Teresa Pearce Portrait

Teresa Pearce

Labour - Former Member for Erith and Thamesmead

First elected: 6th May 2010

Left House: 6th November 2019 (Standing Down)


Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
23rd Jul 2018 - 6th Nov 2019
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee
23rd Jul 2018 - 6th Nov 2019
Women and Equalities Committee
4th Jun 2018 - 11th Jun 2018
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Shadow Minister for the Constitutional Convention
7th Oct 2016 - 3rd May 2017
Shadow Minister (Housing)
18th Sep 2015 - 7th Oct 2016
Public Accounts Committee
7th Jul 2015 - 26th Oct 2015
Treasury Committee
14th Nov 2011 - 30th Mar 2015
Work and Pensions Committee
2nd Nov 2010 - 30th Mar 2015


Division Voting information

Teresa Pearce has voted in 1530 divisions, and 4 times against the majority of their Party.

23 Oct 2018 - Abortion - View Vote Context
Teresa Pearce voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 7 Labour No votes vs 179 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 208 Noes - 123
25 Jun 2018 - National Policy Statement: Airports - View Vote Context
Teresa Pearce voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 94 Labour No votes vs 119 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 415 Noes - 119
27 Oct 2014 - Recall of MPs Bill - View Vote Context
Teresa Pearce voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 41 Labour Aye votes vs 162 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 166 Noes - 340
15 Jul 2014 - Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill - View Vote Context
Teresa Pearce voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 24 Labour Aye votes vs 185 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 56 Noes - 454
View All Teresa Pearce Division Votes

All Debates

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Marcus Jones (Conservative)
Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
(45 debate interactions)
Brandon Lewis (Conservative)
(23 debate interactions)
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Conservative)
Foreign Secretary
(21 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department for Work and Pensions
(36 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(24 debate contributions)
Department of Health and Social Care
(17 debate contributions)
Home Office
(15 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Teresa Pearce's debates

Erith and Thamesmead Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

Children & young adults with CF endure lifelong suffering & early death. They need Orkambi and other precision medicines as they are developed. Sufferers in the EU, US & Australia can access the drugs, but not the UK. Hundreds have died in the 3yrs since these drugs were licensed.


Latest EDMs signed by Teresa Pearce

15th October 2019
Teresa Pearce signed this EDM on Thursday 24th October 2019

Sale and marketing of detox teas

Tabled by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
That this House notes with concern the sale of detox tea products containing senna and other strong laxative ingredients to young people; further notes that these ingredients are usually used in medication to treat constipation and can have significant detrimental health impacts if used regularly primarily for weight loss; observes …
19 signatures
(Most recent: 4 Nov 2019)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 10
Scottish National Party: 4
Conservative: 2
Plaid Cymru: 1
Independent: 1
Liberal Democrat: 1
15th October 2019
Teresa Pearce signed this EDM on Thursday 24th October 2019

Fair pay and treatment of outsourced staff at Northwick Park Hospital

Tabled by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
That this House expresses concern that many of the 400 outsourced catering, porters, cleaners and ward hostesses employed by Medirest, which is part of the Compass Group, at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow are being paid £8.21 an hour rather than the Living Wage Foundation rate of £9 an hour …
32 signatures
(Most recent: 24 Oct 2019)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 28
Independent: 2
Scottish National Party: 2
View All Teresa Pearce's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Teresa Pearce, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Teresa Pearce has not been granted any Urgent Questions

Teresa Pearce has not been granted any Adjournment Debates

1 Bill introduced by Teresa Pearce


A Bill to require the provision of Emergency First Aid (EFA) education by all state-funded secondary schools; to require that EFA education include cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillator awareness; to provide for initial and continuing teacher education and guidance on best practice for delivering and inspecting EFA education; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading: House Of Commons
Friday 20th November 2015

1 Bill co-sponsored by Teresa Pearce

Ground Rents (Leasehold Properties) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Eddie Hughes (Con)


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
6 Other Department Questions
4th Feb 2019
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the timetable is for the publication of the Government's response to the Gender Recognition Act consultation.

From 3 July to 22 October 2018, the Government ran a public consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 in order to make the gender recognition process less bureaucratic and intrusive for the people that use it.

