Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the £250 million emergency active travel fund, announced on 9 May, was allocated to (1) Lancashire, (2) Blackburn with Darwen, and (3) Blackpool; how much of that fund has been allocated to each authority each district in Lancashire; and what schemes has such funding has been used for.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
In tranche 1 of the Emergency Active Travel Fund (EATF), £783,087 was allocated to Lancashire; £77,000 to Blackburn and Darwen; and £78,000 to Blackpool. An announcement on tranche 2 of EATF funding is due to be made shortly.
The funding is supporting measures including temporary cycle lanes, closing streets to vehicles, traffic and parking restrictions, traffic calming measures, footpath widenings, temporary crossings and cycle signage and storage facilities. The allocation of funding to each of their districts is a matter for the relevant local authority.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to discourage the use of private combustion engine motor vehicles in cities, and (2) to promote the use of public transport in cities and elsewhere, during the remainder of 2020.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government is providing £225 million of emergency funding to local authorities in the current financial year to enable them to introduce measures to support more cycling and walking. The Department for Transport issued guidance to local authorities in May, which suggested that they should make significant changes to their road layouts to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians. This will help give people a safe alternative to the car for short journeys.
The Government is also supporting the transition to cleaner vehicles by investing around £2.5bn,? with grants available for plug in vehicles, as well as funding to support charge point infrastructure at homes, workplaces, on residential streets and across the wider roads network.
Since March, the Department for Transport has announced over £700 million to support the continued operation of bus and light rail services. The latest funding packages, running from August 4, include £37.4 million over 12 weeks for light rail operators and a rolling package of funding of £27.3 million per week for bus operators in England, outside London. It is also developing plans for a national marketing campaign to promote travel by bus.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they received any bid to the Restoring Your Railway Fund for enhancements, including a passing loop, on the eleven-mile long single-track siding that forms the portion of the East Lancashire line between Gannow Junction and Colne.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department has not received any bid to the Restoring Your Railway fund regarding the current single line section between Gannow Junction and Colne. Potential improvements to this section of the East Lancashire line were explored as part of the early feasibility work and this is informing development work on the potential reinstatement of the Skipton-Colne rail link.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to increase the proportion of freight traffic within Great Britain that is carried by the railways.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government is committed to further unlocking the economic and environmental benefits rail freight can deliver through its key role in reducing carbon emissions and its contribution to alleviating congestion on Britain’s roads. As part of this ambition we are exploring a range of proposals aimed at increasing the proportion of freight traffic that is carried on our railways, and helping the sector recover from the impact of COVID-19.
The Department has invested over £235 million in the Strategic Freight Network between 2014-2019. So far in Control Period 6 (2019-2024), we have approved over £40 million of funding in projects across the country (with further projects being considered) to improve the capacity and capability of the rail network for freight and support its future growth. In addition, officials are preparing proposals in relation to gauge and capacity for rail freight on existing trans-Pennine routes to and from various ports in the North of England. This will be for consideration by Ministers for further development work, to evaluate options and costs, and develop a recommended programme.
The Government also supports the development of an expanded network of Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges (SRFIs) - which enable freight to be transferred more efficiently between transport modes - to better deliver the environmental and economic benefits rail freight offers. Furthermore, Government supports the development of an expanded network of SRFIs to grow intermodal rail freight, as outlined in the National Network National Policy Statement.
The Government grant schemes – principally the Mode Shift Revenue Support Scheme (MSRS) – incentivise the movement of freight by rail and water. These grants usually help to remove around 900,000 HGVs off the road each year. The Government increased these schemes’ funding by 28%, to £20 million, in 2020/21 and remains committed to them to continue to support rail freight growth.
