectivity as a whole with more frequent services to important destinations around the world, providing benefits for passengers and freight-operators across the UK, supporting economic growth.
It is recognised that Table 1 does not reflect this hub benefit nor the considerably greater scope that expansion brings for more domestic flights from regional airports to Heathrow, which would provide passengers from across the country access to a vast network of international destinations. In addition, the modelling does not take account of the future commercial strategies which individual airports could employ to take advantage of the opportunities from both greater connections and growing demand outside London.
Heathrow expansion has been supported by a range of UK airports, including Liverpool John Lennon, Glasgow and Newquay.
Table 1: International passenger Air Transport Movements at modelled UK airports, thousands
International passenger ATMs (000s) | No expansion | LHR NWR | ||||
2030 | 2040 | 2050 | 2030 | 2040 | 2050 | |
Gatwick | 266 | 277 | 280 | 255 | 273 | 279 |
Heathrow | 467 | 473 | 474 | 698 | 719 | 730 |
London City | 69 | 65 | 66 | 39 | 55 | 52 |
Luton | 100 | 95 | 88 | 99 | 97 | 89 |
Stansted | 166 | 182 | 183 | 121 | 163 | 182 |
Birmingham | 115 | 173 | 185 | 97 | 130 | 183 |
Bristol | 56 | 59 | 66 | 49 | 58 | 59 |
East Midlands | 52 | 71 | 90 | 53 | 67 | 84 |
Edinburgh | 52 | 63 | 71 | 51 | 63 | 72 |
Glasgow | 44 | 47 | 55 | 43 | 46 | 53 |
Liverpool | 23 | 25 | 43 | 25 | 27 | 42 |
Manchester | 179 | 214 | 272 | 159 | 207 | 245 |
Newcastle | 26 | 29 | 35 | 22 | 28 | 34 |
Other small UK airports | 140 | 217 | 351 | 113 | 137 | 232 |
Total | 1755 | 1990 | 2258 | 1825 | 2069 | 2338 |
[1] An ATM represents a single use of a runway – either a landing or a take-off – so the numbers of take-offs and landings are each half of the total displayed.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library a copy of the legal advice provided to his Department on the provision of subsidies for regional air connections from UK airports to Heathrow airport.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The current regulation is clear that subsidies can be provided under Public Service Obligations (PSOs). The Government already subsidises three PSO routes to London airports (Newquay to Gatwick; Dundee to Stansted; and Londonderry to Stansted).
The Department has taken further legal advice on the Government’s interpretation of existing PSO regulations as part of the development of policy to improve connections between Heathrow and the regions and nations of the UK should expansion go ahead. This will be central to achieving the Secretary of State’s ambition for up to 15% of slots from a new runway being used for domestic routes.
The Government’s position on domestic connectivity will be set out in a Green Paper on the Aviation Strategy this autumn and while Government does not publish legal advice, other relevant documents will be published alongside this consultation as appropriate.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains have been cancelled in each month of the last five years for services which come under the terms of the east coast main line franchise.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Network Rail publish all official industry cancellation data which is available on the ORR data portal. The published figures aggregate cancellations for all causes, based on the 13 period rail year. Please see the attached table for more detail.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of (a) restoring free off-peak bus travel to people aged 60 and over in England and (b) giving free bus travel to people aged 18 to 25 in England.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The current national concessionary scheme costs around £1 billion and, given the pressure on public finances, any further extensions to the scheme could jeopardise its sustainability.
Restoring the previous age of eligibility for concessionary bus travel to sixty would see a return to the anomalous position of non-disabled, working-age citizens receiving free bus passes. Re-establishing the link between concessionary bus pass eligibility and the state pension age has addressed that issue.
There are no plans to implement a national bus concession for young people. However, my Department continues to engage with the Department for Education on other concessions such as for apprenticeships. In addition, the new Enhanced Partnership powers in the Bus Services Act allows local transport authorities and bus operators to agree standard ticket rules, such as eligibility for reduced fares across operators. Local authorities already have the discretion to offer additional concessions, and are best placed to make decisions that match local needs and circumstances.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much was disbursed from the public purse by his Department to fund UK election observers overseas in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funds the participation of UK election observers in election observation missions overseas where it judges that it is in the UK national interest to do so and where it is safe to do so. Details of this expenditure are not held centrally because decisions are made by individual FCO departments. It would therefore be disproportionately costly to calculate the total amount disbursed over the past five years.