We received over 100,000 responses to the consultation and we are now working to analyse these. We will publish the Government’s response in due course.

Victoria Atkins
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
13th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that new gas-fired power stations are built in the UK.

Gas generation currently forms an integral part of the UK’s electricity mix and it will continue to do so over the coming decades as we decarbonise our electricity system; it is the cleanest fossil fuel and is one of the most flexible and reliable sources of electricity. We have said that we will consult on regulating the closure of all coal power stations by 2025. This gives an important investment signal to new gas developers.


The Capacity Market is in place to drive investment in new capacity such as building new gas-fired power stations when they are required. We have just run the second capacity auction which was successful in securing the capacity we needed at good value for consumers. We are currently reviewing whether the current framework maintains the confidence of gas investors, and will make any adjustments necessary to build on the success of the first two auctions.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will publish the methodologies and assumptions behind the projected overspend of levy control framework spending through to 2020.

Many of the assumptions that underpin Levy Control Framework (LCF) forecasts are already in the public domain. Strike prices for signed Contracts for Difference are available on the Low Carbon Contracts Company website. Renewable Obligation and Feed in Tariff Scheme deployment data is published monthly on the Renewable Energy Planning Database and Ofgem’s website respectively. The recent publication of the Renewables Obligation 2016/17 outlined the methodology for deriving some of the LCF’s key assumptions. A similar approach is taken for FiTs and CfD assumptions, and with interim adjustments made to reflect the latest commercial, technical, and policy specific information available to DECC.


We must make a number of considerations before releasing further information, including to what extent disaggregating data would allow commercially sensitive information to be discoverable, and we will publish an updated set of LCF projections as well as the assumptions underpinning the latest forecasts in due course.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what level of financial return the Government expects from diesel generators who will benefit from payments through the capacity market.

The Government itself will not make any financial return from generators participating in the capacity market. As with all types of capacity, diesel generators that have been successful in the second capacity market will receive a payment of £18/kw in return for providing electricity at short notice when the system requires it; and may have other sources of revenue outside the capacity market. Diesel engines are a flexible form of capacity that run for short periods to meet peaks in demand, and can reduce the consumer bill impacts by lowering the cost of securing the necessary capacity.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which local authorities have sought access to funds raised through the Energy Company Obligation and other green and social levies on energy bills.

Schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) place statutory requirements on energy suppliers to undertake certain activities. As such they do not create funds that are collected by central Government. Local Authorities have worked with energy suppliers on the delivery of energy efficiency measures under ECO. The form of this involvement varies. The Department issues data on ECO delivery by local authority area.

The latest statistics the Department published on Local Authority breakdowns (covering the period up to the end of September 2015) is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-national-statistics-headline-release-december-2015

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost of purchasing a home in (a) London and (b) the South East in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

18th Apr 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when her Department will publish its most recent assessment of the effect of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and bills.

The Government is committed to making energy more affordable, supporting a more competitive, innovative, and smarter energy system that drives down bills. At the last Autumn Statement, the government also set out action to reduce the projected impact of policies on average household energy bills by around £30 a year from 2017.

The Department intends to publish, in due course, an update on the projected costs of policies funded through supplier levies and obligations that impact consumer energy bills. In addition, the department continues to assess the impact of individual policy proposals on the energy bills of various consumers (including households and businesses), which it sets out in relevant policy impact assessments, available online at www.gov.uk.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
18th Apr 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of raising the level of support offered through the Contract for Difference for Hinkley Point C as a result of low wholesale energy prices.

The Contract for Difference mechanism provides increased price certainty to generators regardless of wholesale electricity sale prices, thereby incentivising investment in low carbon generation. It does this by paying the generator the difference between the strike price and the market reference price (a composite of wholesale price indices) for electricity sold into the market for the duration of the contract. The generator will make difference payments back to the Low Carbon Contracts Company should the market reference price rise above the strike price.

