argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Telecommunications Infrastructure (Relief from Non-Domestic Rates) Bill — House of Commons, 2017-09-05
Topic: Technology
Robert Alexander Courts (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a great pleasure to speak in a debate that is, as we all know, enormously important. I spoke in detail about the effect of poor broadband in my constituency on Second Reading, but I now want to make two brief points about events which occurred during the recess and which illustrate precisely what I have spoken about in the House on so many occasions Kernahan Service is a garage on one of the major industrial estates in Witney. It is an excellent local family-run company which has serviced vehicles throughout west Oxfordshire for many years. When I visited the garage, the people there wanted not just to explain to me how the business worked, but to demonstrate to me the difficulty caused by the poor broadband that was available to them. Nowadays, as we know, when vans and other vehicles go into a garage, they are plugged into a computer which then connects to a server, and that provides the diagnostic information. I have seen for myself the waiting and the waiting and the waiting in that garage: I have seen those people waiting to find out from the Ford servers what the difficulties are with a particular vehicle. Moreover, I have witnessed with my own eyes the managing director waiting and waiting and waiting for the results of a simple Google search for information. That makes very clear the problems experienced by businesses throughout west Oxfordshire, although it is not a particularly rural problem; it is being experienced in Witney and on one of the most important industrial estates there Then there is the domestic side. Isabelle Jackson, a 15-year-old constituent who lives in Kiddington, a small village just outside Woodstock, wrote asking me to raise this issue, and I now gladly do so. I am grateful to her for writing, because she has drawn attention to problems that are experienced by many young people Isabelle will take her GCSEs in the current academic year, and is required to do her homework online. She is required to do research and to use sites such as BBC Bitesize and MyMaths, which, as I am sure those with children of the relevant age will know, are very important. The broadband in her village runs at 0.9 megabits per second, so it is simply impossible for her to do her homework. It cannot be right that, simply because Isabelle and many like her live in rural areas, they are being disadvantaged in the course of their education, but that is exactly what we are seeing It is for those reasons—the effect on business and the effect on the domestic instruction of young people in particular—that I wholeheartedly welcome the Bill and the incentives that it gives operators to provide the investment that will ensure that we have high-speed internet in rural and, indeed, urban areas throughout west Oxfordshire Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed.
Leaving the EU: Cabotage — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are carefully considering the potential impacts on cabotage as part of our preparations for negotiating our departure from the EU. The Department for Transport is engaging with industry on the matter. It is too soon to say what arrangements will be in place, but we are very conscious of the interest of the transport industry in future arrangements.
Leaving the EU: Cabotage — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said a moment ago, we will reach that agreement in due course. It is our intention across the sectors, whether haulage or aviation, to secure the best possible agreement for the future that will benefit those from elsewhere in the European Union who seek to do business in the UK and those from the UK who seek to do business elsewhere in the European Union.
Leaving the EU: Cabotage — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: International Affairs
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend will not be surprised to learn that the Government of course take steps to prepare for all eventualities, but we enter the negotiations with good faith and the intention to secure a deal, because we believe very strongly that that is in everybody’s interests, both here in the United Kingdom and across the European Union.
Leaving the EU: Cabotage — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said a moment ago, the Government are focused on ensuring that we have the best possible arrangements across the transport sector. We have regular discussions with the Scottish Government on a wide variety of issues. What I will say—I think this is good news for all us—is that the UK flag is increasing in size again, which we all welcome.
Leaving the EU: Cabotage — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course, this is not simply about UK companies, because the vast majority of haulage-based cabotage that takes place in the United Kingdom is undertaken by international hauliers operating in the UK, so they themselves have a vested interested in ensuring that their politicians work with us to make sure that we have the best possible arrangements for the future. That is what we will do, and I am confident that other European Governments will want to do the same.
Northern Powerhouse Rail — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): As I am sure the hon. Lady is aware, Northern Powerhouse Rail will provide faster and more frequent rail services across the region. We have committed £60 million to developing the scheme and we are working closely with Transport for the North on potential route options and their costs and benefits. That analysis is due to arrive with us by the end of 2017.
Northern Powerhouse Rail — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): I am indeed aware of Bradford’s campaign. The leader of the council has already written to me, and I was grateful for that communication. It is important to stress that Northern Powerhouse Rail is about linking not just the major cities in the north but some of the smaller towns and cities where connectivity can be significantly improved.
Northern Powerhouse Rail — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Andrew George Stephenson (Conservative, Centre-right): Is the Minister aware of the economic study on east-west trans-Pennine connectivity that was recently published on behalf of the Lancashire and Yorkshire local enterprise partnerships? The report finds that taking steps such as reopening the Skipton to Colne rail route would boost economic prosperity across the north, but that a failure to improve connectivity from east to west would "critically restrict the growth potential of the Pennine Corridor economy—a key driver of the Northern Powerhouse".
