Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Barwell Excerpts
Wednesday 7th September 2011

(12 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Maude of Horsham Portrait Mr Maude
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My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. These are services that rely on public subsidy, and that information is incredibly valuable and capable of providing enormous benefit to the users of public transport. It can drive more passengers on to public transport, which we all want, so it is in not only the public interest but the operators’ interest to make such data available.

Lord Barwell Portrait Gavin Barwell (Croydon Central) (Con)
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T5. Further to our meeting in May, may I ask my right hon. Friend what progress has been made with the relocation of part of the central Government estate from central London?

Lord Maude of Horsham Portrait Mr Maude
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At this stage we are concentrating on simply reducing the footprint of the Government’s property estate, which was allowed to grow massively out of control under the last Government because there were no controls whatever. Rather than looking to relocate, at this stage we are simply looking to reduce what the Government occupy. I know that Croydon, which my hon. Friend represents vigorously, is a very good location out of central London for Government services to operate from.