The strike price for the Hinkley Point C project was agreed in October 2013 and is £92.50/MWh. If EDF take a Final Investment Decision in relation to Sizewell C, the strike price for Hinkley Point C will be reduced to £89.50/MWh.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
8th Mar 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the correlation between funding for children’s services between 2010-11 and 2017-18 and the number of (a) referrals to children’s services, (b) referrals to children's services within 12 months, (c) children in need, (d) child protection enquiries, (e) child protection plans and (f) looked after children over that period.

Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Since 2010, the responsibilities of local authorities and the makeup of their funding streams have changed significantly, including the move for local authorities to retain locally raised business rates. Therefore, wider spending power measures are not directly comparable over this period.

Over the 5 year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20, councils have access, through the LGFS, to over £200 billion to deliver local services, including children’s services. Core spending power increased from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20. In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next 5 years, to support local authorities to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.

Due to discontinuity in methods used for some of the data collected, we only look at trends in these numbers from 2013. The department’s data shows that since 2013, the number of referrals, children in need, child protection enquiries, children on child protection plans and looked after children at 31 March have risen by 10.5%, 7.1%, 50.9%, 24.5% and 10.7% respectively.

The most common factors recorded in children’s social care assessments are domestic abuse and mental health. These have been consistently the top 2 factors for the years during which we have collected this data and have risen in line with trends in demand.

17th Jan 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of central Government funding for children’s services in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.

Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including children’s services. Through the Settlement, the government has made available over £200 billion across this five-year spending period. Local authorities used this flexibility to spend around £9.4 billion on children and young people’s services in 2017-18.

The government has listened to the sector which requested additional funding for social care. That is why we have provided flexibility of £410 million in grant funding for social care in 2019-20 to be directed according to what local authorities consider their top social care priorities, including children’s services.

17th Jan 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were referred to children’s social care for an assessment of need in (a) Greenwich and (b) Bexley in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what funding was provided for children’s services in (i) Greenwich and (ii) Bexley in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

The number of children referred to children’s social care is published in the annual ‘Characteristics of Children in need’ publication. The most recent publication is available on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need-2017-to-2018/ and a table summarising the last five years for Greenwich and Bexley is attached.

As children’s services are delivered through local government, the vast majority of their funding comes through the Local Government Finance Settlement. However, as the responsibilities, structure and makeup of local authorities and the Department for Education have changed a great deal since 2009, central funding [department spend] to local government and wider spending power measures therefore are not directly comparable over this period.

Over the 5 year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20, councils have access, through the Settlement, to over £200 billion to deliver local services. For Bexley and Greenwich this means core spending power of:

(Available figures)

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

Bexley

£155,154,372

£157,014,982

£159,902,295

£162,024,253

Greenwich

£219,920,182

£226,780,981

£231,040,760

£233,211,791

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2018-to-2019.

This core spending power is un-ring fenced and it is for local authorities (LAs) to determine spend across different areas according to local priorities, including children’s services.

In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for LAs to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next five years, to support LAs to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.

17th Jan 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the long-term economic benefits of early intervention services for children and young people.

The government has funded the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) since 2013, including almost £2 million in 2018-2020, to assess, evaluate and disseminate evidence of what works. The EIF has assessed the benefits of a wide range of specific early intervention programmes, and suggested that whilst producing robust estimates is challenging, there is a compelling argument that the costs of intervening early are likely to pay off to society in economic terms. In particular, they highlight that the long-term economic benefits are considerable where early intervention leads to labour market gains, such as improvements in employment and earnings.

The value of early intervention is reflected in statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ (2018), which is clear that providing early help is more effective in promoting children’s welfare than reacting later - playing an important part in supporting children and young people to achieve better outcomes. The government has also committed £920 million to the troubled families programme, an early intervention approach which aims to achieve significant and sustained improvement for families with multiple, high-cost problems.

17th Jan 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the causes of the recent increase in the number of looked after children in England.

At 31 March 2018, there were 75,420 looked-after children in England, 4% up on the previous year, following a small fall in the number entering care, but also a decrease in the number leaving.

When a child is assessed by children’s services, their primary need is recorded. 47,530 children were identified as having a primary need of ‘abuse or neglect’ - the most common reason identified. 11,270 were in need due to ‘family dysfunction’ and 5,980 were due to the ‘family being in acute stress’. 4,860 were identified as in need due to ‘absent parenting’, almost all of whom are unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. These have been the four highest categories each year since 2014 and have each individually seen an upward trend.