Finally, we are in close dialogue with Network Rail (NR) to explore possibilities for longer and heavier freight trains to enable more freight to run by rail.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the future transport needs along the north-east/south-west axis in England in relation to future air, rail and road infrastructure and inter-city and regional services, and (2) the contribution this axis could make to levelling up economies within England.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
This Government is committed to ensuring that transport and infrastructure investment levels up economies across the country. The Government considers a wide range of options for transport infrastructure and services across all parts of England and will set out its plans for investment at the forthcoming spending review and in the National Infrastructure Strategy. These will build on planned investments in this particular corridor, such as the improvements to the A46 ‘Trans-Midlands Trade Corridor’ recently set out in the second Roads Investment Strategy.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether people riding electric and unpowered scooters on the highway are required to display front and rear lights on the same basis as cyclists; and if not, what consideration they are giving to introducing such a requirement.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Ministers have recently agreed a range of technical and safety requirements for electric scooters used during trials on Great Britain’s roads. The scooters used in the trials must be fitted with a front position lamp and a red rear position lamp. In addition, they must be fitted with a red rear reflector and amber or white reflectors on each side of the vehicle. There are no similar lighting requirements for unpowered scooters, and there are no plans to review this position.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the creation of the Northern Transport Acceleration Council, what plans they have to amend (1) the constitution, (2) the powers, and (3) the methods of operation and decision-making of Transport for the North.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Matters concerning the constitution, methods of operation and decision-making of Transport for the North (TfN) are for the TfN Board to consider. The creation of the Northern Transport Acceleration Council does not impact on TfN’s powers in any way.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the membership of the Northern Transport Acceleration Council; what powers and role that Council will possess; what is its operational budget; how often it will meet; and whether its meetings and papers will be publicly accessible.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The membership of the Northern Transport Acceleration Council will comprise key leaders from across the North, including Mayors and council leaders and will be chaired by the Secretary of State. The Council will give leaders from the North direct access to Ministers to discuss priority transport projects and make sure they are being progressed at pace, providing a mechanism for speeding up decision making.
The Council’s first meeting is expected to take place in September when the details of its role and working arrangements will be agreed.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation took place with Transport for the North about the establishment of the Northern Transport Acceleration Council; what the relationship between Transport for the North and the Northern Transport Acceleration Council will be; and whether members of the Northern Transport Acceleration Council will also sit on the board of Transport for the North.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Secretary of State and his Ministers consulted with the Mayors and Council Leaders in the North, who are Transport for the North members, prior to the establishment of the Northern Transport Acceleration Council.
The membership of the Northern Council will comprise key leaders from across the North, including Mayors and Council Leaders and will be chaired by the Secretary of State.
The Transport for the North Board will continue its role of bringing together Northern stakeholders and developing strategic transport advice for the Secretary of State.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 14 July (HL6304), whether the advice in their Safer Transport guidance “that people should consider all other forms of transport, such as cycling and walking, before using public transport” includes the use of private motor vehicles; whether they intend to discourage the use of private motor vehicles as COVID-19 restrictions relax; if so, when; when they expect to announce the details of the “£5 billion of new funding to overhaul bus and cycling links across England” and the distribution of that funding; and at what stage of their post-COVID-19 recovery plans they intend to start to encourage people to use public transport including in particular the railways; and on the basis of what criteria.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
To support the reopening of the economy, we have been working hard with public transport operators to return services as close as possible to pre-Covid-19 levels. It is vital that the transport network continues to operate safely as demand increases for services, and we are continuing to work with the transport industry to ensure they remain able to deliver a safe service.
We keep our guidance under constant review as COVID-19 incidence and scientific evidence changes. Our guidance now sets out that people should walk or cycle if they can. Where this is not possible, people can use public transport or drive.
I would like to assure you that the Government remains committed to meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2050. Encouraging people to use alternatives to petrol or diesel cars for travel is central to this ambition. We are striving to embed and build on the green travel habits adopted by the public during lockdown. Further details of the £5 billion funding package for buses and cycling, which includes support for the purchase of at least 4,000 new zero-emission buses, will be announced in due course. The Department has also fast-tracked plans for e-scooter trials around the country to open new ways to travel.