Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to review the statutory guidance on civil parking enforcement to strengthen protections for (a) disabled people, (b) children and (c) other vulnerable patients.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has no plans to review the statutory guidance on civil parking enforcement. There is already a duty for public authorities to promote equality under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that the needs of people with protected characteristics are met. The Department for Transport encourages local authorities to consult with representatives of various user groups, such as local disability groups, to help inform the design of local streets.
Local authorities are not only responsible for providing disabled parking facilities, but for enforcing the parking restrictions which they have put in place using their civil parking enforcement powers.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) increase capacity and (b) ensure more passengers are able to be seated on services into London on South Western Railway.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is working closely with South Western Railway on the introduction of the Arterio fleet which will add the much needed additional capacity and seats on services into London. In the meantime, South Western Railway is managing the rest of its train fleet to ensure that capacity is prioritised where it is most needed.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of fatal cycling accidents on rural roads in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 12 February, the Department and Active Travel England announced local authority allocations of the Consolidated Active Travel Fund. Of this funding, Dorset Unitary Authority has been awarded £774,233 in revenue and capital funding. It will be for the local authority to allocate this funding in line with local investment priorities, such as improving safety for cyclists in West Dorset.
The Government is committed to improving the safety of all road users, especially the most vulnerable such as pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists. This is a key priority for the Department which was reflected in the updated Highway Code in January 2022, with the implementation of a Hierarchy of Road Users.
We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Department is developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the quality of road surfaces on the A34 slip roads.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways is responsible for the maintenance and the quality of the A34 and its slip roads surfaces. National Highways currently has a resurfacing scheme ongoing in the East Ilsley area, which includes the resurfacing of the northbound slip roads.
In addition, several A34 slip roads have been resurfaced since December 2023. These include:
National Highways will continue to monitor the condition of the A34 and plan further maintenance as necessary.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to respond to her Department's consultation entitled Pavement parking: options for change, that closed on 22 November 2020.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has been carefully considering the responses to the consultation and working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to restrict and enforce pavement parking.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps with National Highways to introduce new (a) signage and (b) road markings to improve visibility on the A34.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways is taking steps to improve visibility on the A34 through planned work on both new signage and road marking.
National Highways is currently developing a scheme to renew approximately 51 signage assets along the route, in addition to refreshing road markings on the A34 and its slip roads between the Chieveley Interchange and the junction with the M40.
Traffic signs on the A34 are inspected annually, alternating between one year as visual inspections and the second year as drive-through surveys measuring sign reflectivity. National Highways inspectors also patrol the length of the A34 at least twice a week, looking for obstructed signs or deteriorating road markings with any issues identified and raised as defects for attention.
This year, National Highways has so far carried out 1,053 soft estate works on the A34, including the clearance of vegetation and obstructions from sightlines at junctions, signage, footpaths, and technology equipment.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to reintroduce a direct train service between Eastbourne and London Bridge.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Operators must make the best use of train paths when planning their timetables to meet current and future demand, while ensuring value for the taxpayer. Govia Thameslink Railway is currently engaging with stakeholders and actively developing proposals for a direct service between Eastbourne and London Bridge and will ensure that stakeholders are kept updated on any progress in this area as soon as possible.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station on the economy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station will enable £500m investment in the busiest station in the UK at no cost to the taxpayer. Officials in my Department are engaged with Network Rail Property and Planning teams around the redevelopment proposals for Liverpool Street station. These plans are at an early stage and will be subject to planning consents. Both my Department and Network Rail will continue to monitor these plans as they develop.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department plans to take to improve transport connectivity in Dudley constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government is committed to restoring pride and trust in a transport system that works – day in, day out – for the people who rely on it.
That is why we have allocated substantial funding to the West Midlands Combined Authority, to enable it to make the best decisions about how to maintain and improve its local transport network and connectivity, including in Dudley.
This funding includes over £2.4 billion, until 2031/32, from the Transport for City Regions settlements, as well as an additional £8.6 million in 2025/26 for local highway maintenance, and more than £49 million in 2025/26 in bus funding.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation or guidance to centralise data collection on licensed drivers' (a) immigration status and (b) criminal history.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Immigration Act 2016 prevents illegal working in the taxi and private hire vehicle sector, as either a driver or an operator. Licensing authorities are prohibited from issuing a licence to anyone who is disqualified by reason of their immigration status, and they discharge their duty by conducting immigration checks.
Being disqualified from holding a licence by reason of their immigration status means that the person is in the UK illegally, is not permitted to work, or is permitted to work, but is subject to a condition that prohibits them from holding a licence in this sector.
The requirement to check the immigration status of licence applicants is in addition to the ‘fit and proper’ test.
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) provides access to criminal record information through its disclosure service. As at 1 April 2024, all authorities in England required an enhanced DBS security check for all drivers as part of their ‘fit and proper’ test. The statutory guidance issued by the Department for Transport to licensing authorities in 2020 recommends that when an individual has spent an extended period (3 or more continuous months) outside the UK, licensing authorities should seek or require applicants to provide where possible criminal records information or a certificate of good character from overseas to properly assess risk and support its decision-making process. This enables licensing authorities to make an informed decision when considering if a person is ‘fit and proper’ to hold a taxi or private hire vehicle driver.