Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the A30 trunk road between Exeter and Penzance is not yet dual carriageway; and what plans they have to convert those sections to dual carriageway.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Approximately 16 per cent (17 out of 109 miles) of the A30 trunk road between Exeter and Penzance is not yet dual carriageway. The remaining single carriageway sections are between Carland Cross and Chiverton Cross, and between Camborne and Penzance.
The Government has committed to dualling the A30 between Carland Cross and Chiverton Cross (9 miles of the above 17 miles of single carriageway), with construction work due to start in 2019-20.
Proposals to dual the A30 between Camborne and Penzance will be considered as part of decisions on the second Road Investment Strategy covering the period 2020-2025.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to instruct drivers of ministerial cars not to keep their engines running when parked in Speaker's Court.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government Car Service drivers are given a clear instruction not to keep engines running whilst parked and regular reminders are sent out on this subject.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
Her Majesty's Government since what date one lane of the A130 trunk road between the A12 and the A14 has been cordoned off and closed to traffic; what work is proposed to be carried out before it can be reopened; and when they expect it to be reopened.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The section of the A130 road between the A12 and A13 is entirely a matter for Essex County Council, as local highway authority, who have a Design, Build, Finance & Operate contract for this section of the A130 carriageway.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the purposes and plans for the coned off carriageway of the A130 trunk road between the A12 and the A13.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The A130 is a local road and its management is the responsibility of the local highways authority – in this instance Essex County Council. I understand that the section you are referring to has been coned off after issues were discovered during routine inspections. The additional lanes have been completed but remain coned off after a routine inspection highlighted issues with crash barriers along the route.
Further investigation work over recent months has revealed a need to reconstruct the ground alongside the carriageway as a preventative measure to protect against the risk of slippage in the long-term.
I understand work to resolve these issues is due to begin in March.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the net annual cost to public funds of the MoT vehicle testing scheme; and whether they will review the requirement for new cars to have an MoT test after three years on the road.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The cost to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) of providing the MOT service in 2015/16 was £49,024k which was fully covered by charges made to garages through the MOT slot fee. The Government is intending to consult on changing the date of the first MOT for new cars. An announcement will be made when the consultation is launched.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to deal with congestion at the junction of the A12 and A14 trunk roads.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Highways England has no current improvement plans within the roads investment period (2015-2020) to alleviate congestion at the Copdock Interchange, where the A12 and A14 trunk roads meet in Suffolk.
Highways England is now updating its East of England route strategy in preparation for the second Roads Investment Strategy (2020-2025) and options for improvement at this busy interchange will be considered.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 23 May (HL174), what steps they are taking in particular to ensure that all employees at British airports with access to aircraft are vetted to ensure that they do not hold Islamist fundamentalist views.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I would refer my noble friend to my Written Answer of 23 May (HL174) to his earlier question on this issue. Those staff undertaking aviation security duties are subject to additional security vetting following the minimum checks that must be completed. These arrangements, like our overall security regime, are kept under close review in light of all current threats. For security reasons, we would not comment on specific staff vetting arrangements.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 11 May (HL8096), how many bat bridges over roads are (1) currently under construction, and (2) planned for construction; and what is the (a) location, and (b) budgeted cost, of each.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Highways England has no bat bridges currently on schemes under construction and none currently planned for schemes to be constructed.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the legal requirements for MOT testing are a devolved matter in Scotland; what assessment they have made of the requirement for new vehicles to be subject to MOT testing after the first three years of use; and which other EU countries follow the present UK practice.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The legal requirements for MOT are not a devolved matter in Scotland. Following the commitment made by the Chancellor in the July 2015 budget statement, the Department for Transport is currently developing a public consultation and impact assessment which will consider options for extending the frequency of the first test for some vehicles. The consultation will take into account the potential benefits to consumers, the government’s safety priorities, as well as the impact a change may have on MOT garage businesses. I anticipate that the consultation will be published in the summer. The other EU countries currently requiring a vehicle to have an initial roadworthiness inspection at 3 years, as per the current GB practice are; Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all employees at British airports with access to aircraft are being vetted to ensure that they do not constitute a security risk.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All employees with access to a security restricted area of an UK airport and access to aircraft undergo, as a minimum, background and criminal record checks, on recruitment and thereafter. Those undertaking aviation security duties are subject to additional security vetting. We keep our aviation security measures under constant review in light of new threat information from a wide range of sources.