Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the stability of funding for national active travel programmes.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
At the 2025 Spending Review, the Government announced £616 million of capital funding for active travel over the years 2026/27 to 2029/30. Long term funding settlements for local authorities will be agreed as part of wider Integrated Settlements for Mayoral Strategic Authorities and consolidated local transport settlements for other authorities.
The Government also announced £15.6 billion in total by 2031-32 for the Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements, supporting them to invest in their local transport priorities, including promoting modal shift from cars to public transport, walking and cycling.
The Government plans to offer long term funding settlements over the 2025 Spending Review period for other national active travel programmes run by wider organisations, such as Bikeability and the National Cycle Network, following the conclusion of DfT business planning.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by Regeneris Consulting Economic Value of Mobile Batching Plant Sector and Consequences of Weight Change Policy, published in February 2015, what estimate they have made of the number of additional vehicle miles required to transport concrete since the permitted weight of volumetric concrete mixer vehicles was reduced to 32 tonnes.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Further to the response to HL13350, the permitted maximum laden weight of volumetric concrete mixers has not been reduced. A temporary arrangement to enable market adjustments to the operation of the vehicles complying in practice to the standard weights applicable to heavy goods vehicles has been put in place. The longer-term market adjustments may include the same vehicle or other vehicles types travelling for additional distances.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of fatal accidents caused by mobile concrete batching plants in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
No specific estimate has been made of fatal accidents caused by mobile concrete batching plants in each of the last five years.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that banning 38.4 tonne and 44 tonne volumetric concrete mixer vehicles from 2028 will have on CO2 emissions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
A special dispensation was made for volumetric concrete mixers in operation or on order by the end of 2018 to allow them to operate at weights higher than the usual maxima. Articulated vehicles are allowed to operate at maximum laden weights of up to 44 tonnes, depending on their axle configurations.
No specific estimate has been made of the effect on CO2 emissions of requiring operators of volumetric concrete mixers to comply with the standard weight limits applicable to heavy goods vehicles (and other specialised vehicles). A total of 1106 volumetric concrete mixers are currently in circulation in Great Britain operating under Vehicle Special Orders permitting them to operate at higher than usual weights. The Department’s estimate is that these vehicles represent the vast majority of the type in operation.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the decision to cut the permitted weight of volumetric concrete mixer vehicles from 38.4 tonnes to 32 tonnes, what assessment they have made of the number of extra vehicles that will be required to transport concrete.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The permitted maximum laden weight of volumetric concrete mixers has not been reduced. A temporary arrangement to enable market adjustments to the operation of the vehicles complying in practice to the standard weights applicable to heavy goods vehicles has been put in place. The longer-term market adjustments may include the same vehicle making more journeys or increased use of other vehicle types for concrete transport.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of fatal accidents caused by 32 tonne drum ready-mix concrete vehicles in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
No specific estimate has been made of fatal accidents caused by 32 tonne drum ready-mix concrete vehicles in each of the last five years.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by Regeneris Consulting Economic Value of Mobile Batching Plant Sector and Consequences of Weight Change Policy, published in February 2015, what assessment they have made of the value to the UK economy of (1) the manufacturing, and (2) the servicing, of volumetric concrete mixer vehicles in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
No estimate has been made of the value to the UK economy of manufacturing and servicing of volumetric concrete mixers on an annual basis.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to consult utilities and highways representatives on the impact the loss of operators of 38.4 tonne and 44 tonne volumetric concrete mixer vehicles from 2028 wil have on emergency repairs.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
There are no plans for further discussions with utilities and highways representatives about the maximum weights of volumetric concrete mixers. The Department recognises the use of the vehicles in repair operations and also higher effects on structures associated with vehicles operating on roads in excess of the standard weight limits.
Dispensations to allow extra weights for vehicles operating in 2018 were designed to allow the market to adjust to the vehicles complying, during the course of this decade, with the standard weights applicable to heavy goods vehicles. After that volumetric concrete mixer vehicles are allowed to continue to be operated at standard weights, as before the dispensations made in 2018.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate, if any, they have made of the number of volumetric concrete mixer vehicles produced in the UK in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
No specific estimate has been made of the number of this vehicle type produced in the UK on an annual basis in each of the past five years. A total of 1106 volumetric concrete mixers are currently in circulation in Great Britain operating under Vehicle Special Orders permitting them to operate at higher than usual weights. The Department’s estimate is that these vehicles represent the vast majority of the type in operation at that time and that the service life of the vehicles average effectively about ten to twelve years.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that town designs that remove navigation tools used by blind and partially-sighted people to navigate, including kerbs and controlled crossings are not rolled out during the Government's halt on dangerous shared-space schemes.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The focus of the pause is on level-surface schemes in areas with relatively large amounts of pedestrian and vehicular movement, such as high streets and town centres (outside of pedestrian zones). Local authorities are responsible for the design of their streets. It is for them to ensure any pedestrian environment scheme, including a shared space, is inclusive and meets the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.
If local authorities had already let contracts to build a scheme, or it was already under construction, because any changes to the design may be costly or impractical, to avoid additional financial burdens, the pause only applies to schemes that were at the design stage, where changes could be more easily made at the time that the pause was announced.
Ministers meet regularly with groups representing disabled people, including those representing blind and partially sighted people, to discuss a wide range of inclusive and accessible transport issues. Officials in my Department also work closely with a wide range of stakeholders on many issues including shared space schemes, the opportunities they offer and the challenges they pose.