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 the provision of facilities for recharging batteries of electric vehicles to households which do not have space to charge the vehicle from their own home; and what proportion of households do not have space to charge electric vehicles from their own home.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that not having access to off-street parking can be a significant barrier to motorists making the switch to zero emission vehicles and this is something we have sought to address. Local authorities are able to take advantage of the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), which assists them with the cost of installing chargepoints on residential streets. To date the ORCS has supported over 100 local authorities to fund more than 3,800 chargepoints for residents who do not have off-street parking. The doubling of funding for the ORCS to £20 million announced in May last year by the Transport Secretary will allow local authorities to install up to 7,200 charging devices, making charging at home and overnight easier for those without an off-street parking space.
The Government also committed at Spending Review £90 million to fund local electric vehicle charging infrastructure, to support the roll out of larger, on-street charging schemes and rapid hubs in England. Details of this fund will be announced in due course.
Drivers without off-street parking at home can also take advantage of the Workplace Charging Scheme, which provides Government support of up to £350 towards the cost of installing a charge point socket for staff and fleet use, with a maximum of 40 sockets available per business. To date over 4,000 businesses have used this scheme to install over 12,000 chargepoint sockets. There are a growing number of solutions for drivers without private parking, such as initiatives like Community Charging, where those with personal chargepoints can share access with other residents.
The Government recognises the need to do more to address the challenges in this area and will continue to work with colleagues in Government and across industry to secure improvements for residents. We will continue to support industry and local authorities across the whole of the UK to make the switch to cleaner vehicles. A clear delivery plan will be published in 2021.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their current plans in relation to the Queensbury tunnel.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department agreed in July 2020 to fund two feasibility studies looking at options for the future of the tunnel. The first, led by Highways England, is examining what would need to be done and how much it would cost to return the tunnel to a safe and usable condition. The second, led by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, is looking at options for greenway routes between Bradford and Halifax, both including and excluding the tunnel, so that the relative costs and benefits of each can be considered. A steering group comprising the Department for Transport, Highways England, and the relevant local authorities is overseeing the studies, both of which are due to be complete by the spring and will inform any future decision on the future of the tunnel.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have established targets for the number of miles of railway line that will be reinstated for passenger use as part of the Restoring Your Railway Fund (1) within five years, and (2) within ten years; and what estimate they have made of the total length of reinstated lines, in miles, that will be achieved in those time periods.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The £500m Restoring Your Railway fund aims to start reopening lines and stations, reconnecting smaller communities, regenerating local economies and improving access to jobs, homes and education. No targets have been established for the number of miles of railway line that will be reinstated for passenger use and no estimate made of the total length of reinstated railway lines.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the allocation of £34 million to the scheme to restore passenger services to the Ashington–Blyth rail line, where the scheme lies within (1) the Rail Enhancement Schemes Pipeline and (2) the Governance for Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) process.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 23rd January, the Government announced £34m for preparatory works to progress re-opening the Northumberland line to passengers. A Final Business Case is now being prepared by DfT, Northumberland County Council and Network Rail, with a view to seeking a ‘Decision to Deliver’ though the RNEP by the end of the year. The scheme is currently at stage 4 of the GRIP process.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the role of Highways England in maintaining disused railway structures; what assessment they have made of the efficacy of existing procedures relating to disused railway structures; and what plans they have to review such procedures.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In addition to its primary role as highway authority for the strategic road network in England, Highways England manages the Historical Railways Estate on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport across England, Scotland and Wales. Highways England’s existing procedures are designed to keep the public safe and are underpinned by what is the safest and most appropriate option for a given structure.
Although there are currently no plans to review existing procedures, this will be kept under consideration.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) electrification, (2) junction improvements, (3) improved signalling, and (4) new terminal facilities, for rail freight networks are assessed through (a) the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline, or (b) the Governance for Railway Investment Projects scheme and its successor; and if so, how, in each case, they are assessed as priorities by comparison with improvements directed at passenger services.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) is the Government’s primary mechanism for progressing and funding enhancements for both passenger and freight services in England and Wales.
Investment in electrification, junctions and signalling improvements require the development of a business case and are assessed for contribution to the Government’s objectives as well as their affordability, value for money and their deliverability. Each scheme is assessed on its own merits.
By contrast, investments in new freight terminal and interchange facilities are wholly led by the private sector, responding to commercial demands. Freight Operating Companies work closely with the infrastructure manager, Network Rail, to secure appropriate connections onto the railway network and paths for services to operate.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which rail electrification projects in England were agreed between 2010 and 2015; and which (1) have been completed, and (2) have not gone ahead.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The table below includes electrification schemes in the 2012 High Level Output Specification and schemes considered by Sir Peter Hendy's re-planning of Network Rail’s investment programme. It also includes Network Rail’s assessment of whether these schemes have been completed.
Scheme | Completed |
Gospel Oak to Barking Electrification | Yes |
North of England Programmes/Northern Hub - North West Electrification | Yes |
Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley Electrification | Yes |
MML Programme – Electrification Key Output 1 (Bedford to Kettering/Corby) | Yes |
Bromsgrove Electrification | Yes |
Great Western Electrification Programme |
|
- Maidenhead to Didcot | Yes |
- Didcot to Wootton Bassett Junction | Yes |
- Reading to Newbury | Yes |
- Wootton Bassett Junction to Bristol Parkway | Yes |
- Bristol Parkway to Cardiff | Yes |
- Wootton Bassett Junction to Bristol Temple Meads | No |
- Didcot to Oxford | No |
- Filton Bank | No |
Lostock Junction to Wigan North Western Electrification | No |
MML Programme – Electrification Phase 2 (Kettering to Nottingham and Sheffield via Derby) | No |
Acton (GWML) to Willesden (WCML) Electrification | No |
- Basingstoke – Southampton Central (third rail conversion to OLE) | No |
- Leamington Spa to Coventry Electrification and Capacity | No |
- Oxford to Bletchley Electrification | No |
- Oxford to Leamington and Coventry to Nuneaton Electrification | No |
- Sheffield to ECML electrification | No |
- Southcote Junction to Basingstoke Electrification | No |
North trans-Pennine line electrification (Manchester Victoria and Guide Bridge – Huddersfield – Leeds – Colton Jnc) | No |
Oxenholme to Windermere Electrification | No |
Selby to Hull electrification | No |
Thames Valley Branch Lines | No |
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which rail electrification projects (1) are currently taking place, and (2) been given approval to start, in England; and what is the proposed start date for each approved project.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Enabling and design work is currently taking place on the Midland Main Line to complete electrification up to Market Harborough. Following the Spending Review settlement, we continue to progress development and design of the TransPennine Route Upgrade, including the examination of the case for full electrification of the route. A number of other potential electrification schemes are being considered for further development through the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made on the New trans-Pennine roads study by Highways England, announced by the Secretary of State for Transport on 21 March 2019; and when the results of that study will be announced.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Highways England has come to the end of the analytical phase of the study, which has looked at how a number of strategic corridors perform for an enhanced Central Pennines route east of the M65. This has used detailed traffic modelling tools to identify benefits, explore potential costs, understand the implications and opportunities for the environment and examine potential economic impacts. Decisions will be made shortly as to how the findings of the study should be addressed.