This data is available in the report ‘Children looked after in England including adoption in 2017 to 2018’ and in Table A1 of the accompanying supporting data at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018.

3rd Feb 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to consult with (a) nurseries and (b) other stakeholders on the development of the childcare workforce strategy.

The government has committed to develop a workforce strategy in 2016 and remains committed to engage with stakeholders in the sector on elements of the strategy. We regularly speak at conferences to talk about the workforce. It is our intention to consult with a range of stakeholders, including early years providers such as nurseries, and we are currently considering the best course of action to pursue this.

3rd Feb 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that provision of high-quality early years education is included in the Government's Life Chances Strategy.

Education plays a significant role in ensuring that children have the best start in life, and this government is committed to supporting families to give children a strong foundation in the earliest years.

The Prime Minister made clear in his recent speech that high quality early education will be a key part of the forthcoming Life Chances Strategy. We are working with other government departments to pursue this.

4th Dec 2018
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much money has been allocated to (a) local authorities and (b) other relevant bodies for the purpose of reducing children's exposure to air pollution in (i) 2018-19, (ii) 2017-18, (iii) 2016-17 and (iv) 2015-16; and how much money was allocated to each such (A) scheme and (B) project.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stockton North, Alex Cunningham, on 27 November 2018, PQ UIN192868.

16th Oct 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding was provided by his Department through the Deeds of Amendment signed with London and South Eastern Railway Ltd in (a) December 2016 and (b) September 2017.

The Department has reviewed and concluded that this information is commercially sensitive and so cannot be shared.

Chris Heaton-Harris
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
15th May 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has withheld consent for Govia to vary the (a) pay and (b) conditions of Southeastern staff under schedule 15.2 of the franchise agreement in relation to the last twelve or thirteen months of the franchise.

Southeastern and the trade unions have agreed pay deals in the last 12 months. Specific details of pay are confidential however Southeastern staff have received an increase of around the level of the Retail Price Index which reflects a real terms increase when compared to the Consumer Price Index and cost of living increases. These pay deals were approved by the Department.

The Secretary of State has made clear that the rail industry should be moving towards using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as the inflation measure for pay agreements.

10th May 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department received a request from Govia to vary the pay and conditions of staff employed by Southeastern railway in (a) 2017, (b) 2018 and (c) 2019.

During this period, pay has increased at around the level of the Retail Price Index.

The Secretary of State has made clear that the rail industry should be moving towards using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as the inflation measure for pay agreements. The pay deals agreed with Southeastern staff during the last 12 months reflect a real terms increase when compared to the CPI and cost of living increases.

10th May 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of extensions to the Southeastern Railway franchise on the pay and conditions of staff working for that franchise.

During this period, pay has increased at around the level of the Retail Price Index.

The Secretary of State has made clear that the rail industry should be moving towards using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as the inflation measure for pay agreements. The pay deals agreed with Southeastern staff during the last 12 months reflect a real terms increase when compared to the CPI and cost of living increases.

10th May 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to further extend the Southeastern Railway franchise.

The South Eastern franchise competition is currently in the evaluation phase. The Department is working to achieve the best possible outcome for passengers and taxpayers. An announcement will be made in due course.

As the Secretary of State announced on 10 April 2019, the Department for Transport is currently in discussions with the incumbent operator to extend their operation of the franchise to 10 November 2019, with an extension period up to 1 April 2020 called at the Secretary of State’s discretion.

25th Mar 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's consultation Bus Services Act 2017: accessible information which closed on 16 September 2018, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the requirement for all buses to have audio visual next stop and final destination announcements; and whether he plans to publish guidance on that matter.

The Government understands the importance of accessible on-board information in helping bus passengers to travel with confidence, and in Summer 2018 published a public consultation on proposals to require its provision on local bus services throughout Great Britain.

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.

Nusrat Ghani
Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
25th Mar 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) his Department has completed its evaluation of bids and (b) he has completed his consent relating to the tender for the Southeastern franchise; and whether his Department currently has credible live bids for that tender.

