Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to fund a feasibility study into the reopening of the Oswestry to Gobowen railway line.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
We have committed £500m to start restoring train lines and stations closed around the time of the Beeching cuts in the 1960s and 1970s. We are inviting MPs to work with local authorities and community groups to come forward with proposals to explore the possibility of reopening train lines and stations. At this stage it is too early to comment on any specific schemes other than those already announced.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to fund a feasibility study for the Uckfield to Lewes railway line.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department is inviting MPs to work with local authorities and community groups to come forward with proposals to explore restoring railway lines and stations closed in the cuts in the 1960s and 1970s, using the £500m we have made available. Should the Uckfield – Lewes line be put forward as a proposal with appropriate local support, we will consider the case for funding a study.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) miles of lines, and (2) stations, will be re-opened as part of their programme to reverse the Beeching era cuts to the rail network.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The volume of railway lines and stations that will be re-opened through the £500m investment being made during this Government will depend on the costs and value or money of qualifying schemes. The Secretary of State is inviting MPs to work with local authorities and community groups to come forward with proposals to explore.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they estimate the feasibility studies for the Ashington-Blyth-Tyne trainline in Northumberland and the Fleetwood trainline in Lancashire will be completed.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The restoration of passenger services on the Ashington Blyth Tyne Line is being developed. The Department for Transport funding contribution announced on 28 January will enable completion of an Outline Business Case and a decision soon on proposals for the next ‘Design‘ stage.
Fleetwood is in the early stages and the funding will be used to look at a range of options to reintroduce passenger services. The detail of this study and the completion date is still being determined.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide further hazard warning and safety assurance for personnel providing roadside assistance and repair services.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Highways England recently worked with the SURVIVE group, a partnership between the National Police Chiefs' Council, the breakdown/recovery industry, Highways England and other service providers, to introduce ten ‘Overarching Rules’ for recovery operators providing roadside assistance and repair services. These have been welcomed by all SURVIVE members.
Highways England has also worked with REACT, the national training arm for tyre fitters across England, who regularly operate on the strategic road network.
Highways England would not expect or encourage a recovery operator to work in a live lane without the appropriate support from Highways England staff, a police officer or other appropriate traffic management. Highways England’s traffic officers are trained to protect all vulnerable road users and work to the principle that they only leave a scene once it is clear, or suitable control measures are in place.
In 2017 Highways England worked with the roadside recovery industry and the emergency services to consider four different recovery scenarios for smart motorways. These scenarios were tested live on a full-scale mock-up of an emergency area. As a result of this collaborative exercise, SURVIVE’s best practice guidelines were updated, covering communications and procedures for recovery on a smart motorway. An information film with supporting materials was also produced, and became a core part of an improved training package shared across the recovery industry.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - 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 deaths in England and Wales involving personnel deployed to provide roadside assistance and repairs services on A-roads and motorways in each year since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department does not hold specific data on deaths involving personnel deployed to provide roadside assistance and repair services, as this information is not required when road accidents are reported to the police through the Stats19 accident reporting form.
The Department periodically reviews the data collection on personal injury road accidents reported to the police, in a process called Stats19 reviews. A Stats19 review started in autumn 2018 and is currently considering what amendments need to be made to the collection.
In making recommendations for change, the review considers evidence on the burden this would impose on the police to collect it for every accident, the practicality and likely quality of the data collected and potential benefits in building the road safety evidence base to save lives. We aim to consult on potential changes to the collection in 2020 following detailed engagement with the police and road safety organisations in 2019.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 22 March (HL14509), whether the details of the Secretary of State for Transport's diary for 4 March are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if so, why.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Any request made under the Freedom of Information Act would be carefully assessed on a case by case basis in light of the Act's statutory framework, including the consideration of relevant absolute or qualified exemptions. Hospitality, meetings with external parties and travel are published for all Ministers on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 13 March (HL14243), whether they will list the meetings conducted by the Secretary of State for Transport on 4 March with the times at which each such meeting took place.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
I refer to my previous answer of 13 March – the Secretary of State had a range of meetings with officials, Ministers, agencies and MPs on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 March.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which appointments and visits were arranged for the Secretary of State for Transport for (1) 4 March, and (2) 5 March.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Secretary of State had a range of meetings with officials, Ministers, agencies and MPs on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 March.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many passengers suffered delays and cancellations across the Southern railway network as a result of service failures on 2 July.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department for Transport does not make estimates of how many passengers are impacted by delays and cancellations.
Govia Thameslink Railway (which runs Southern services) has reported that, on Monday 2 July, 68% of Southern services arrived at their destination within five minutes of the schedule. A major cause of service disruption was a multiple signal failure between Wivelsfield and Hassocks.