Northern Powerhouse Rail — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is entirely correct to point to the importance of trans-Pennine links, be they road or rail. I am very familiar, as I am sure he is, with the Skipton to Colne campaign and the Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership. I wish it well, and I hope that it features strongly on all the local growth fund bids that come in to the Department.
Northern Powerhouse Rail — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): We continue to consider carefully what powers we want to give to Transport for the North. I very much hope that it will be placed on a statutory basis in the future, and we will make an announcement in due course. There is an awful lot we can do together with Transport for the North even now, on matters such as smart ticketing and infrastructure improvements. Transport for the North is a great success already, whatever its basis.
Northern Powerhouse Rail — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
David Nuttall (Conservative, Centre-right): There can be no doubt that the Government and Transport for the North have a plethora of plans, strategies and proposals. They are all wonderful, but what mechanisms are in place to ensure that all these plans are turned into some real action?
Northern Powerhouse Rail — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right to identify the immense creativity that exists in the north of England in terms of recommending potential new pieces of infrastructure, but it is vital to remember that there is only a finite amount of money at any one time. That is why in the Department, in the devolved Administrations and in Transport for the North, we have very complicated and, I think, sensible ways to judge the impact of any infrastructure and calculate the benefit-cost ratio.
Switch Island, Sefton — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Questions: If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of road safety at the Switch Island junction in Sefton; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): Highways England acknowledged concerns about the safety performance of the Switch Island junction following the opening of the new Broom’s Cross Road and has since implemented interim measures to improve safety. Highways England has also identified options for a further safety improvement scheme and is discussing them with the hon. Gentleman’s local council. Those options include changes to lane markings and traffic signs and the introduction of gantries to make the road layout clearer.
Switch Island, Sefton — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Questions: If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of road safety at the Switch Island junction in Sefton; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I would have thought the hon. Gentleman would be delighted to hear about our range of plans right across the country. The funding for the Switch Island project has been identified, and the various options are being worked through. Highways England has to work out what is feasible, plan the design side of it and implement the plan. The implementation is planned for the early part of 2018, but of course the hon. Gentleman’s concerns about road safety are part of the consideration.
Rail Ticketing — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): The Department continues to work with the industry to explore what further improvements can be made to simplify fares. The action plan we announced in December will drive improvement for passengers, including removing jargon, improving ticket vending machines and trialling approaches to simplifying the fares structure.
Rail Ticketing — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Iain Aitken Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Many of my constituents travel frequently by train, but not every day and not always at peak hours, so the traditional season ticket is not appropriate for them. What new ticket products is the Minister encouraging train operating companies to introduce to meet and encourage such demand?
Rail Ticketing — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is quite right to raise the issue of part-time season tickets. This is a matter of personal importance to me, and I encourage all train operating companies to consider whether the range of products they have on offer actually meets their customers’ needs. With regard to his own route to Milton Keynes, I am sure he will be pleased to know that the next West Midlands franchise will require that a part-time flexible season ticket be offered by the winning bidder, and I look forward to seeing what those bids contain.
Rail Ticketing — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): There is a very lengthy answer, but I am sure you would not indulge me if I gave it, Mr Speaker. I say briefly to the hon. Gentleman that we need to ensure that whenever a passenger makes a claim for compensation, they can demonstrate they were on the train in question. Automatic compensation can be achieved if they have either a season ticket or an advance purchase ticket. I would also observe that compensation arrangements on the Wales and Borders franchise are a matter for the Welsh Assembly.
Rail Ticketing — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Martin John Vickers (Conservative, Centre-right): One aspect of the ticketing system is that a lot of the money paid in compensation by Network Rail to the rail companies does not reach the passengers, which is quite scandalous. What action is the Minister taking to ensure that that money in fact ends up in passengers’ bank accounts?
Rail Ticketing — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): We had a very fruitful discussion of schedule 8 payments in the Transport Committee last week, when I explained at some length why the two are not directly comparable. My hon. Friend will have heard what the chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road had to say about trying to make schedule 8 payments more transparent and more closely related to what the passengers themselves have experienced. I look forward to hearing the Select Committee’s recommendations in due course.
Night Flights: Regional Airports — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government set noise night flight restrictions only at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. We believe that noise is usually best managed locally, so we do not monitor the number of night flights outside those three airports. At Scottish airports, the powers to set night flight restrictions and other noise controls are of course devolved, and therefore lie with Scottish Ministers.
Night Flights: Regional Airports — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): This is clearly a live issue for people living around airports. The airspace modernisation programme will provide additional tools to improve things. I assume the hon. Lady is not asking me to take back powers from the Scottish Government to regulate night flights at Scotland’s airports; were she doing so, she would have to talk to her colleagues in Edinburgh.
Night Flights: Regional Airports — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): We have no plans to nationalise regional airports. In some cases, local authorities—or, indeed, local authorities in partnership with the private sector—control regional airports, and that is a matter for those local authorities and the current and past owners of those airports. We have no plans to nationalise airports.