We are still in the evaluation phase of the competition. My Department wants to ensure that the franchise meets the needs of passengers and taxpayers and will provide an update in due course.

13th Mar 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the protocol is for the annual write-off of irrecoverable Dart Charge debts; and whether there is ministerial sign-off of those debts.

Irrecoverable cases have been written off in accordance with a defined set of agreed business rules which were reviewed and agreed with the National Audit Office as the auditing authority. Only cases that are assessed to be beyond likely recovery at economic cost are written off. The Minister does not formally approve the write-off of these cases but is required to review and approve the annual accounts prior to formal sign-off by Highways England’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Finance Officer.

13th Mar 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what penalty clauses are in place in the Dart Charge operator’s contract in relation to penalty charges not issued on a timely basis.

The DFFC (Dartford Free Flow Charging) contract includes a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) which measures timely issuance of enforcement documentation. This KPI covers the issuance of the following documentation: Penalty Charges; Charge Certificates; Order for Recovery and Warrant of Execution. Enforcement documentation which does not meet set times can attract service points which equate to a financial penalty to the operator

13th Mar 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of annual write-offs have related to penalty charges not issued on a timely basis since the introduction of the Dart Charge in November 2014.

Since 2015/16, Highways England (HE) have been required to record estimated revenue loss in respect of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) not issued when they should have been. These figures are included within the annual accounts and are tabled below. In respect of 2018/19, this information will be available once the accounts are published in January 2020.

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

£8.8m

£2.0m-£4.0m

£0.4m-£3.0m

Source: Dartford & Thurrock River Crossing Accounts 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18.

13th Mar 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the level of annual Dart Charge (a) road user charge and (b) enforcement write-offs in respect of the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing since the introduction of the Dart Charge in November 2014.

The table below sets out the annual position as published within the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing annual accounts, as well as the cumulative total. It should be noted that no Penalty Charge Notice cases were formally written off in 2014/15 - the write-off would have materialised in 2015/16. In respect of 2018/19, this information will be available once the annual accounts are published in January 2020.

£m

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

Total

a. RUC

0.0

0.5

6.2

4.5

11.1

b. PCN’s

0.0

10.3

42.4

38.5

91.2

Total

0.0

10.7

48.7

43.0

102.4

Source: Dartford & Thurrock River Crossing Accounts 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18.

8th Oct 2018
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason is the award of the South Eastern rail franchise delayed; what the revised timetable is for that award; and if he will make a statement.

The Department continues to make progress evaluating bids for the South Eastern franchise. The Department will make an announcement on the intention to award in due course.

19th Feb 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many railway stations are (a) staffed and (b) unstaffed.

The Department for Transport does not collect this information as station staffing is a matter for operators. They are not required to inform us of which stations are staffed beyond the obligations as set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.

We regulate Ticket Office opening times through the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement and a list of which stations have open ticket offices by operator can be seen at http://www.atoc.org/about-atoc/rail-settlement-plan/governance/ (Schedule 17 July 2015).

19th Feb 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many railway station ticket offices have (a) been closed and (b) had their opening hours reduced since 2010.

Since May 2010, 125 railway station ticket offices have had their hours reduced and four have been closed.

By contrast, between 2005 and 2010 around 400 railway station ticket offices had their hours reduced and six closures were approved.

19th Feb 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of railway station ticket offices that will be closed by (a) 2020 and (b) 2025.

The Ticketing and Settlement Agreement protects the opening hours of Ticket Offices. If an operator wishes to make such changes to Ticket Office opening times, there is an industry process to follow.

19th Feb 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of railway stations that will be unstaffed in (a) 2020 and (b) 2025.

Station staffing levels are a matter for operators. Whilst we regulate Ticket Office opening times through the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement station staffing levels are a matter for operators as we believe that railway operators themselves are best placed to determine how to meet the needs of their passengers.

19th Feb 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of staffing of railway stations on (a) passenger safety, (b) passenger assurance, (c) safety of women passengers, (d) disabled passengers, (e) revenue protection and (f) passenger assistance.

