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.
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 28 February (HL2548), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what are the minimum and expected timescales for the following stages of Ely Area Capacity Enhancement and upgrading of Haughley Junction: (1) the final business case, (2) the Ministerial decision to proceed to implementation, (3) the issuance of a Transport Work Act Order, (4) the commencement of works, and (5) the completion of works.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Network North announcement confirmed government’s support for the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement (EACE) programme and the substantial benefits this will bring, along with the related Haugley Junction scheme. As with all schemes, these will undergo all formal approvals and governance. Specific timescales will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to issuing guidance on the placement and design of (1) electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and (2) micromobility parking provision.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
All EV drivers should be able to easily find public chargepoints they can use, and accessibility should be embedded in public chargepoint design from the outset. The Government and industry sponsored, Publicly Available Standard (PAS) 1899 provides specifications on the placement, design and installation of accessible public EV chargepoints.
The Government has extended its e-scooter trials until May 2026 to enable us to build on current learning across areas including usage, safety, parking provision and environmental impacts. The Department’s guidance for local authorities and operators taking part in trials sets out that appropriate parking provision should be provided to ensure e-scooters do not become obstructive.
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 report commissioned by the Local Government Association The path to inclusive footways, published on 10 February, what steps they are taking to ensure utilities providers pay for reinstatement works where they have caused disruption to footways.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Utility companies have a right to access footways to carry out works to maintain or install their infrastructure, including to roll-out broadband. Companies must reinstate the footway after the works have been completed in line with the statutory code of practice, ‘the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways’ (SROH). Highway authorities have the power to direct utility companies to carry out remedial works at the utility company’s expense if they identify reinstatements that do not meet the standards in the code. They can also fine companies for works that overrun.
As part of the plan for drivers we are consulting on measures to increase the rate of fixed penalty notices for some street work offences and extend charges for utility companies whose works overrun to include weekends and bank holidays. We have also introduced a new performance-based inspections regime which means authorities can inspect utility companies with high rates of defects in their reinstatements more than those who comply with the SROH.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they were aware that trees would be felled in Sheephouse Wood when they agreed £40m funding for a tunnel to mitigate the impact on wildlife in Sheephouse Wood.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Wildlife mitigations adjacent to Sheephouse Wood include physical measures to protect the local bat population, as well as a green overbridge, and landscaping for public access. Given that the HS2 route in this area is overground rather than in tunnel, a number of trees along the perimeter of Sheephouse Wood have had to be removed to fulfil safety requirements alongside an operational railway. These trees were removed with the necessary permissions from Natural England, and HS2 Ltd informed the Department for Transport in advance of the works taking place. The requirement to deliver these works was included in the overall funding allocations for the HS2 project.