Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on people with disabilities of the plans of South Eastern Trains to cut ticket office hours by an estimated 555 hours each week across 14 stations, according to the Association of British Commuters.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Ensuring accessibility for all passengers is at the heart of our passenger-focussed approach. Southeastern Trains (SET) is seeking to implement changes to ticket office opening hours at 14 of its stations. We are aware that SET’s proposals include mitigations to ensure staff would continue to be available to support passengers.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to ensure that additional railway station staff are employed to help people with disabilities negotiate barriers to travelling on public transport following their proposed cuts to personal independence payments.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Providing assistance for passengers who require it is crucial. Under license conditions and as part of their Accessible Travel Policy (ATP), operators must participate in the Passenger Assist scheme. This scheme is designed to help disabled passengers and those with additional needs to use the rail network with confidence and in safety. More broadly, rail operators are responsible for ensuring staff are available to deliver this assistance.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report published by the Association of British Commuters on 7 March which found that Great Western Rail cut ticket office staffing by 344 hours each week across 39 stations between 2022 and 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Any changes to ticket office opening hours in relation to regulated stations covered by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement must be made following the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement process and Secretary of State guidance. Ticket office changes made by Great Western Railway in 2022 followed that process and guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to make it simpler and quicker for communities to request changes to speed limits and implement road danger reduction measures.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Decisions on making local speed limits and implementing road danger reduction measures on roads in England rest with the transport authorities who have responsibility for roads in local areas. The Department for Transport issues best practice guidance on setting local speed limits designed to make sure that speed limits are appropriately and consistently set while allowing for flexibility to deal with local circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether heavy private vehicles, such as the Tesla Cybertruck, are subject to an approval process before being put on the market to assess (1) their potential to cause damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure due to their weight, and (2) the risk they pose to people.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
All manufacturers must demonstrate that their vehicles satisfy a range of regulated technical requirements before placing their products onto the market in Great Britain. There are several different approval schemes available, and the process will vary depending on the specific scheme and type of vehicle, but each contains provisions to ensure that any potential risk to people is minimised as far as practicable.
Separate legislation sets maximum vehicle weights and axle loads, and these limits minimise the risk of damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were killed or injured in crashes where the driver failed to stop at the scene since 2017, and how many of those crashes resulted in a prosecution.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Data on road injury collisions are reported by police using the STATS19 system. The number of casualties involved in collisions where the driver failed to stop at the scene in each year since 2017 are shown in the table below broken down by severity of injury and by whether the vehicle which failed to stop was hit.
Year | Collision type | Killed | Serious (adjusted) | Slight (adjusted) | All casualties |
2017 | Hit and run | 91 | 2,334 | 16,187 | 18,612 |
2018 | Hit and run | 73 | 2,549 | 17,057 | 19,679 |
2019 | Hit and run | 86 | 2,504 | 17,726 | 20,316 |
2020 | Hit and run | 67 | 2,012 | 14,643 | 16,722 |
2021 | Hit and run | 86 | 2,423 | 16,448 | 18,957 |
2022 | Hit and run | 82 | 2,613 | 17,329 | 20,024 |
2023 | Hit and run | 86 | 2,754 | 18,048 | 20,888 |
2017 | Non-stop vehicle not hit | 30 | 849 | 6,092 | 6,971 |
2018 | Non-stop vehicle not hit | 34 | 860 | 5,636 | 6,530 |
2019 | Non-stop vehicle not hit | 30 | 856 | 5,435 | 6,321 |
2020 | Non-stop vehicle not hit | 30 | 690 | 3,861 | 4,581 |
2021 | Non-stop vehicle not hit | 31 | 800 | 4,245 | 5,076 |
2022 | Non-stop vehicle not hit | 38 | 730 | 3,788 | 4,556 |
2023 | Non-stop vehicle not hit | 38 | 660 | 2,927 | 3,625 |
STATS19 does not record details of subsequent prosecutions, so it is not possible to say what proportion of these collisions resulted in prosecution.
Data on motoring offences does not fall under the policy remit of the Department for Transport and is published separately by the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support people earning less than £17,000 a year to own bikes.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government agrees that everyone who wishes to cycle should be able to afford to do so. The Government is aware that people on low incomes are currently unable to access the Cycle to Work scheme, and will consider other options for making cycling more affordable as it develops its future plans for active travel.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to secure residential cycle parking.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As a statutory consultee, Active Travel England makes recommendations for the provision of cycle parking in line with the standards set out in Local Transport Note 1/20 in developments it is consulted on. In particular, Table 11-1 establishes minimum quantum standards based on different land uses, while chapter 11 in its entirety sets out good design principles to ensure that new cycle parking is secure and convenient.
It is for local authorities to decide on appropriate cycle parking provision that would best serve the needs of their local communities.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what monitoring and safeguards are in place to protect aquatic ecosystems and local drinking water sources from chemical waste resulting from the construction of HS2, in particular in the Colne Valley and the Chiltern aquifer.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Comprehensive monitoring, in compliance with Environment Agency and water company standards and practices, is undertaken by HS2 Ltd’s supply chain in the vicinity of all HS2 construction activities. All of the monitoring data is subsequently shared and reviewed regularly with the Environment Agency, and for the Colne Valley area, with Affinity Water.
No adverse effects on groundwater or surface water ecosystems have been detected to date during construction of the Colne Valley Viaduct or Chilterns Tunnels, or from other construction activities across the wider Chalk aquifer through which HS2 passes. Monitoring will continue into the post-construction phase to confirm that there are no residual or developing water related issues.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 11 March (HL2898), when they expect to set out the timescales for the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement and for upgrading Haughley Junction mentioned in the question.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Prime Minister's October Network North announcement confirmed the importance government places on delivering the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement and upgrades to Haughley Junction. These projects are a priority for government and will significantly improve regional passenger services and vitally important cross-country Port of Felixstowe freight services. We are finalising discussions with HM Treasury on the funding for both projects and expect to make an announcement by the end of May.