Asked by: Samantha Dixon (Labour - City of Chester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent discarding of fishing nets in the sea by vessels landing at ports.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is committed to protecting the marine environment from all human-induced stressors, including marine litter such as abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). We are exploring methods to recycle and reuse ALDFG as well as end of life gear at ports and aquaculture farms with the intention of moving the sector to-wards a circular economy model.
The UK is also working collaboratively at the International Maritime Organization to further address actions that have been identified under its 2018 Action Plan and 2021 Strategy on marine plastic litter from ships, in particular ALDFG.
As a Contracting Party to the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, the UK is implementing actions under the new OSPAR Regional Action Plan for Marine Litter to tackle fishing gear as marine litter and have committed to ambitious targets under the North East Atlantic Environment Strategy.
The UK is a member of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI), the first initiative dedicated to tackling this problem on a global scale. Through the UK’s £500m Blue Planet Fund that was launched in 2021, we are also working in partnership with de-veloping countries to tackle marine pollution, including ALDFG.
Asked by: Samantha Dixon (Labour - City of Chester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many local authorities fund the management and upkeep of historic scheduled monuments as part of their highways budget.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department does not hold this information.
Asked by: Samantha Dixon (Labour - City of Chester)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of housing for armed forces personnel.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 January 2023 to Question 117844 to the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi).
Asked by: Samantha Dixon (Labour - City of Chester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
What assessment he has made of trends in the level of bus services in England since 2019.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant impact to bus services and passenger numbers. To mitigate this, the Government has provided nearly £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding to bus operators and local transport authorities to keep vital bus services running. As a result of this support, bus services in England in 2020/21 ran at over 80% of pre-COVID levels, even though patronage and commercial fare revenue dropped significantly.
Asked by: Samantha Dixon (Labour - City of Chester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the High-Level Output Specification and Statement of Funds Available for the railways, published on 1 December 2022, on what date he expects (a) to publish the next iteration of the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline and (b) to make a statement on proposed improvements to Chester railway station.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Following the Autumn Statement on 17 November we are in the process of reviewing the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) and will make the outcome public once that work is complete.
Having provided feedback on an initial Strategic Outline Business Case submitted by Cheshire West and Chester Council for enhancements at and around Chester Station, DfT officials look forward to receiving and considering an updated proposal from local stakeholders by March 2023.
Asked by: Samantha Dixon (Labour - City of Chester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contractual requirements he has placed on the Avanti West Coast train company on the restoration of the frequency of direct train services linking North Wales, Chester and London Euston; and what penalties will be imposed in the event of that operator failing to meet those standards.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast (AWC) shared its recovery plan for the restoration of services prior to the short-term contract extension announced on 7 October. Both the Office of Rail and Road and Network Rail reviewed this plan and were supportive of the proposition, noting its full and successful delivery required trade union co-operation. The Department is monitoring AWC’s delivery, holding it to account as appropriate, and will use all due legal and contractual processes to take action, if any is appropriate to take.
On 11 December, Avanti West Coast implemented a timetable that restored the majority of pre-pandemic direct services between North Wales and London via Chester.
Asked by: Samantha Dixon (Labour - City of Chester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date he expects to announce the outcome of bids to the second round of the UK Levelling Up Fund for transport-related investments.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
We aim to announce the results of the second round by the end of January, which will see much needed investment awarded to level up communities across the UK.
Asked by: Samantha Dixon (Labour - City of Chester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will publish his full response to Sir Peter Hendy’s Union Connectivity Review.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Lord Peter Hendy’s independent Union Connectivity Review, published in November 2021, considered transport connectivity across the UK. We are considering his recommendations and will publish our response as soon as practicable.