Download or read book Thirteenth Report of Session 2012 13 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-11-02 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Putting Passengers First Disruption at Gatwick Christmas Eve 2013 HC 956 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-04-11 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Far better contingency planning and preparedness must be put in place by UK airports, and by the airlines that use them, to prevent the kind of chaos that unfolded at Gatwick Airport on Christmas Eve 2013. The problems that unfolded were not new and the whole event should be a wake-up call for airports across the UK to improve their operational resilience. Airports must ensure that their contingency planning is good enough to ensure that future disruption will be met with well-drilled arrangements that are familiar to airport operators, airlines, and other contractors, and which put passenger interests first. If our largest airports cannot demonstrate they can do this then the Civil Aviation Authority must act. Passengers must also be promptly reimbursed for the extra costs they face as a consequence of disruption. The Committee welcomed a key conclusion from Gatwick's own review of the events on Christmas Eve that the airport should appoint passenger champions at each of its terminals. Similar arrangements should also be put in place at other major UK airports. Further recommendations include that airports should: develop (in consultation with airlines) much clearer operational protocols and guidance on the threshold conditions that will trigger the cancellation or postponement of flights; negotiate robust agreements with airlines (which carry formal responsibility for passenger welfare) for reclaiming the costs of looking after passengers during periods of disruption. Government should also push for amendments to a proposed new EU regulation on passenger compensation to include electronic means of alert and information dissemination

Download or read book HC 714 Strategic River Crossings written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015-03-17 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee examined a number of case studies during its inquiry including the Mersey Gateway Project, the Tyne Tunnels and proposals for new crossings in East London and the Lower Thames. The Transport Committee says a short-term approach to planning key infrastructure projects has left many estuary areas in the UK with inadequate transport capacity and poor connectivity: "A lack of cross-river capacity limits local and national economic growth so we call upon the Government to take a far more long-term approach when planning new bridges and tunnels. The Government must rectify that weakness as soon as possible. Important infrastructure projects, such as the Mersey Gateway Bridge, have the potential to generate economic growth by linking workers to jobs and consumers to retailers." The Committee welcomes proposals to build a package of new river crossings in east London and believes these developments are "long overdue."

Download or read book The future of the European Union written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-06-11 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proposals for reforms for the EU as a whole are likely to find a more favourable reception than possible requests for further 'special treatment' for the UK. The Committee is sceptical that other Member States would be willing to renegotiate existing EU law so as to allow the UK on its own to reduce its degree of integration, especially where this could be seen as undermining the integrity of the Single Market. Other Member States appear to want the UK to remain an EU Member. Closer Eurozone integration is a potential risk to the position of the UK and other non-Eurozone states in the EU. However, the December 2012 agreement on the Single Supervisory Mechanism for banking regulation shows what the UK can achieve to protect its position. The Eurozone is in any case far from a homogenous bloc and the expansion and closer integration of the Eurozone does not therefore necessarily render the UK's position in the EU impossible or worthless. This report does not examine whether the UK should remain in the EU or withdraw. However, it agrees with the Government that, if the UK were to leave the EU, the current arrangements for relations with the EU which are maintained by Norway or Switzerland would not be appropriate for the UK. If it is in the UK's interest to remain in the Single Market, the UK should either remain in the EU, or launch an effort for radical institutional change in Europe to give decision-making rights in the Single Market to all its participating states

Download or read book HC 111 Lessons For Civil Service Impartiality From The Scottish Independence Referendum written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015-03-23 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Report has been compiled so that lessons may be drawn for future referendums. On 18 September 2014, the Scottish public voted for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom. The roles played by civil servants in both Scotland and London in the Scottish referendum last summer were subject to criticism and controversy. The referendum campaign exposed two major issues: first, the question of how a unified Civil Service can serve both HM Government and the Scottish Government; and second, the challenges to Civil Service impartiality generated by the Scottish independence referendum. Particular concerns were raised about the Scottish Government's White Paper, Scotland's Future, which included a description of the SNP's proposed programme for government that was contingent upon their winning the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections. This did not uphold the factual standards expected of a UK Government White Paper and raised questions about the use of public money for partisan purposes. There was also concern that the publication of normally confidential advice by the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury called into question the impartiality of the Civil Service. The Committee concludes that parts of the White Paper should not have been included in a government publication. Civil servants should not be required to carry out ministers' wishes, if they are being asked to use public funds to promote the agenda of a political party, as was evident in this case.

