Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on the affordability of black cabs for drivers.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DfT officials meet with Transport for London representatives to discuss the uptake of electric taxis, including the Plug in Taxi Grant and potential barriers to the adoption of these vehicles.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of accidents there have been involving (a) cars and (b) cyclists due to potholes in the last 12 months.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department publishes road casualty statistics based on personal injury road collisions reported to the police via the STATS19 reporting system.
STATS19 does not identify the cause of collisions, but reporting police officers can identify up to 6 factors which in their opinion may have contributed to the collision.
In 2022 (the most recent year for which figures are available) there were 215 cars and 42 pedal cycles involved in injury collisions where the contributory factor ‘poor or defective road surface’ was assigned.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on repairing potholes (a) nationally and (b) in York in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the 1980 Highway Act, it is the responsibility of the local highway authority, such as the City of York Council, to maintain and manage the highway network it is responsible for.
The Government allocates funding to local highways authorities so they can most effectively spend this funding on maintaining and improving their respective network, based upon their local knowledge, circumstances and priorities. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. In 2023/24, the Department for Transport provided £1.3 billion of Highway Maintenance Block capital funding to local highway authorities in England outside London and the Mayoral Combined Authority areas, of which the City of York Council received £3.699 million. This was 30% higher than the equivalent figure for 2022/23.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to develop a net zero road map for the haulage industry.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to supporting the haulage industry to reach net zero. You may recall, in June 2022, this government published the first-ever cross modal and cross-government plan for the UK freight transport.
The Future of Freight Plan committed to a series of actions to support the decarbonisation of the freight sector and work is currently underway to deliver a strategy for the rollout of zero emission HGV infrastructure. This will support the haulage sector to achieve net zero.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of potholes on drivers in Warwickshire.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State is keen to support motorists in Warwickshire, and elsewhere, by mitigating the impact of potholes. Under the 1980 Highways Act, local highway authorities, such as Warwickshire County Council, are responsible for maintaining and managing the local highway network within their area.
For the 2024/25 financial year, the Government is providing Warwickshire County Council with over £18.2 million for highway maintenance. This includes £2.056 million of reallocated HS2 funding and is a 12.7% increase over the funding the Council was expecting in 2024/25 before the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement.
It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Funding is not ring fenced and Warwickshire can spend the money on all aspects of highway maintenance such as bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns – and not just the fixing of potholes.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has for land that was formerly earmarked for HS2.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Any property that is no longer required will be disposed of and a programme is being developed to do this. We will ensure it is compliant with requirements on the disposal of surplus government property, delivers value for money for taxpayers and does not disrupt local property markets.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of his Department’s (a) advertising and (b) marketing expenditure was on (i) local newspapers in print and online, (ii) national newspapers in print and online, (iii) social media, (iv) search engines, (v) broadcast and on-demand television and (vi) other channels in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport Statutory Advertising spend totalled £579,466.32 between February 2023 and January 2024. This included £434,383 in local newspapers and £143.830 in national newspapers.
The Department for Transport net media spend under the ‘it’s everyone’s journey’ and THINK! road safety campaigns in financial year 2023/24 totalled £3,421,441. This included £777,244 in social media, £549,817 broadcast and on-demand television and £2,094,380 in other channels.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure riders comply with e-scooter regulations.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Outside of Government rental trials, e-scooters are motor vehicles under section 185(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Using them on a public road is a criminal offence, which can carry significant penalties on prosecution, including potentially unlimited fines and disqualification from driving. It is a matter for Chief Police Officers and Police and Crime Commissioners how they conduct enforcement in their respective constabularies.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on licensing electric black cabs.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Whilst the Secretary of State for Transport has not had any direct discussion with the Mayor of London on licensing electric taxis, revised best practice guidance was issued to all licensing authorities in November last year recommending they enable as many types of vehicles as possible to be licensed. Licensing authorities should give very careful consideration to a policy that automatically rules out particular types of vehicle or prescribes only one type or a small number of types of vehicle.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an estimate of the number of pothole-related damages to vehicles in Warwickshire in each year since 2010.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the 1980 Highways Act, local highway authorities, such as Warwickshire County Council, are responsible for maintaining and managing the local highway network within their area.
For the 2024/25 financial year, the Government is providing Warwickshire County Council with over £18.2 million for highway maintenance. This includes £2.056 million of reallocated HS2 funding and is a 12.7% increase over the funding the Council was expecting in 2024/25 before the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement.
It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Funding is not ring fenced and Warwickshire can spend the money on all aspects of highway maintenance such as bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns – and not just the fixing of potholes.