Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 7 August (HL344), how many staff in (1) the Department for Transport and (2) the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency are permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours; what is the percentage of overall working time they are permitted to spend on such network activity; how many hours are allocated in total; which networks are being funded; and whether they have any plans alter such funding.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Time allocation
The Department for Transport Core (DfTc) and the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) do not allocate a specified amount of time for staff to spend on diversity-related network activities. Civil Service guidance for diversity-related networks requires that time being spent on EDI activities by volunteers, where it is not part of an individual’s core role, is appropriate, reasonable and proportionate.
Funding
At present none of the networks within Department for Transport Core (DfTc) and the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) are funded. We are currently reviewing our staff networks and any future funding will align with the guidance on EDI Expenditure published on 14th May 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the commercial interests of airports and travel hubs as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions; and whether they are considering cost-neutral measures such as duty free on arrival stores.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The UK’s aviation sector largely operates in a competitive private market. Government’s role is primarily to develop and implement the regulatory and policy frameworks that have helped to shape this world-leading sector. Last year we published Flightpath to the Future to set out how we will work with the sector to help it grow and return to pre-pandemic levels of demand and profitability.
The Government recognises how our extensive airport network can act as a catalyst for national and local benefits. In April, we introduced a 50% cut in domestic Air Passenger Duty (APD) to help bolster domestic connectivity, while further aligning APD with UK environmental objectives by adding a new ultra-long-haul distance band.
Although there are no plans to introduce a scheme for Duty-free on arrival stores, the Government does keep all taxes under review. On 1 January 2021, the Government did extend duty-free sales to EU-bound passengers for the first time in over 20 years. This is a significant boost to all airports and international rail terminals in England, Scotland and Wales, including smaller regional airports and rail hubs, which have not been able to offer duty-free to the EU before.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many councils in (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland, have introduced parking which has no cash or credit card payment option and requires payment digitally or through an app.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Responsibility for traffic management on local roads rests with the relevant local authority, as they are best placed to consider how local needs can be effectively met. It is entirely a matter for individual authorities to decide on the nature and scope of parking policies including the operation of any pay to park schemes in their area. The Department does not hold information on local parking schemes of this nature in England and, because parking is a devolved matter, not for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) drivers, (2) passengers, and (3) pedestrians, were (a) killed, and (b) seriously injured, in road accidents in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The number of killed and seriously injured casualties in reported road accidents as reported by the police to DfT, by casualty class in Great Britain, between 2009 and 2018 can be found in the below table:
Reported road casualties, by severity and casualty class, Great Britain, 2009-20181,2 | |||||||||||
Casualty Class3 | Severity | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
Driver or rider | Killed | 1,321 | 1,148 | 1,151 | 1,041 | 1,041 | 1,065 | 1,068 | 1,055 | 1,049 | 1,062 |
Driver or rider | Seriously injured (unadjusted) | 15,004 | 13,748 | 14,259 | 14,060 | 13,517 | 14,525 | 14,032 | 15,345 | 15,601 | 15,987 |
Passenger | Killed | 401 | 297 | 297 | 293 | 274 | 264 | 254 | 289 | 274 | 266 |
Passenger | Seriously injured (unadjusted) | 4,141 | 3,712 | 3,409 | 3,420 | 3,142 | 3,219 | 3,172 | 3,616 | 3,636 | 3,742 |
Pedestrian | Killed | 500 | 405 | 453 | 420 | 398 | 446 | 408 | 448 | 470 | 456 |
Pedestrian | Seriously injured (unadjusted) | 5,545 | 5,200 | 5,454 | 5,559 | 4,998 | 5,063 | 4,940 | 5,140 | 5,594 | 5,782 |
Source: DfT, STATS19 | |||||||||||
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1. Figures for serious injuries are as reported by the police. Since 2016, changes in severity reporting systems for a large number of police forces mean that serious injury figures, and to a lesser extent, slight injuries are not comparable with earlier years. Adjustments to account for the change have been produced for high level series. More information on the change and the adjustment process is available in the 2018 annual report. | |||||||||||
2. The data includes all motor vehicles, cyclists and horse riders. | |||||||||||
3. Does not include casualties with unidentified class. | |||||||||||
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their statistical release Reported road casualties in Great Britain: 2018 annual report, published on 26 September 2019 and the reported 1,784 road deaths in 2018, how many such deaths there were in (1) each month, and (2) each quarter, of each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The number of fatalities in reported road accidents in Great Britain by month and quarter for the last five available years can be found in the tables below.
Fatalities in reported road accidents by month, Great Britain, 2014-2018 | |||||
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Month | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
January | 128 | 141 | 150 | 137 | 137 |
February | 117 | 128 | 133 | 132 | 121 |
March | 131 | 110 | 143 | 121 | 124 |
April | 140 | 134 | 148 | 122 | 125 |
May | 128 | 147 | 154 | 140 | 159 |
June | 160 | 139 | 140 | 142 | 129 |
July | 153 | 164 | 147 | 138 | 154 |
August | 146 | 161 | 158 | 167 | 157 |
September | 158 | 129 | 150 | 163 | 148 |
October | 145 | 155 | 145 | 196 | 186 |
November | 170 | 149 | 153 | 176 | 170 |
December | 199 | 173 | 171 | 159 | 174 |
Total | 1,775 | 1,730 | 1,792 | 1,793 | 1,784 |
Source: DfT, STATS19 | |||||
Fatalities in reported road accidents by quarter, Great Britain, 2014-2018 | |||||
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Quarter | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
Q1 (Jan-Mar) | 376 | 379 | 426 | 390 | 382 |
Q2 (Apr-Jun) | 428 | 420 | 442 | 404 | 413 |
Q3 (Jul-Sep) | 457 | 454 | 455 | 468 | 459 |
Q4 (Oct-Dec) | 514 | 477 | 469 | 531 | 530 |
Total | 1,775 | 1,730 | 1,792 | 1,793 | 1,784 |
Source: DfT, STATS19 | |||||
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have spent on ferry contracts that were entered into in anticipation of a possible no-deal Brexit in the past 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
As part of preparations for a potential No Deal Brexit in March, the Government procured additional freight capacity to support the continued flow of Category 1 goods. When Article 50 was extended, £51.4m was paid to terminate contracts.
The Government ran a new procurement exercise to secure freight capacity as part of preparations for Brexit on 31 October, entering into contracts for the 6 months from this date. With the extension to Article 50, we have changed our requirements with operators to make sure that capacity remains available from 31 January if required. This scaling down of capacity will cost approximately £8m.