Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2023 to Question 177749 on Travel: Greater Manchester, what estimate he has of the percentage of households that own a car in Bolton South East constituency.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
According to Census data, 72% of households in Bolton South East constituency in 2021 had access to one or more cars or vans.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the impact of rises in (a) energy costs and (b) inflation on Halton Haven hospice.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
We have no current plans to make a specific assessment.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) Transport for London on managing pressure on Elizabeth Line services following recent changes to the construction schedule for High Speed Rail 2.
Answered by Huw Merriman
As has always been planned, Old Oak Common will act as HS2’s temporary London terminus prior to the opening of the High Speed station at Euston.
We do not anticipate the rephasing of Euston to impact passenger demand at the point Old Oak Common services commence.
My officials continue to work closely with Network Rail and Transport for London to understand future levels of passenger demand and capacity requirements both at Old Oak Common and throughout the wider transport network as HS2 services are introduced.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent changes to the construction schedule for High Speed Rail 2 on passenger demand for Elizabeth Line services; and whether his Department plans to take steps to address potential changes in demand.
Answered by Huw Merriman
As has always been planned, Old Oak Common will act as HS2’s temporary London terminus prior to the opening of the High Speed station at Euston.
We do not anticipate the rephasing of Euston to impact passenger demand at the point Old Oak Common services commence.
My officials continue to work closely with Network Rail and Transport for London to understand future levels of passenger demand and capacity requirements both at Old Oak Common and throughout the wider transport network as HS2 services are introduced.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claims for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits which are refused following medical assessment but are subsequently overturned at Tribunal are fully backdated and paid out in full to the claimant.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
All Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) claims overturned at Tribunal will be paid full arrears for the appropriate period in line with the Tribunal’s decision, unless the Tribunal’s decision is overturned in any subsequent appeal to the Upper Tribunal or a Higher Court.
Information on appeals in the First-tier Tribunal, including IIDB appeals, is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
Specifically, information on the number of appeal receipts, disposals and outcomes of IIDB appeals, can be found in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tables: SSCS_1, SSCS_2 and SSCS_3 of the Main Tables.
The information requested on the proportion of IIDB claims which are refused following medical assessment, but are subsequently overturned at Tribunal that are fully backdated and paid out in full to the claimant, is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rob Roberts (Independent - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent on heavy rail infrastructure in (a) England and (b) Wales in each of the last five years up to and including the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Between 2018-19 and 2021-22, £46.7bn was invested on High Speed Two infrastructure; Network Rail Operations, Maintenance and Renewals; and the Rail Network Enhancements Portfolio. Figures are sourced from DfT and NR published accounts and Network Rail reporting is consolidated for England and Wales. By its nature, expenditure on the railway in any one particular part of the country is likely to also benefit passengers from outside that immediate area who use that railway.
An annual breakdown is included in the table below:
2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
10.3 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 14.4 |
*Figures are in £billions, in nominal prices
** Rail Network Enhancements Portfolio figures do not include 3rd party-funded delivery
*** 2022-23 outturn data is provisional and excluded
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to reintroduce the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) is now closed and has been replaced by the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will extend the period for which a Ukrainian may use a Ukrainian driving licence to drive in the UK.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
I refer the member to the answer I gave on Wednesday 19th April. (UIN 179857).
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department has allocated to projects to help prevent fly-tipping in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In 2022, we provided 11 local authorities with total grant funding of almost £450,000 to purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping. In 2023, we followed this up with total grant funding of £775,000 to support 21 local authorities to tackle fly-tipping.
These grant funds will help councils to purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots. The projects funded include containers to support a ‘no bags on the street’ policy in Newham, beautification combined with anti-climb fencing in Hyndburn and the integration of CCTV and a digital fly-tipping education tool in Durham.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the charges to be introduced by the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging will apply only to packaging that enters the consumer waste system.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Under Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR), producers will pay for the waste management costs associated with the packaging that they place on the market that ends up in households or street bins managed by local authorities. Charges for the management of this waste will apply to all primary and shipment packaging except where producers can evidence that their packaging has been emptied and discarded by a business. This will ensure producers are thinking about the necessity of any packaging they use and the impact of that packaging once it ends up with the end consumer.