Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 2 February (HL4989), what evidence they have that rail franchisees routinely plan for football fans travelling to away matches in large numbers.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department for Transport requirement for franchisees to plan for special events is designed to encourage direct stakeholder engagement to identify the appropriate response in relation to special events, balancing the needs of all passengers. The requirement is without prior approval from the Secretary of State unlike other Timetable changes and as such the Department does not collect evidence of how this is applied by the franchisee.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 22 January (HL4453), what evidence there is that train franchisees plan for known special events and match capacity with anticipated demand.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department for Transport requires franchisees to plan for special events and make the best use of the capacity available to provide services where they would not ordinarily be provided in the regular timetable. This includes detailed planning with event organisers, local authorities and emergency services.
Train operators regularly provide additional capacity and enhanced station management processes to manage large crowds, for example Great Western Railway’s management of demand for racing events at Cheltenham or the Glastonbury festival.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 4 December 2017 (HL3345), whether they are satisfied that train franchisees match capacity to need when football and other sports fans are travelling to and from matches.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department for Transport requires franchisees to plan for special events and make the best use of the capacity available to provide services where they would not ordinarily be provided in the regular timetable. In planning for this requirement, this must be balanced with other passenger demand on the network. Special events include, but are not limited to, football and other sporting events.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have made to monitor the scale and incidence of substantial overcrowding on long distance trains.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department for Transport collects data on passenger numbers from Train Operating Companies biannually. This data focusses on passenger loading on trains at city centres upon arrival in the morning peak and departure in the afternoon peak. The information is used to publish annual statistics for passenger crowding on weekdays within 11 key city centres in England and Wales.
In addition, the Department requires franchisees to consider how the train fleet is matched with the timetable to minimise crowding. Passenger count data is frequently used by the Department to look at passenger demand and train capacities in order to monitor crowding levels throughout the life of a franchise and during the refranchising process.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to ban the use of vehicles with petrol and diesel engines from 2050.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our aim is for almost every car and van to be zero emission by 2050. We are investing £1billion on supporting ultra-low emission vehicles to mass market. This ambition is technology neutral but we expect it to be industry led with the car industry rising to meet changing consumer tastes.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to encourage compliance with laws governing cycling.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As with all road users, cyclists need to adhere to the rules set out in the Highway Code regulations 59 to 82. Anyone not doing so is at risk of a penalty, fine or imprisonment. Enforcement is a matter for individual police forces. The Government also promotes road safety, including encouraging safe cycling, through its Think! campaigns. The Government continues to keep road safety and road traffic offences under review to ensure that the current legislative framework is adequate.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reduce queuing by motor vehicles for Dover ferries in summer peak periods.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are a number of measures currently in place to manage traffic on its approach to Dover port. These include a recently opened extended area within the port that can hold up to 300 lorries, along with the TAP (Traffic Assessment Project) traffic management system that allows port-bound lorries to be held outside the town on the A20 at traffic lights until space at the Port becomes available and to prevent queuing in central Dover during busy periods. The Government also has use of Manston airport as a contingency should the need arise.
A consultation regarding the building of a lorry park next to the M20 at Stanford West started on 12 August and will run until 23 September 2016. Up to £250 million has been committed to this scheme.
The lorry park at Stanford West, on the M20 close to junction 11, was selected as the preferred site last month following a separate consultation between December 2015 and January 2016.
This Government wants to have a country that works for everyone, and we are committed to keeping drivers in Kent moving.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for restoring a reliable service by Southern Rail.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The first issue is for GTR to provide a reliable, consistent train service, which is what its revised timetable is designed to do. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will keep the situation regarding traincrew availability under review every week and will take decisions about restoring services on that basis.
We also urge the union in the strongest possible terms to sit round the table with the operator to bring this unjustified action, which is harming passengers, to an end.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to grow national road, rail and air infrastructure, and to invest in public sector capacity, to match the forecast growth in population to 73 million by 2035.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government’s transport investment strategy is summarised in the Department for Transport’s Single Departmental Plan, which aligns major upcoming infrastructure projects and policy decisions with the four key strategic objectives of economic growth; building a One Nation Britain; improving journeys; and creating a safe, secure, and sustainable transport network.
The current Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) provides details of the Strategic Road schemes in which the Government will be investing a total of £15.2 billion over the Parliament. It also outlines long-term aspirations for a smoother, smarter, and more sustainable road network by 2040. A number of strategic studies are currently underway to inform the second Roads Investment Strategy, which will cover the period 2020-2025.
The Government invests in the rail network as a means of meeting forecast demand, reducing operational costs, and stimulating wider economic growth. It does this by targeting the four key investment areas of electrification, port-to-city freight connections, intercity connectivity, and commuter travel. High Speed Two overlays this programme of investment and targets many of the same objectives. Details of specific projects can be found in the High Level Output Specification (HLOS), published in July 2012 and in Sir Peter Hendy’s report on the replanning of Network Rail’s Investment Programme.
Alongside a decision on additional runway capacity, the Government is also revising its Aviation Policy Framework, which will include work to consider infrastructure.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of vehicles operated by central Government, or the wider public sector, are wholly electrically powered.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not have detailed numbers on the information requested.
According to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) statistics some 133 public transport buses, coaches and minibuses are wholly electrically powered. There are no purpose built electric taxis recorded on the DVLA records, although electric cars are used as minicabs and private hire vehicles, and a number of plug-in hybrid purpose built taxis are in development.
This Government has a comprehensive £600 million package of measures over the course of this parliament to keep Britain at the forefront of the ultra-low emission vehicle technology. This includes grants encouraging low emission buses and taxis.
The proportion of wholly electric vehicles operated by central Government is not recorded by the DVLA. However, the total number of central government electric vehicles that have been purchased via the Crown Commercial Service framework is 20. Just over 300 ultra-low emission vehicles are being integrated into public sector fleets under the ULEV readiness project; with over 70% being fully electric.