Download or read book HC 886 Investigating Clinical Incidents in the NHS written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015-03-27 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PASC is inquiring into how incidents of clinical failure in the NHS are investigated - and how subsequent complaints are handled. The Committee is considering ways that untoward clinical incidents could be investigated immediately at a local level, so that facts and evidence are established early, without the need to find blame, and regardless of whether a complaint has been raised. It is hoped that this work will reduce the need for complaints to go to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO), whose main role relates to administrative and service failures in the NHS in England.

Download or read book HC 219 xxviii Twenty ninth Report of Session 2014 15 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book HC 219 xxxiii Thirty fourth Report of Session 2014 15 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015-03-06 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book HC 219 xxvii Twenty eighth Report of Session 2014 15 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book House of Commons Transport Committee Forging Ahead UK Shipping Strategy HC 630 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-03-26 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: UK is a globally competitive location for shipping. The maritime sector earns £8.8 - £11.8 billion for the economy and supports 214,000 jobs. The Government's new maritime strategy poses the right questions about UK shipping but does not yet provide compelling answers on a range of key points. In particular, it is unclear how the Government plans to address the looming skills gap whereby the UK will have 5,000 fewer deck and engineering officers than the UK's maritime sector is predicted to require by 2021. The Committee recommends that the Government: make an explicit commitment to address fully a significant looming shortfall in UK trained seafarers partly through the Tonnage Tax, SMaRT funding and apprenticeships; commission an independent review of the MCA to evaluate how far a ongoing budget cuts may weaken the UK's ability to enforce compliance with international shipping regulations, undermine its status as a high-quality flag nation and shrink its influence within the International Maritime Organisation.; review the support the UK provides through its oversight of the Red Ensign Group to a number of competing registries of crown dependencies and UK overseas territories to raise the standards of the vessels which fly under the this flag; implement stronger seamanship qualifications by 2016 for the crew of all transfer vessels taking staff to and from offshore wind farm installations (and to call for voluntary compliance with these higher standards before that deadline); and support London International Shipping Week 2015 but showcase shipping around the country

Download or read book House of Commons Transport Committee Ready and waiting Transport Preparations for Winter Weather HC 681 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-01-03 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last few years have seen a number of periods when severe weather has led to widespread travel disruption, exposing a lack of preparedness across all modes of transport in terms of infrastructure, resources, and looking after the interests of passengers. Pro-active decision-making by rail and aviation operators to reduce or cancel services ahead of a major event has reduced disruption. However there is scope for further improvement. The Highways Agency should review the barriers to providing comprehensive realtime information to drivers. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) should ensure that train operating companies develop more robust procedures to identify how long a period of disruption is likely to last and to communicate this clearly to passengers. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) should set out how it will evaluate the impact of the new airport licence conditions on passenger welfare, by Spring 2015. The CAA must also ensure that best practice on the provision of information and on passenger welfare is shared across all UK airports. The availability of salt for gritting roads has improved with the establishment of the strategic salt reserve. More, though, should be done to keep pavements clear of ice and snow. However, winter weather is about more than just snow, as illustrated by the 'St Jude' storm across southern England and the more recent storm stranding thousands at Gatwick. The transport sector must continue to work closely with the Met Office and other forecasters. Finally, embedding a culture of continuous review and improvement must remain a priority.

Download or read book The Coastguard Emergency Towing Vessels and the Maritime Incident Response Group written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-12-11 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Implementation of the Government's modernisation programme risks damaging the coastguard. Confusion about the role of the new national Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) and mixed messages about local knowledge and coastguard station closures has undermined staff morale across the service and caused great concern that the vacancy rate for skilled staff has doubled since 2010. There is a worrying lack of information about what coastguards at the MOC will actually do from day to day or how these new staff will work with local coastguards. The MCA's stance in respect of the local knowledge which coastguards in co-ordination centres must have is also confusing and contradictory. The MCA needs to set out its strategy for staff training and articulate its vision of why coastguards in MRCCs need to gain and retain local knowledge. MCA management must schedule and remunerate staff to pursue this expertise, not leave them to organise themselves when they are off duty. The Committee also expresses concern about arrangements for Emergency Towing Vessels and plans for fire fighting at sea now that the Maritime Incident Response group has been withdrawn. The Government is called to provide statistics on the age profile and length of service of coastguards at each MRCC and to set out its strategy for retaining experienced coastguards, particularly in terms of recruitment to positions based at the MOC

