Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential social benefits of reopening railways in the countryside.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
As part of the levelling-up agenda,?the Government announced in January that it has pledged £500 million for the Restoring Your Railway fund to deliver its manifesto commitment and start reopening lines and stations, reconnecting smaller communities, regenerating local economies and improving access to jobs, homes and education.
We recognise that improved connectivity has social benefits that are hard to quantify and are therefore not explicitly reported in terms of social value.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of (1) the dangers of the use of electric scooters on public highways, and (2) any safety measures which may be required as a result.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
E-scooters are a new vehicle type and evidence around their associated benefits and risks is limited. However, a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) concluded that the risks of using a bicycle or e-scooter are broadly comparable.
We are using on-road trials of rental e-scooters to further understand the benefits, risks and wider impacts of e-scooters. Vehicles used in the trials must all meet a set of safety standards, and their speed, power and weight are all limited to constrain how an e-scooter can be used. Users receive a form of training before using the vehicle for the first time and are being actively encouraged to wear a protective helmet.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the impact digital health passes could have on international travel.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Our approach has had to balance the risks of imported COVID-19 cases whilst also enabling international travel, which is critical to our economy. To support these objectives, we have worked closely with health and policy experts from across Government.
We keep all measures under constant review; the Global Travel Taskforce is working at pace to consider how testing, technology and innovation can drive a recovery for international travel and tourism.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of charging points for electric vehicles in England.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government has put in place a raft of grant funding schemes to assist with the cost of installing chargepoints across the UK in motorists’ homes, at work places and on residential streets.
In May, the Government published an ambitious vision for rapid charging infrastructure along the strategic roads in England over the next decade. This vision sets out the number of rapid chargepoints that will be located across motorways and major A roads to meet the future demand for electric vehicles. Additional funding of £500 million over the next five years, announced in the March Budget, will help to support the delivery of this vision and the rollout of a fast-charging network for electric vehicles.
We have also consulted on proposals requiring chargepoint infrastructure to be installed in all newly built homes and non-residential buildings in England, where appropriate. These new regulations, alongside our grant schemes and our £400m public-private Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, will see thousands more electric vehicle chargepoints installed across the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the provision of roadside charging points for electric vehicles in England.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government and industry have supported the installation of over 18,000 publicly available charging devices. This includes over 3,200 rapid devices – one of the largest networks in Europe. Highways England have now completed their commitment to ensure there is a rapid chargepoint every 20 miles along 95% of the Strategic Road Network by March 2020.
By 2023, we aim to have at least six high powered, open access?chargepoints at motorway service areas in England, with some larger sites having as many as 10-12, and by 2035 we expect the number to increase to around 6,000 high powered chargers across the network. This will be supported by a Rapid Charging Fund, part of the £500 million support for charging infrastructure announced at the March Budget.
In May, we announced that the Government will consult on improving the charging experience for drivers of electric vehicles when using the public charging network including proposals to address reliability, data provision, pricing transparency and ease of payment. We will take industry views on board to develop solutions that work for industry whilst putting the consumer experience at the heart of public electric vehicle charging.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial preparedness of train operators to meet any ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department has agreed new Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements with the rail industry which ensures our railways can continue to support the UK’s recovery from COVID-19. These agreements will be in place for up to 18 months, where the Government pays train companies a small performance-related management fee to keep services running through the pandemic.
These agreements, like the Emergency Measures Agreements before them, bring stability and certainty to the rail industry to meet the challenges that this pandemic continues to present.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the level of road tax evasion.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department for Transport carries out a roadside survey every two years. The survey estimates the rate of vehicle excise duty evasion among vehicles seen on UK roads. The latest survey, conducted in June 2019 and published in November 2019, estimated the rate of on road evasion to be 1.6%. The results confirmed that this is statistically significantly lower than in the previous survey carried out in 2017, which measured the level of evasion at 1.8%.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of campaigns to encourage people to cycle more; and what support they are giving to teach adults to ride a bike.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government supports various campaigns to encourage people to cycle more, including the Big Bike Revival programme delivered by Cycling UK, and local programmes delivered by local authorities under the Department’s £20 million per annum Access Fund. The effectiveness of these and other campaigns is considered in the first Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Report to Parliament published in February 2020.
The Government is committed to ensuring that every adult and child who wants it can be trained how to ride a bicycle safely. This builds on our manifesto commitment to offer Bikeability training to all schoolchildren. This year, the Department’s Bikeability funding has enabled 28 local authorities to offer adult cycle training, and £235,000 of it will go towards family cycle training. The Department has also provided £2 million to Transport for London to support adult cycle training in the capital, and its Access Fund has allowed 16 local authorities to provide adult cycle training in their areas.
Decisions on future funding for campaigns and Bikeability will be a matter for the Spending Review in the autumn.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many transport authorities in England have had bailout deals agreed with the Department for Transport.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department made available to transport operators and local authorities in England outside London funding to keep bus and light rail services running during lockdown and help increase services as quickly as possible so that people can travel safely as we reopen the economy.
The Government has agreed a £1.6 billion support package for Transport for London to enable them to continue operating essential services safely and support the capital’s gradual recovery from COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to place further rail services under the control of Transport for London.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department carefully considers business cases from scheme promoters on a regular basis. At this stage no decision to devolve services has been taken, and while we are exploring devolution of services to Transport for London we would only do this if it was in the best interests of all passengers.