Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the RAC's estimate that there were over one million potholes on UK roads in 2023, as set out in the RAC Pothole Index, published on 23 April 2024; what plans they have to review and identify the most effective methods of road construction for reducing the number of potholes that form; and what plans they have to review and identify the optimum techniques and technologies available for filling in potholes when they do occur.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
RAC’s pothole estimate was based on 81 local authority responses to a Freedom of Information request carried out in 2023. The Department agrees that pothole formation occurs more frequently in the winter months, where increased water and ice cause ingress and subsequent road defects to occur.
Whilst the Department does not require notification when highway authorities discover, receive reports of, or repair individual defects on the local highway network, local highway authorities are required to provide road condition information to the Department annually as part of the data obligations set out in the Single Data List. The Department publishes this information on gov.uk as part of its annual statistical releases.
This Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local highway network. At Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced an extra £500 million for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year, an increase of nearly 50% compared to the current financial year. The Government will confirm funding allocations to English local highway authorities in due course.
The Department for Transport (DfT) allocates this funding to local highways authorities so they can most effectively spend this funding on maintaining and improving their respective network, based upon their local knowledge, circumstances, and priorities. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, but the DfT strongly advocates a risk-based whole lifecycle asset management approach to local authority highways maintenance programmes. This considers all parts of the highway network, such as bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns, and not just the fixing of potholes.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the (1) design, and (2) safety of major roundabouts with multiple lanes, entrances and exits.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Whether a roundabout is suitable for any location is entirely a matter for the relevant highway authority to decide upon, taking into account local factors including safety. They are also responsible for reviewing any such installations should concerns arise. National Highways publishes detailed advice on the design of roundabouts in the ‘Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB)’. Use of DMRB is mandatory for the Strategic Road Network, but is available as guidance for all highway authorities.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many signal failures there were on the rail system in the last year for which data are available; and how the rate of failure in the UK compares with rail systems in other leading countries.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Network Rail metric for signalling failures indicates there were 2,936 signal failures on the rail system in Great Britain for the period 2023 to 2024. Network Rail does not hold data on how the rate of signal failures compares with other countries.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of trains on Network Rail did not arrive at their destination on time in the last four-weekly period for which data are available.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
In the period 7 January to 3 February 2024, 66.7% of recorded station stops in Great Britain arrived ‘On Time’ (early or less than one minute after the scheduled time).
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many motorway service stations do not have chargepoints for electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Out of 114 motorway service areas in England, only three do not have any open-access (can be used with any vehicle) chargepoints. These are Leicester Forest East Southbound, Leicester Forest East Northbound and Tebay Southbound. However, Tebay Southbound does have Tesla only chargepoints.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of motorway service stations have a grid connection sufficient to power six rapid or ultra-rapid chargepoints for electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Department does not hold data on which motorway service areas (MSAs) in England have a grid connection which is sufficient to specifically power six or more ultra-rapid chargepoints.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety implications of Tesla offering its X model in the UK with only left hand drive.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
All vehicles, including the Tesla model X, must be type approved to ensure they are safe before they can be sold in the UK. These standards do not specify which side of the vehicle the steering wheel should be fitted leaving the choice to the manufacturer.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of motorway service stations have at least six rapid or ultra-rapid chargers for electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
There are now more than 260 ultra-rapid (150kW) chargepoints, and more than 480 open-access (can be used with any electric vehicle) rapid (50kW) and ultra-rapid chargepoints at motorway service areas in England in total.
The Department is in the process of collecting data from motorway service operators on the total number of chargepoints installed at motorway service areas by the end of last year.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the evidence presented by Lukasz Krupski about the safety of Tesla's self-driving vehicles as part of their development of the Automated Vehicles Bill.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Tesla does not currently operate a self-driving system, within the meaning of the Automated Vehicles Bill. The Bill will prohibit the sale of vehicles as self-driving if they do not meet the safety requirements set out in the Act to do so. The Bill also envisages the appointment of inspectors who would be excellently placed to investigate technical concerns about self-driving vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why there is a delay in connecting already installed electric vehicle chargepoints in motorway service areas to an appropriate power supply.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Around 97% of motorway service areas in England have charging available today. The Government has been working with distribution network operators and industry to ensure that once chargepoints are installed they are energised as soon as possible for the public to use. This includes supporting Ofgem’s Green Recovery Scheme, which will reinforce the electricity network at around 50 motorway service areas in England. The Government is also working with National Highways to provide battery storage at selected sites where the current electricity network capacity is limited, which will enable increased chargepoint provision.
At fixed strategic locations, such as motorway service areas, the cost of connecting to the electricity network can be high and variable. Therefore, where is it uncommercially viable for industry, the Rapid Charging Fund will part-fund future-proof electrical capacity to prepare the network for a fully electric car and van fleet.