Download or read book Rail 2020 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-01-04 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report setting out their vision for the railway by 2020 the Transport Committee endorses the quest for a more efficient railway but raises concerns about safety, staffing and the protection of passenger interests. The Committee calls for: clarity about the purpose and effectiveness of rail subsidies; a clear link between policy on rail and other aspects of transport policy; a strategic approach to policy-making which does not sacrifice democratic accountability, takes passenger interests more clearly into account, upholds safety standards and develops a strategy for improving the security of the rail network; greater transparency about the costs of rail to ensure that new investment, operator alliances, profit or wastage levels and various forms of franchise can be better compared and evaluated; more modern, flexible fares and ticketing options and a clear long-term policy on regulated fares that rules out even higher fares for commuters on peak time trains; a strong single economic regulator for the rail industry; effective industry leadership via the Rail Delivery Group, scrutinised closely by the regulator to ensure that this strategic body acts in the best interests of the farepayer and taxpayer, rather than simply of established rail interests; devolution for some rail franchises to local or regional bodies. The Committee recommends that the Rail Delivery Group, made up of senior industry leaders, should spearhead the swift implementation of innovative ticketing technology and work with Passenger Focus to develop a clear strategy for improving retail facilities on stations and trains.

Download or read book HC 287 Government Motoring Agencies the User Perspective written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government's motoring agencies are undergoing reorganisation and are introducing digital services; both changes have potential to bring welcome improvements. The Government has a mixed approach to organisational change in the agencies with different emphasis on efficiency savings, restructuring, and private sector involvement across the agencies. It needs to do more to explain the future direction for all the motoring agencies and how it will create a more unified service. The agencies could do more to recognise and respond to the needs of business users. There are a number of specific areas that require action by the Government and its motoring agencies: the driver Certificate of Professional Competence may not be delivering all the benefits expected of it and the Government should negotiate changes at a European level; the agencies need to have effective assisted digital strategies in place to help those who cannot or are unwilling to use the internet to access services; the agencies need to work with the Government Digital Service and others to address the problem of misleading copycat websites; the DVLA needs to do more to explain how it is required to share personal data with private parking companies and the safeguards that are in place to protect such data; the DVLA needs to adjust it's fees to ensure costs are covered and do more to explain it's calculations; and data sharing needs to be effective, if revenue collection, action on safety and work by enforcement agencies are to be effective, and new services need to be planned with data sharing in mind

Download or read book HC 428 Security on the Railway written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-09-05 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Crime on Britain's railways decreased year-on-year over the past decade. That trend shows the effectiveness of the specialist rail policing provided by the British Transport Police (BTP). The Committee were impressed by the BTP's commitment to tackling crime while minimising delays for the travelling public. Despite the welcome decline in overall crime, we identified areas where the BTP could improve its performance. The British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) is the body with responsibility for setting the BTP challenging but achievable targets to tackle crime on the railway. The BTPA must fulfil its remit and avoid any perception that it is too close to the people whom it should be holding to account. The Committee concluded that the BTP model of developing specialist policing skills and securing funding from transport providers might usefully be applied to other transport modes, such as aviation. Such an approach could minimise delays, maximise security and reduce the cost of policing to taxpayers. In the course of the inquiry, the Committee heard that vulnerable children and young people are often found in and around railway stations and were surprised to learn that the BTP currently has no targets in relation to child protection. The Department for Transport, the BTPA, the BTP and the charity sector should work together to tackle this emerging issue by examining the available data and reviewing current practice.

Download or read book HC 257 Investing In The Railway written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Transport Committee welcomes record investment committed to the 'classic' rail network but calls for greater regional balance in spending. Network Rail must also regain the confidence of passengers following recent disruption. The Committee calls for the Government to take responsibility for rolling stock, to address general shortages and ensure there will be sufficient trains to run on newly-electrified lines. The Committee also concluded: (i) Record levels of funding show a welcome commitment to ’classic' rail but this should be set in a longer-term strategic plan for the rail network, which ties into a wider transport strategy; (ii) The overrunning Christmas engineering works were unacceptable; (iii) Network Rail must have adequate contingency plans. They must also work with Passenger Focus and train operating companies to improve communication with passengers when engineering works fail; (iv) In the light of the change of status of Network Rail the ORR must reconsider whether fining a public sector body remains an effective means for the regulator to exert control; (v) Greater transparency is essential around rail spending. Criteria used to allocate spending should be published.

Download or read book HC 429 Motoring of the Future written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015-03-06 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Motoring is being transformed by new materials, new fuels and information technology. However, the Government must act if people and businesses in the UK are to obtain the full benefit of this ongoing automotive revolution. The Committee found that the Department for Transport (DfT) is yet to set out a comprehensive strategy to link the introduction of new automotive technology to the achievement of its policy goals. It should develop a comprehensive vision to shape motoring of the future in partnership with other Government Departments and agencies. This strategy needs to set out a co-ordinated set of actions to: (i) reduce or eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on the roads; (ii) cut emissions from road transport; (iii) increase road capacity; (iv) facilitate social inclusion and accessibility of road transport; and (v) support economic growth.