Whilst we regulate Ticket Office opening times through the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement station staffing levels are a matter for operators as we believe that railway operators themselves are best placed to determine how to meet the needs of their passengers. However, it is important that those who need assistance to travel can rely on railway staff to provide this. Each operator is required to participate in the Passenger Assist system which allows disabled passengers to book staff assistance when they require it.

We recognise that passengers can feel very strongly about station staffing hours and we expect all operators to take on board the views of stakeholders before taking any proposal to change such hours forward.

26th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average (a) regulated and (b) unregulated passenger rail fare was for (i) peak and (ii) off peak rail services provided under franchise by London and South East Railway Limited in each year since 2006.

The Department does not hold this information.

The information may be available from the train operator itself or from the Association of Train Operating Companies.

26th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the all day public performance measure (PPM) of punctuality was for London and South East Railway Limited's franchised rail passenger services in each month since March 2010; and what the national average PPM was in each such month.

This information is published by Network Rail. Since March 2010, the monthly PPM for the London and South East Railway, and the national average per month can be seen below

26th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the negotiations between his Department and London and South East Railway Limited for the direct award of the South Eastern rail passenger franchise to June 2018.

The total comes to £1,040,000 including VAT. This includes estimates for September and October.

26th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the levels of (a) total public subsidy, (b) premium payments to his Department from the train operator, (c) Network Grant, (d) passenger revenue and (e) revenue support during the life of the contract directly awarded by his Department to London and South East Railway Limited for rail passenger services on the South Eastern line to June 2018.

The estimates made with regard to the levels of (a) total public subsidy can be seen in the tables below. The yearly figures have been rounded, hence the Total Period estimate appears greater than the sum of yearly figures.

Actual figures for (a) total public subsidy during the life of the contract directly awarded by his Department to London and South East Railway Limited for rail passenger services on the South Eastern line to June 2018 will be published on the Office of Rail Regulation’s (‘ORR’) website at http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/browsereports/1 at a later date.

The estimate of (b) premium payments to his Department from the train operator during the life of the contract directly awarded by his Department to London and South East Railway Limited for rail passenger services on the South Eastern line to June 2018 is nil.

Within the Franchise agreement there are 3 bands of profit sharing. Should LSER reach the 1st band and each subsequent band, monies are paid to the DfT; each band reached results in an increase in payment to the DfT.

With regard to (c) Network Grant, this is paid directly to Network Rail, not the train operators.

The estimate of (d) passenger revenue during the life of the contract directly awarded by his Department to London and South East Railway Limited for rail passenger services on the South Eastern line to June 2018 is commercially sensitive and cannot be published.

The ORR have recently started to publish actual passenger income by Train Operator, and this can be found on their website, http://orr.gov.uk/publications/publications-a-z?search=G, titled ‘GB Rail Industry Financial Information’, and is published by year.

The estimate made with regard to the levels of (e) revenue support during the life of the contract directly awarded by his Department to London and South East Railway Limited is nil.

26th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the written Statement of 11 September 2014, by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Official Report, column 42WS, on rail franchising (Southeastern), what contractual guarantees have been secured from Govia on (a) on-station, (b) on-train and (c) ticket office staffing levels during the term of the directly awarded franchise.

The franchise agreement does have contractual guarantees with regard to (a) on-station staffing, and (b) on-train staffing. We will publish the Franchise Agreement in due course at;

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-register-of-rail-passenger-franchise-agreements.

With regard to (c) ticket office staffing, these are the responsibility of the station operator, which is required to comply with the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.

26th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the written Statement of 11 September 2014, by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Official Report, column 42WS, on rail franchising (Southeastern), what contractual guarantees have been secured from Govia about training for existing staff during the term of the directly awarded franchise.

The franchise agreement does have contractual guarantees on training for existing staff. This is in addition to the normal responsibilities the operator has for training its staff to meet its business requirements.

We will publish the Franchise Agreement in due course at

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-register-of-rail-passenger-franchise-agreements

.

26th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average increase was in (a) regulated and (b) unregulated passenger rail fares for (i) peak and (ii) off peak rail services provided under franchise by London and South East Railway Limited in each year since 2006.