Night Flights: Regional Airports — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): The big difference that will come from the airspace modernisation programme is that by moving from systems that are 50 years out of date to ones that use the most modern technology, it will be possible to manage approaches to and departure paths from airports much more exactly, to provide more variation for local communities and to deliver a much smarter way of managing our aviation as a whole. That is why we are consulting on what will be a big change for this country.
Private Parking — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of the Government’s policy on private parking; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): The Department for Communities and Local Government has responsibility for off-street parking. I have had discussions with the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Mr Jones), and we have further meetings planned. Officials from my Department also have regular contact with their DCLG and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency counterparts to discuss issues relating to parking.
Private Parking — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of the Government’s policy on private parking; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): That is actually a DCLG matter. We are discussing the independent appeals process, and the DVLA’s role in that in supplying driver information, but also up for consideration is the vigour with which the codes of practice of the two accredited trade associations are enforced. While we recognise that there are many good parking companies, there are some whose standards of customer service do not meet expectations. We had a very good debate on this in Westminster Hall last week, and I look forward to standing up for consumers to make sure they get a better deal.
Private Parking — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of the Government’s policy on private parking; and if he will make a statement.
Mark Julian Francis Pawsey (Conservative, Centre-right): The British Parking Association represents many of the operators of private car parks, and the Minister has just referred to its code of practice for the industry. What discussions has he had with the association about improving the performance of parking operators?
Private Parking — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of the Government’s policy on private parking; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): That was a point the hon. Gentleman made in the debate we had last week. I cannot tell him when the DCLG will be responding to the consultation that it has been running, but I can tell him that my Department will be working with the DVLA and the DCLG to do all we can to ensure that the consumer gets a better deal by tackling some of the bigger rogue parking companies.
Private Parking — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the adequacy of the Government’s policy on private parking; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): The charge is £2.50 for the data. It is basically set on a cost-recovery basis. It is not possible to predict entirely accurately how many claims there will be during the financial year; some years there could be a small deficit, some years a small surplus. As I undertook to do in the debate last week, I will put all the data in a letter in the House of Commons Library.
Rail Network: Investment — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): Network Rail is responsible for delivering a safe, reliable and efficient railway, and is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road. Over the longer term the company has reduced the cost of the railway significantly, and asset reliability has improved. The trend in spending on maintenance at present is broadly stable, but it is vital that the company continues to drive efficiency to ensure a good service to passengers while reducing the burden on passengers and taxpayers.
Rail Network: Investment — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): I predicted that the hon. Lady would raise the issue of overhead line equipment. I have already met the route managing director Rob McIntosh to discuss that specific issue. He said to me that he is looking carefully at how to best improve reliability of the overhead lines, particularly during periods of high winds and heavy storms, which often cause a problem. They are looking at sites with significant gradient and reviewing vegetation management near overhead lines, track geometry and the reliability of system tension during periods of high winds.
Rail Network: Investment — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure the hon. Gentleman has already noticed our consultation on the future of the Southeastern franchise, which was released last week and clearly puts capacity front and centre. He is right to point out that we received a proposal from Southeastern, as a result of a personal request from me to the parent company for it to come up with better ideas. We have had it for a week now, and are looking carefully to make sure that it at all makes sense and adds up. I hope that those carriages will be hitting the network as soon as possible.
Rail Network: Investment — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Questions: Part of the proposal for new rolling stock for Southeastern involved the transfer of class 377 trains from Govia Thameslink Railway. I have been informed that those trains will cease to be used by GTR from Monday, and will be standing empty at the Grosvenor sidings outside Victoria station. It will be adding insult to injury if my constituents sitting on a crowded train are passing empty carriages that ought to be helping them out. Will the Minister please fix this soon?
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is entirely right to point out that we expect both those train operating companies to work more closely together, because they have a similar parent company and the rolling stock that they need. I expect a solution to this problem. We have had a proposal, and I want to see it introduced as soon as possible.
National Road Safety Targets — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are not setting national targets and are not considering reinstating them. We do not believe that targets will provide further persuasion on the importance of road safety; it is already at the heart of departmental thinking.
National Road Safety Targets — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): I have obviously considered this matter. I look at road safety data on a quarterly basis and an annual basis. On enforcement, how the police use their resource is a matter for individual police authorities and police and crime commissioners, but as Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary has made clear, there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels. The key is the output achieved, rather than simply measuring how many. It is important to point out that in 2015 we had the second lowest road safety data for those killed or seriously injured in British road history. That is positive and we are working to make our roads even safer.
National Road Safety Targets — House of Commons, 2017-03-30
Topic: Transportation
Questions: Cyclists in Stroud—and for that matter in Sefton—are crying out for more road safety measures to ensure they can go around roundabouts and across junctions in safety. Will the Minister take that into account in national transport planning?
Andrew Hanson Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): Most certainly. I am acutely aware of the impact of cycling infrastructure on road safety. It is clearly part of our consideration. We hoped to launch our cycling and walking investment strategy last week, but for very obvious reasons there was a change to the timetable of Government announcements.