Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken an impact assessment of the the effect of new flight path design envelopes for Heathrow airport on (1) air quality, (2) decibel levels, and (3) house prices in (a) Chiswick, (b) Hammersmith, (c) Acton, and (d) Ealing.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Airports are responsible for the specific arrangements for low-level flightpaths and proposals to alter these arrangements must be approved by the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Airspace Change Process. The Department fopr Transport has oversight of this process, and published revised air navigation guidance in 2017 underpinning the process, to ensure that a full assessment of the health effects of proposals to change flight paths is carried out.
This guidance requires airports who are seeking to make alterations to their flightpath arrangements to assess the impacts of different design options from an environmental perspective addressing issues such as aircraft noise and emissions. There is also a requirement for airports to consult with those communities who may be affected by the proposed changes to airspace and to take their views into account when finalising their proposals. This will then be taken into consideration by the CAA when making its final regulatory decision on the proposal.
Heathrow Airport Limited is responsible for taking forward the airspace arrangements it needs and is currently at the start of the second stage of the process, which is ‘Option Development’.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the (1) number of deaths that can be attributed to poor air quality in the London Borough of Hounslow; and (2) impact of the proposed expansion of Heathrow airport on such numbers.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Air quality is a national health issue, which this Government takes very seriously. This is why the Government recently published the Clean Air Strategy, which includes new measures and funding to cut pollution and save lives.
Public Health England is responsible for collecting data to better understand public health challenges. This data is publically available via the Public Health Outcomes Framework for England portal,[1] which includes an indicator for air pollution expressed as the fraction of adult mortality attributable to long-term exposure to human-made particulate air pollution. The most recent published estimates available are for 2017. These show 6.4% for Hounslow, which is lower than the London average of 6.5%.
The estimates do not cite a specific cause of death of any individual, but reflect an equivalency which is used to assess the impacts of particulate air pollution contributing to death.
With regard to Heathrow expansion, the Airports National Policy Statement is clear that development consent would not be granted if the Secretary of State for Transport is not satisfied that the scheme would be compatible with legal obligations on air quality.
As part of the development consent process, an applicant is required to undertake a detailed assessment of the air quality effects of the scheme, including during construction, and to put forward to the Planning Inspectorate an appropriate package of mitigations where necessary to ensure compliance with air quality obligations. The applicant is also required to produce a detailed Health Impacts Assessment to set out the scheme’s impacts on public health, including from worse air quality.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that estimates of land and property costs for HS2 given to the House of Commons were wrong; and what estimate they have made of the actual costs.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The HS2 land and property budget has evolved as the programme has developed. The Government welcomed the National Audit Office (NAO) report in September 2018 into the HS2 Phase One property acquisition programme.
The report found that the property cost estimate had increased significantly from 2012 to 2017 and set out that this kind of change was to be expected on a large complex project such as HS2. The NAO noted that the increase included route changes as a result of public consultation, in response to the requests of petitioners during the parliamentary process leading up to Royal Assent and the introduction of additional property compensation schemes.
There is also the fact that detailed land cost assessments were not possible until after Royal Assent was achieved, and re-assessing land values from 2011 prices. The Government followed the correct process in terms of how it updated Parliament of the Phase One property costs.
As reported by the NAO, HS2 Ltd has forecasted that the cost to acquire land and property for Phase One of the route would be £3,356 million
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood that HS2 will go significantly over budget; and whether they will consider using the funds allocated to HS2 to improve existing infrastructure, including railway lines in the north of England, and commuter services.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
HS2 Ltd remain committed to delivering a transformational project for the UK. Each Phase of the HS2 project is subject to ongoing oversight by the Department for Transport and to regular assessment by the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) to assess the likelihood of successful delivery. The IPA recently described the HS2 programme as ‘on target to be completed on time and on budget’.
Phase 2a and 2b of HS2 are intended to improve connectivity between Birmingham and the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester and other destinations in the North of England and Scotland. The Department continues to work with Transport for the North to develop services between destinations in the North of England and with regions across the UK to improve commuter services.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to provide northbound access to the M6 motorway at Junction 31A.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Her Majesty’s Government has no plans to introduce additional slip roads at Junction 31A of the M6. North facing slip roads here would introduce additional lane changing manoeuvres by vehicles on the short busy length of the M6 between Junctions 31A and 32. This represents an unacceptable risk to the road safety performance of the motorway.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of proposals from Ribble Valley Council to reopen the railway line from Clitheroe to Hellifield for passenger trains.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Government is working with local authorities and other partners to identify the best new rail projects that can unlock new housing and economic growth, ease overcrowding, meet future demand and offer good value for money.
In line with our devolution policies, proposals for additional passenger services between Clitheroe and Hellifield (beyond the infrequent service currently provided on Sundays) need first to secure the support of a local body or promoter to undertake studies of the passenger demand, train service options, economic benefits, capital and any operating subsidy requirements before the addition of such services to a franchise agreement could be considered by the DfT and the Rail North consortium of local authorities, who co-manage the relevant local rail franchise (Northern).
We will consider proposals on a case by case basis, based on the economic benefits and business case put forward by local partners. Promoters of new lines are directed to the document published by the Campaign for Better Transport “Expanding the Railways”. Endorsed by the Department, this provides advice and guidance to organisations seeking to open railway lines and stations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the language requirements for those taking the theory test as part of their application for a driving licence; whether other language options are available; and if so, at what centres in the UK such tests are available.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Driving theory test candidates are required to take the multiple choice part of the theory test in English in England and Scotland; candidates in Wales have the option of taking the test in either English or Welsh. Deaf or hard of hearing candidates across GB have the option of taking the test using an on-screen signer using British Sign Language.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Hyperloop project; and whether they intend to review the HS2 project in the light of this and other expected future technological developments.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department for Transport is in discussion with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Innovate UK and the Department for Transport’s Science Advisory Council to assess the potential for the development of hyperloop technologies in the UK. The Science Advisory Council intends to publish a paper on hyperloop shortly setting out its position on the technical credibility of the concept.
Plans for HS2 are based on proven technologies which enable through services to the existing network. Utilising untested systems risks delays to the delivery of the much needed additional capacity to our network and increases the potential risks to cost and programme.