Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help support women in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency to return to work after a career break.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local Jobcentre teams are supporting residents into work and helping those in work to progress to higher paid jobs. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), recruitment days, Job Fairs, and work trials, all of which can help support women to return to work after a career break.
In addition, one to one support from a Work Coach and Contracted Employment Programmes, the department also offers help with CVs and employability skills, mentoring circles for people aged 50 plus and support with childcare costs. Where a Work Coach identifies a barrier to securing or progressing in employment, they can use the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) to procure clothing, tools, digital devices, and to help with travel to work costs.
In Haringey, we are working with the Construction Youth Trust to support more women into construction roles, with referrals made by Jobcentres across the borough, and funding available to support women who want to work in this sector.
To help facilitate signposting discussions with claimants, staff have access to a database of national and local support information, the District Provision Tool as well as the new Managed Jobs and Opportunities which ensures that claimants can access tailored support where required. This includes provision aimed at women across London such as Dress for Success, a service that supports women to improve their confidence when attending interviews and Smart Works, a UK charity that provides high quality interview clothes and interview training to unemployed women.
We are also working with Transport for London and the College of North East London on their Women into Transportation and Engineering provision. This provides two weeks of pre-employment training, covering CV writing, and workplace skills, plus a Smart Works coaching and styling appointment designed to give participants the confidence to apply for the roles offered within the programme
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Director General of the Road Transport Group in his Department is responsible for co-ordinating Network North.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Directors General across the Department are responsible for looking at transport in an integrated way and from the perspective of the places and public they serve, with each Director General having cross-cutting responsibilities. The unit that provides a central co-ordinating function across the many projects and policy areas included within Network North reports to the Director General of the Road Transport Group.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, by how much (a) Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits and (b) Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits will be reduced following the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2 in each affected Department; and if he will publish in which Departments these savings will be made.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government has committed to re-invest every penny that is saved from the cancelled phases of HS2 into alternative transport projects through Network North.
This means that every penny of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in the North; every penny of the £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg will be reinvested in the Midlands; and the full £6.5 billion saved through our rescoped approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country.
Departmental Expenditure Limits in 2024-25 are published at the relevant Estimates in the usual way. Departmental budgets beyond 2024-25 will be set as part of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to provide compensation to town and parish councils for time spent on (a) applications and (b) other work linked to sections of the HS2 that have been cancelled.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Policy changes are a common feature of Government and there is no mechanism or precedent for compensating local authorities or councils for abortive costs incurred as a result of changes in Government policy. Providing compensation in this instance would create wide-ranging and repercussive consequences for the taxpayer. Whilst abortive costs are unfortunate, they should be seen in the context of a broader package of support for local authorities that the Government is providing through Network North. For instance, a new £2.5 billion fund for local transport across all areas in the North outside the six city regions – smaller cities, counties, towns and countryside and as well as a new £3.3 billion fund for road resurfacing in the North.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 4.12 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, whether recent funding allocated to pothole repairs will be used to help motorists report potholes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has announced, as part of the Prime Minister’s Network North plan, that an additional £8.3 billion will be provided to local highway authorities across England over the period 2023/24 to 2033/34 to enable them to maintain and resurface local roads. £150 million of this additional funding has been made available to local authorities in 2023/24 and a further £150 million will be made available in 2024/25. This uplift, in additional to the £200 million funding increase announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, means that local highway authorities across England, including North Northamptonshire, are receiving around 30% more highway maintenance capital grant funding in the 2023/24 financial year than in the previous financial year.
The funding is for the resurfacing of carriageways, cycleways and footways to prevent potholes and other road defects from occurring, as well as to help keep local bridges and other highway structures open and safe. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend it to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980.
Motorists can already report potholes and other road defects through their respective local highway authority websites. The additional funding will enable local authorities to do more to tackle potholes and other problems reported by motorists. The Department has asked all local highway authorities to publish details of how the additional funding is being spent, and these reports should already be on authorities’ websites. This will help raise awareness of highway maintenance issues and may encourage more road users to report potholes.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the levels of pothole repair funding.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has announced, as part of the Prime Minister’s Network North plan, that an additional £8.3 billion will be provided to local highway authorities across England over the period 2023/24 to 2033/34 to enable them to maintain and resurface local roads. £150 million of this additional funding has been made available to local authorities in 2023/24 and a further £150 million will be made available in 2024/25. This uplift, in additional to the £200 million funding increase announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, means that local highway authorities across England, including North Northamptonshire, are receiving around 30% more highway maintenance capital grant funding in the 2023/24 financial year than in the previous financial year.
The funding is for the resurfacing of carriageways, cycleways and footways to prevent potholes and other road defects from occurring, as well as to help keep local bridges and other highway structures open and safe. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend it to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980.
Motorists can already report potholes and other road defects through their respective local highway authority websites. The additional funding will enable local authorities to do more to tackle potholes and other problems reported by motorists. The Department has asked all local highway authorities to publish details of how the additional funding is being spent, and these reports should already be on authorities’ websites. This will help raise awareness of highway maintenance issues and may encourage more road users to report potholes.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps with Avanti West Coast to improve the standard of customer service provided by that company.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department meets with Avanti West Coast regularly to discuss its performance, across all areas including Customer Experience, and where improvement is required. Over the next few months Avanti West Coast is working to introduce a brand-new fleet of electric and bi-mode Hitachi trains offering more space and a quieter journey for passengers along the North Wales mainline.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2024 to Question 15333 on High Speed 2 Line, what assumptions were made on the potential services that could run north of Birmingham to provide the evidential basis for the statement that the new plan for HS2 will result in nearly doubling capacity up to 250,000 seats per day across the primary long-distance operator on the West Coast Main Line and Phase 1.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is currently working on the requirement to develop a new train service specification for HS2 and West Coast Mainline services following the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement. The Department has committed to publish the Phase 1 Updated Business Case which will be based on an indicative train service specification and associated capacity in 2024.
Any train service included in the business case will be indicative for modelling and planning purposes. Decisions on the train service that will run when HS2 is operational will made in due course and be subject to consultation.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much reallocated HS2 funding has been given to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council for road resurfacing.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Over the period 2023/24 to 2033/34 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council will receive at least £18.9 million of reallocated HS2 funding for highways maintenance, including road resurfacing.
As I’ve previously set out, Network North will see every penny of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 reinvested in the North. Every penny of the £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg will be reinvested in the Midlands. The £6.5 billion saved through our rescoped approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country – and it is from this pot that this funding comes.
In line with the published allocations, the Department for Transport has paid £604,000 of this to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council this financial year; the Council will receive the same amount in 2024/25. Future allocations are a matter for the next Spending Review.
This information, as with all highway maintenance funding allocations, is published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to use funds saved by the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2f to tackle problems on rail links between Birmingham and Manchester.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As announced in the Network North command paper, every penny of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in the North; every penny of the £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg will be reinvested in the Midlands; and the full £6.5 billion saved through our rescoped approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country.
Network North provided £500m to improve rail capacity North of Birmingham and work is ongoing to develop value for money interventions using these funds. This includes upgrades around Handsacre, where the HS2 line joins the West Coast Mainline, and other potential enhancements on the network.