Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the estimated cost is of the proposed Manchester Metrolink infrastructure in the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The government is seeking to adapt the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) only, removing scope south of the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, which was included only for HS2. A motion to formalise the point of truncation will be brought to the House and a supplementary environmental statement will be produced.
As set out in the Network North Command paper, up to £12 billion in 2023 prices has been retained to deliver NPR scope between Manchester and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne. The funding has not been disagregated further.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions officials in his Department have had with (a) Great Western Railway and (b) Network Rail on disruption to rail services to and from Wales during the construction of Old Oak Common Station.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is working with Network Rail, HS2 Ltd, Transport for London and Great Western Railway (GWR) to minimise disruption to rail passengers during Old Oak Common construction. Some GWR services will be diverted to London Euston, providing GWR passengers access to a central London terminal with numerous onward travel connections. Passengers could alternatively use Ealing Broadway station, as they did successfully during the December 2023 engineering works.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government supports local authorities in their provision of (a) lollipop men and women and (b) other road safety measures for children.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The provision of the school crossing patrol service is a matter for the local authority. Legislation gives local authorities the power to make arrangements for the patrolling of places where children cross roads, on their way to or from school, but does not impose a duty on them to do so.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the A1 between Newark and Grantham is due to be resurfaced.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Whilst there are no currently planned schemes to resurface the A1 between Newark and Grantham, it is inspected on a weekly basis and appropriate action is taken to address any safety critical defects within 24 hours.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the proposed HS2 station at Manchester Airport will be constructed according to the design set out in the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill; and what the estimated cost of the construction is.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The government is seeking to adapt the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) only, removing scope south of the Parish of Millington and Rostherne, which was included only for HS2. A motion to formalise the point of truncation will be brought to the House and a supplementary environmental statement will be produced.
As set out in the Network North Command paper, up to £12 billion in 2023 prices has been retained to deliver NPR scope between Manchester and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne. The funding has not been disagregated further.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of variance in port charges on competitiveness of UK exports (a) in general and (b) where there are multiple consignments within one container.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No as no changes have been made by Government to charges for exports.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason Highways England does not undertake audits of its contractors’ work for litter clearance.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Litter picking is an activity undertaken as part of National Highways’ cyclical maintenance programme by its maintenance and response contractors.
To monitor and manage their performance, National Highways undertakes monthly performance reviews of each of their maintenance and response contractors. This is done through the Collaborative Performance Framework which includes a metric on sweeping and cleaning. Scores are reviewed and discussed with the supplier at a monthly performance review meeting where any areas of underperformance are addressed.
Additionally, National Highways carry out annual audits of each contractor through Service Quality Reviews, as set out in their ‘perform quality audit’ process. These audits are undertaken by National Highways’ quality performance assurance teams and National Highways does not hesitate to take remedial action where required.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his planned timetable is for undertaking additional trials of flexible permitting for works on roads by broadband and utility providers.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport consulted in 2021 on a proposal to allow flexi permits for certain types of works and published a response in 2022 https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/street-manager-and-permit-scheme-changes.
The proposal was not supported at the time on the basis of limited evidence that was presented in the impact assessment that accompanied the consultation.
The Government committed to carry out trials to develop the design for flexi permits and to carry out further assessments. We are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology who are funding the trials. Work has been underway since the end of 2023 and will continue until autumn 2024.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraphs 8.1 to 8.5 of his Department's guidance entitled, Inclusive Mobility: A guide to best practice on access to pedestrian and transport infrastructure, published in December 2021, if he will publish updated guidance on the design of regular parking spaces to increase accessibility for disabled people who are not blue badge holders.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My officials have ongoing discussions with the British Parking Association on a variety of issues. The Department has no current plans for increasing the minimum size for on-street car parking bays to accommodate larger vehicles.
The minimum size of on-street parking bays is regulated through the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. Local authorities may already provide larger bays if they wish.
The design of off-street car park facilities is governed by Building Regulations which specify requirements in relation to accessibility, structural design and fire safety.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will have discussions with the British Parking Association on the potential (a) merits of amending guidelines on the statutory minimum size of parking bays and (b) impact of increasing the size of parking bays on disabled people.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My officials have ongoing discussions with the British Parking Association on a variety of issues. The Department has no current plans for increasing the minimum size for on-street car parking bays to accommodate larger vehicles.
The minimum size of on-street parking bays is regulated through the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. Local authorities may already provide larger bays if they wish.
The design of off-street car park facilities is governed by Building Regulations which specify requirements in relation to accessibility, structural design and fire safety.