Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the (1) terms of reference, and (2) scope of work, of the UK bus manufacturing expert panel.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel’s terms of reference sets out the purpose, membership and function of the Panel. These were shared with Panel members. I will share a copy of the terms of reference with the noble Baroness and make a copy available in the House Library.
The Panel will bring together industry experts and local leaders to explore ways to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing.
Membership comprises two classifications: Standing Members and Additional Members. Standing Members include Government departments and wider industry bodies. Bus manufacturers, operators and mayoral combined authorities are invited as Additional Members.
The scope and function of the Panel is shaped by its three central objectives: support the growth of the UK bus manufacturing sector, understand the pipeline of future bus orders to support planning, and explore ways to prioritise passenger-centric bus design.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they used to decide which organisations should be standing or additional members of the UK bus manufacturing expert panel.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The membership of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel will comprise of two classifications: Standing Members and Additional Members. Standing Members will include Government departments and wider industry bodies. Additional Members will be invited to relevant meetings when particular issues are under consideration.
To ensure balanced representation, Standing Membership is limited to Government departments and industry bodies. Bus manufacturers, operators and mayoral combined authorities are invited as additional members. This decision was taken to ensure that the expertise of additional members is reflected during relevant meetings when specific issues are under discussion.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they used to decide the frequency with which additional members of the UK bus manufacturing expert panel should attend meetings.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The membership of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel comprises two classifications: Standing Members and Additional Members. Standing Members include Government departments and wider industry bodies. Additional Members will be invited to relevant meetings when particular issues are under consideration.
The frequency with which Additional Members will attend meetings is based on their expertise and knowledge of relevant meeting topics.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 4 March (HL5172), what is the latest status for safeguarding the revised route for Crossrail 2; and what is the timescale.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Although development of Crossrail 2 was paused in 2020, the route remains safeguarded to protect it from conflicting development. There are currently no plans to update the safeguarding.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide financial support to local authorities to ensure the continuation of concessionary transport fares.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities. Spending decisions beyond 2025-26, including on local transport, are a matter for the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Simpler Fare Pilot on London North Eastern Railway routes, and of how this pilot may feed into fare structures under Great British Railways.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We have conducted an interim review of the London North-Eastern Railway Simpler Fares Trial and a full evaluation is due to be completed this year.
We will carefully consider passenger and revenue impacts before taking any further decisions, including in the context of transitioning to Great British Railways. The evaluation will be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support electronic heavy goods vehicles and their infrastructure; and whether their plans include amendments to planning policy as part of the new National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is supporting the decarbonisation of the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) sector through the Plug-in Truck Grant, which provides a contribution to the upfront purchase costs of zero emission vehicles until at least the end of the current financial year, as well as the up-to-£200m zero emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme, which will deploy hundreds of zero emission HGVs and their associated recharging and refuelling sites by March 2026.
The Government also knows planning is key to the roll out of EV charging infrastructure and is working to ensure the system supports installations. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out policies aimed at realising opportunities from changing transport technology. It encourages local authorities to identify appropriate sites for freight and logistics, consider charging needs when shaping parking policies, and ensure new developments are designed to support vehicle charging. The Government remains committed to further planning reform and intends to consult on national policy related to decision making in spring 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by Sustrans Children's Walking and Cycling Index 2024, published 26 February, what assessment they have made of the potential merits of including children in policy-making relating to travel.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government agrees that it is important to include a wide-range of groups in the policy making process, including children. On 12 February, Active Travel England published guidance to help councils engage with local communities in the development of new walking and cycling schemes. This includes reference to engaging with children in the design process of active travel schemes near schools.
Active Travel England supports a range of programmes to help enable more active travel for children, including Living Street’s Walk to School Outreach, Modeshift STARS and Bikeability cycle training.
The Government understands that perceived safety can be a barrier to more people choosing to walk, wheel or cycle. This is why the Department has recently announced almost £300 million of funding for active travel in 2024/5 and 2025/6. The Department has also published guidance for local authorities on implementing School Streets, which help improve the safety of roads outside schools for cycling.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by Sustrans Children's Walking and Cycling Index 2024, published 26 February, what steps they are taking to address the gender divide in children cycling.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government agrees that it is important to include a wide-range of groups in the policy making process, including children. On 12 February, Active Travel England published guidance to help councils engage with local communities in the development of new walking and cycling schemes. This includes reference to engaging with children in the design process of active travel schemes near schools.
Active Travel England supports a range of programmes to help enable more active travel for children, including Living Street’s Walk to School Outreach, Modeshift STARS and Bikeability cycle training.
The Government understands that perceived safety can be a barrier to more people choosing to walk, wheel or cycle. This is why the Department has recently announced almost £300 million of funding for active travel in 2024/5 and 2025/6. The Department has also published guidance for local authorities on implementing School Streets, which help improve the safety of roads outside schools for cycling.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 13 February (HL5039), what is the latest status of any revisions to the Crossrail 2 safeguarded route proposed by Transport for London in 2020 which are yet to be approved; and what is the timescale and next steps to complete the safeguarding of such revisions.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As previously advised, development of Crossrail 2 was paused in 2020. Whilst the department currently has no plans to move forward with Crossrail 2, the route remains safeguarded to protect it from conflicting development and officials from my department regularly have discussions with Transport for London regarding this scheme and their other transport priorities.