Asked by: Mike Hill (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timeframe is for his Department to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the application of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 to seafarers.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
An Order in Council making the legislative changes is expected to be laid in draft before Parliament next month. This will be subject to the affirmative process and debates will be scheduled as the parliamentary timetable permits before final approval is sought from the Privy Council.
Asked by: Mike Hill (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21124, what (a) premium and (b) subsidy payments the Northern franchisee is expected to make or receive in each year of that franchise's duration.
Answered by Grant Shapps
The final subsidy paid to Arriva Rail North in 2016/17 was £281m which includes the net financial impact of allowable Changes that have taken place to the Franchise Agreement.
The final subsidy to be paid in respect of the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years is still not definitively known, as the financial impact of allowable Changes to the Franchise Agreement is still being finalised.
The final subsidy to be paid this year and in future years will be the contracted amount, again revised due to allowable Changes to the Franchise Agreement.
Asked by: Mike Hill (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timeframe is for the roll-out of buses with audio visual next stop and final destination announcements in (a) the north east of England and (b) Hartlepool.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
In Summer 2018 the Government consulted publicly on plans to use powers in the Bus Services Act 2017 to make Regulations requiring the provision of audible and visible information onboard local bus services across Great Britain. This follows the Government’s commitment, set out in the Inclusive Transport Strategy, to invest £2 million towards ensuring that audio visual equipment is installed on buses.
We continue to analyse responses to the consultation and expect to announce our next steps regarding the making of Regulations and publication of guidance later in the year.
Asked by: Mike Hill (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of people in Hartlepool who use a blue badge.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
As at 31 March 2016, 5,060 valid blue badges were held by organisations or individuals in Hartlepool.
Asked by: Mike Hill (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing discounted rail and coach travel for single veterans.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The HM Forces railcard provides concessionary travel for military personnel and their families. This railcard arises from an agreement between the rail industry and the Secretary of State for Defence. Transport for London’s veterans scheme arises from a similar agreement with the Secretary of State. Such railcards are administered and controlled by the Railcard Scheme council and therefore any new railcard or extension of the HM Forces railcard would be for the Scheme council to instigate and to make arrangements with the Secretary of State for Defence.
There is no national statutory concessionary scheme for coach travel. Any concessionary scheme for groups, such as veterans, would be at the discretion of the carriers who are private commercial operators.
Asked by: Mike Hill (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the per head spend on rail services is less in the north of England compared with per head spent in (a) London and (b) the national average.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The Department focuses on delivering outcomes for transport users, not on how much is spent per head.
There are various problems with attempting to compare transport spending on a spend per head of regional resident population basis. The calculation for London for example doesn’t account for the substantial number of daily commuters and visitors, both domestically and internationally, who will be using and benefitting from the roads and public transport networks but who aren’t London residents. For example, two in every three rail journeys start or end in London and there are eighteen times more passengers arriving into London during a typical morning peak than at Manchester, the busiest northern city. In particular, as the main international gateway into and out of the country, London will be the location for transport investments which look to serve passengers well beyond the local resident population. The unique scale and urban density of London also means that large scale public transport networks are particularly important.
The Department for Transport does not allocate funding to transport on a ‘per head of population’ basis. Investment decisions are made based on a rigorous and fair appraisal process that ensures spending goes to the projects and programmes where it is most needed and delivers greatest value-for-money for both taxpayers and passengers.
We are increasing government infrastructure investment by 50% over the next four years, supporting growth and jobs across the country, and making sure it is spent on the projects prioritised by communities around Britain. As we emphasised in the Transport Investment Strategy, investment decisions should reflect a clear understanding of the particular needs of the country and that’s why we welcome the regional partnerships that are forming in different areas, like Transport for the North, which can speak with one voice on strategic transport planning to boost growth and economic development and who can help in deciding how best to invest in transport in their region.
We are delivering unprecedented investment in better transport across the north and delivering right now on dramatically improving journeys for passengers across the north, from phasing out the out-dated Pacer trains to delivering the Great North Rail Project to getting on with HS2 which will transform capacity and connections for millions, with stations in Manchester, Crewe, Leeds and Sheffield.
Asked by: Mike Hill (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve road safety on the A19.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Highways England are responsible for a 67 mile section of the A19 between Thirsk in North Yorkshire and Seaton Burn in Tyne and Wear. The remainder is the responsibility of North Yorkshire County Council, York City Council and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council as it passes through their respective areas.
Safety is a key priority of Highways England, and the safety performance of all its roads is under continuous review in order to develop and prioritise safety improvements. Since 2011, Highways England have delivered safety improvements at ten locations on the A19. These include improvements to traffic signals and road markings, provision of additional road capacity to reduce congestion, and improvement to facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.
In March 2017, the Government announced a further £220m of investment to help cut congestion, reduce journey times and improve safety. This includes the signalisation of the junction with the A179 at Shearton, near Hartlepool.
Asked by: Mike Hill (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the capital spend on transport per head of population in (a) the North Eastand (b) Hartlepool constituency in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Figures on public sector spend at a regional and national level are part of the Government’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics. These statistics attempt to allocate the spending according to where the benefits of that spend are accrued.
The latest CRA statistics suggest that in 2015-16 there was £182 of capital expenditure on transport per head of population by central and local governments and other public bodies for the North East of England. This information is available for government office regions only, and therefore is unavailable for the Hartlepool constituency.
Asked by: Mike Hill (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under what conditions parents of disabled children are given blue badges.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Blue Badges are issued to disabled people, and not family members unless accompanying a disabled person. Children can qualify for a badge under the general criteria if they:
Additional, specific criteria, apply to children not more than 3 years old who, on account of a condition:
Asked by: Mike Hill (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to improve rail services in the North East of England.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Rail journeys across the North East will undergo the biggest transformation in decades, with an unprecedented package of improvements. By 2020 all the trains will be brand new or completely refurbished, and all the Pacer trains will be gone. Similarly, across the whole of the North there will be more than 500 brand-new train carriages, with room for 40,000 more passengers and 2,000 extra services a week.