The average permitted annual increase in regulated rail fares set by London and South East Railway Ltd (LSER) in each year since 2006 was as follows:

2006 – 3.9%; 2007 – 6.3%; 2008 – 6.8%; 2009 – 8%; 2010 – 2.4%;

2011 – 7.8%; 2012 – 6%; 2013 – 4.2%; 2014 – 3.1%

Regulated fares include weekly/monthly/annual season tickets, day singles and returns (including Oyster Pay as You Go in London) and long-distance off-peak return fares.

The Department does not hold information about increases in unregulated fares.

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) publishes an index showing the average change in price in all rail fares from 2004, with fares at January 2004 shown as 100. The information is not shown by individual Train Operator but grouped together as London and South East, Long Distance and Regional, with LSER fares included in London and the South East.

JanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuary
200620072008200920102011201220132014
109.6115.1121.8130.1130.6139.3147.8154.4158.7


The full table can be found on ORR’s website at:

http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/00a7c389-7c31-4152-ab18-f99dd65e28d7

2nd Oct 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Erith and Thamesmead constituency have (a) opted out after being auto-enrolled into a workplace pension and (b) saved more than the auto-enrolment minimum contribution.

Automatic enrolment has achieved a quiet revolution through getting employees into the habit of pension saving, and reversing the decline in workplace pension participation in the decade prior to these reforms. Since automatic enrolment started in 2012 participation rates have been transformed with 87% of eligible employees saving into a workplace pension in 2018, up from 55% in 2012.

The Department does not hold data for individual constituencies in relation to opt outs or the number of individuals who have saved above the automatic enrolment minimum contribution level. However, we do know that overall around 9% of automatically enrolled workers have chosen to opt out which is significantly below original estimates; and our latest evaluation report shows that, in April 2017, approximately 5.9 million eligible employees were already meeting the April 2019 minimum contribution rates.

I am providing the following information about the impact of automatic enrolment in your constituency, as of August 2019:

In the Erith and Thamesmead constituency, since 2012, approximately 5,000 eligible jobholders have been automatically enrolled and 1,180 employers have met their duties.

Automatic Enrolment Evaluation Report 2018, available via the following weblink: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/764964/Automatic_Enrolment_Evaluation_Report_2018.pdf.

The Pensions Regulator’s data on Automatic enrolment declaration of compliance by constituency, available via the following weblink: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
3rd Dec 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of savings to the public purse from preventing claimants being paid the employment and support allowance (ESA) assessment rate if they have been found fit for work and then reapply for ESA.

The information requested is contained within the Autumn Statement 2014: policy costings document which can be accessed via the following weblink – the relevant page is 66:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/382330/AS2014_Policy_costings.pdf

Mark Harper
Secretary of State for Transport
3rd Dec 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of how many people will claim jobseeker's allowance as a result of no longer being able to claim the employment and support allowance (ESA) assessment rate when applying for ESA after being found fit for work.

The information requested is contained within the Autumn Statement 2014: policy costings document which can be accessed via the following weblink – the relevant page is 66:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/382330/AS2014_Policy_costings.pdf

Mark Harper
Secretary of State for Transport
3rd Dec 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who have been found fit for work following a work capability assessment have reapplied for employment and support allowance within (a) 12, (b) 24 and (c) 36 months.

The information as requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Mark Harper
Secretary of State for Transport
19th Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to reach a decision on the future of the Post Office card account after the current contract ends in March 2015.

Discussions continue between Her Majesty’s Government and Post Office LTD to consider the needs of our customers beyond March 2015, announcements will be made when these discussions reach a conclusion.

9th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make the Child Maintenance Options Service 0800 telephone number free to all callers, including mobile telephone users.

Calls to the Child Maintenance Options 0800 telephone number are free from BT land lines but customers may have to pay if they use another telephone company or a mobile, or if they are calling from abroad. We are currently finalising arrangements with the six major mobile network providers to make the numbers free to call from their networks.

In the meantime, callers contacting the Child Maintenance Options service from a mobile telephone are informed by their network provider that they will be charged. Callers using mobile telephones can request the Options service to call them back, or alternatively use the online ‘live chat' facility or email service, available via the Child Maintenance Options website at www.cmoptions.org.