Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government which train operating companies they intend to bring under public ownership first, following the introduction of the Passenger Railway Services Bill.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State announced on 4 December that, under the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, South Western Railway’s services will transfer into public ownership on 25 May 2025, followed by c2c’s on 20 July 2025 and Greater Anglia’s in autumn 2025.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their announcement on 17 November regarding £1 billion in funding for bus services, when they will publish the formula for allocation.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The way funding has been allocated to local authorities represents a change from previous methodologies to a fairer and simpler system, moving away from a competitive process. This funding for local authorities to deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans has been allocated based on local needs, considering three factors, equally weighted. These are:
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact on the south-east of England of planned strikes on London Underground services.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL. Thanks to constructive dialogue between TfL and the unions the strikes planned by both RMT and ASLEF for early November have now been called off.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Arup report Opportunity through connectivity: Catalysing economic growth through a Midlands-North West Rail Link, published in September, what assessment they have made of proposals for an affordable Midlands-North West rail link.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is currently reviewing the position it has inherited on rail infrastructure and will consider how to address capacity needs and support economic growth in and between the North and the Midlands, whilst maintaining fiscal discipline.
We will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how a simplified licensing process for powered light vehicles would impact (1) the uptake of powered light vehicles, (2) the accessibility of cheaper forms of personal mobility, and (3) the decarbonisation of road transport.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Government has collected robust evidence on the use of different regulatory regimes, including licensing, to support the previously announced Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicle category. Any assessment of evidence would be published as part of a consultation on regulations before they come into force and will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows. The Government has made no assessment of how changes to licensing might impact the uptake of L-category vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of how the Motorcycle Industry Association’s proposals to incentivise the progressive access licensing route would impact road safety.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
In December 2023, officials met with motorcycle stakeholder representatives to listen to and discuss various motorcycle initiatives including ideas for reform. Discussions continue, and a roundtable with Ministerial attendance is scheduled for the 8th of May.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks made by Earl Howe on 22 May where he stated that they plan to "engage stakeholders on the proposal set out in the levelling up White Paper to explore transferring the responsibility for licensing taxis and private hire vehicles to upper-tier and combined authorities" during the course of this year, when they intend to initiate that process.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Department for Transport intends to carry out engagement on this issue early next year.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any body authorised the temporary erection of a structure in the highway adjacent to the Cenotaph during the demonstration held on 14 October, and if so under what power.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Decisions on the authorisation of temporary structures on the highway is entirely a matter for Westminster City Council as the local highway authority.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to produce criteria for the evaluation of bicycle lanes created by local highways authorities in response to the statutory guidance Traffic Management Act 2004: network management in response to COVID-19 updated on 13 November; and whether such criteria will include the evaluation of the effects (1) on all modes of transport subject to that Act, and (2) on the emergency services.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department is currently developing a framework to help local authorities monitor and evaluate the schemes that they will be delivering through tranche two of the Active Travel Fund. They will be asked to consider, among other things, congestion impacts before and after scheme implementation. All local authorities are required to consult with emergency services on changes to road layouts that require Traffic Regulation Orders as set out in the statutory guidance, and as a condition of funding for schemes delivered through the Active Travel Fund.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which firms have been selected to run electric scooter trials in areas where trials are being undertaken.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
11 different companies are operating across the live trial areas. These are: Ginger, Spin, Lime, Beryl, Tier, Zwings, Voi, Bird, Neuron, Zipp, and Wind.
Many of these companies have their own model of scooter which meets the minimum requirements set by the Department. Trials include both short- and long-term rental. The range of trial areas provide a diverse range of local environments in which to assess e-scooter use.
The key areas we are seeking evidence of are the safety of e-scooters, what mode shift they cause, and what impacts they have on other road users. There is no minimum number of operators who need to participate in trials to assess this, but we will additionally seek to learn and share lessons on how different e-scooter providers operate.
The local authorities hosting the trials have selected the operators they wish to work with. They have undertaken their own procurement processes, ensuring that the operators meet both the Department’s and their own requirements for the trial. We have set out these requirements in our guidance for local authorities and have only approved trials where these are met. The requirements include that the operator has geofencing and driving licence checks in place, that local areas have engaged with local police and disability groups, and that data generated will be shared with the Department.
Many of the operators are going beyond these minimum requirements, including providing free helmets to users and offering online or in-person training to use the scooters.