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To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their proposals for a new high speed railway line or lines between London and the West Midlands or the north of England and Scotland will be pursued by
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The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): I refer the noble Lord to my Written Statement of 14 December 2009 (Official Report, cols. WS 213-4), which sets out the Government's plans for high speed rail in the UK.
The Government believe that a hybrid Bill is likely to be the only way to secure the full range of statutory powers and authorisations needed to implement a completely new heavy rail scheme such as HS2, which goes beyond the scope of a development consent order under the Planning Act 2008. We will set out our considerations in further detail in the response to High Speed 2's report.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place for the real time updating of the National Rail website to reflect weather and service conditions. [HL1165]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The National Rail Enquiry Service is managed by the Association of Train Operating Companies, on behalf of the passenger rail operators.
The National Rail website is part of this service, and measures are in place to maintain and update data currently throughout the day, to reflect emerging conditions.
My noble friend may wish to contact the association at the address below for more detailed information: the Association of Train Operating Companies, 3rd Floor, 40 Bernard Street, London, WC1 1BY.
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the rail journey times between London and Newcastle are longer for late evening services than earlier in the day, in particular for the Durham to Newcastle stretch. [HL1162]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): Network Rail undertakes much of its maintenance of the national rail network overnight and at weekends. At these times, parts of the network may be closed or only open to services travelling at reduced speeds, depending on the nature of maintenance work taking place.
If a service has to travel via a different route or at a reduced speed, this will affect the time which a train takes to complete its journey.
Detail relating to the specific services in question can be obtained from East Coast or Network Rail as follows:
Elaine Holt, Chair, East Coast, 1/18 Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR; and Iain Coucher, Network Rail, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.To ask Her Majesty's Government how many road accidents are attributed each year to distractions caused by advertising beside major roads. [HL1066]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The information requested is not collected by the Department for Transport.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what encouragement they and the Commonwealth are giving the Government of Rwanda to further political dialogue with the Rwandan Hutus living in eastern Congo. [HL1015]
Lord Brett: We strongly support UN Security Council Resolution 1804 of 13 March 2008 which demands that all members of Rwandan armed groups operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) immediately lay down their arms and present themselves without any further delay or preconditions to Congolese authorities and MONUC for their disarmament, demobilization, repatriation to Rwanda, resettlement and reintegration into Rwandan society. Rwandans living outside the country are encouraged by the Government of Rwanda to return to participate in Rwanda's political processes. DfID has provided extensive financial support for the efforts of the Rwandan Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission, which has successfully reintegrated over 6,000 former rebel militiamen, and we have provided the UN force in the DRC (MONUC) with transmitters enabling them to contact rebel units wishing to disarm and demobilise.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, regarding the report they commissioned on behalf of the General Lighthouse Authorities from Raven Trading reviewing the impact of light dues increases, whether
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To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the independence of the authorship of the report they commissioned on behalf of the General Lighthouse Authorities from Raven Trading reviewing the impact of light dues increases; and, if any assessment has been made, what action will follow from their conclusion. [HL1160]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): No conflict of interest exists, as no board member of the Commissioners of Irish Lights was involved in the production of either of the Raven Trading reports. There is no basis on which to question the independence of the report's authorship.
We revised the level of light dues only after taking account of industry views expressed in a full consultation on the subject matter last year.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they approved the use of Strategic Transport Solutions International as a contributor to the report they commissioned on behalf of the General Lighthouse Authorities from Raven Trading reviewing the impact of light dues increases; and whether they approved the involvement of a board member of the Commissioners of Irish Lights. [HL1159]
Lord Adonis: There was no requirement for my department to approve the use of any subcontractor for this work. No board member of the Commissioners of Irish Lights was involved in the production of either Raven Trading report.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of double taxation treaties with (a) Kyrgystan, and (b) Tajikistan; and, if they are not in place, what steps they are taking to implement such treaties; and what is the anticipated timetable for agreement. [HL1068]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The United Kingdom and Tajikistan have agreed to continue to apply the provisions of the UK/USSR double taxation agreement until such time as a new bilateral treaty is signed between our two countries. There is no such understanding with Kyrgyzstan and hence no double taxation agreement.
The Government have no immediate plans to negotiate a new double taxation agreement with either country.
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