Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to require London North Eastern Railway to run direct services between Sunderland and London King's Cross beyond December 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There are no plans to require London North Eastern Railway to run direct services between Sunderland and London Kings Cross beyond December 2024. Sunderland will continue to have direct London services provided by Open Access operators. Additionally, improvements to the Metro network will improve connectivity in the north east.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what checks are made by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on the fitness of the operators of private car parks to issue valid fines.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will only release vehicle keeper information to private parking companies that are members of an appropriate accredited trade association (ATA). The ATAs carry out checks on parking companies before allowing them to become members. This ensures that the company is legitimate and is monitored for compliance with the ATA’s code of practice that promotes fair treatment for motorists.
The DVLA carries out comprehensive auditing of companies, involving remote and also on-site audits in conjunction with the Government Internal Audit Agency. This ensures that keeper information is used appropriately. Any issues are investigated and action taken where necessary. This can include the suspension of the facility to request vehicle keeper information from the DVLA.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff were employed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each of the past three years to respond to requests for the personal details of motorists by private car park operators.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
It is not possible to say how many staff are employed specifically to process requests from private car park operators. The staff involved deal with these requests as part of their role alongside a variety of other duties.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the transformative investments to the A1 north of Newcastle proposed by the Prime Minister in his statement on Transport Infrastructure on 11 February; and when they will be implemented.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
We have already started on improvements to the A1 North of Ellingham. Junction improvements at Fenham le Moor, Outchester, Adderstone Mains, Newstead Crossroads and Old Mousen have been completed. Work is currently underway on other junctions along this section of the A1 and work will be completed by March 2020.
We are also committed to dualling the A1 between Alnwick and Ellingham and Morpeth and Felton, as well as creating new junctions at Highlaws, Fenrother, West Moor and Charlton Mires. Construction will begin on this scheme in 2021 and both sections will be open for traffic by 2023/24.
The schemes will improve performance and safety for the travelling public on the A1.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide funding for a new railway station building in Sunderland.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The North East city region has been shortlisted for a share of £1.22bn from the second tranche of the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund. A new station building in Sunderland is part of their proposal. The Department is currently reviewing TCF submissions received from all twelve shortlisted city regions and a decision on the allocation of funding is expected in March 2020.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of extending the Tyne and Wear Metro to Doxford International Business Park in Sunderland.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
As part of its Continuous Modular Strategic Planning work on long term strategy for the rail network, Network Rail is assessing what is required to make sure that the rail network between York and Newcastle meets the needs of passengers and freight users in the coming decades. This study is considering the potential role of reinstatement of the Leamside line in meeting those needs, including for local connectivity through extension of the Tyne and Wear local conventional rail or Metro network. It will make recommendations for further option development.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether funding announced by the Department for Transport on 28 January to assess the feasibility of re-opening railway lines will include a study into re-opening the Leamside line between Sunderland, Washington, Houghton-le-Spring and Pelaw.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
As part of its Continuous Modular Strategic Planning work on long term strategy for the rail network, Network Rail is assessing what is required to make sure that the rail network between York and Newcastle meets the needs of passengers and freight users in the coming decades. This study is considering the potential role of reinstatement of the Leamside line in meeting those needs, including for local connectivity through extension of the Tyne and Wear local conventional rail or Metro network. It will make recommendations for further option development.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will provide funding to Sunderland City Council to cover the cost to that authority of leasing land at Deptford Terrace to create a temporary lorry parking facility for vehicles delivering to Nissan's Sunderland plant that could be delayed due to disruption at ports in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Government has provided Sunderland City Council with £210,000, split between 2018/19 and 2019/20, to help the council prepare for EU Exit, which the council can decide how to spend according to local need.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the application from Sunderland City Council in July 2016 for funding for Phases 4 and 5 of the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor was rejected.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The application for funding was made under the Large Local Major Schemes Fund which is for schemes that are too high in cost to be funded through the Local Growth Fund - the primary funding source for local transport infrastructure schemes. The bids for Phases 4 and 5 of the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor were declined as ineligible as they were under the funding threshold for the Large Local Majors Fund (£75m for schemes in the North East Local Enterprise Partnership area). Phase 3 of this scheme, which is higher in cost than either of Phases 4 or 5, is being funded through the Local Growth Fund.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are planning to re-open the Leamside railway line between Sunderland, Washington and Durham; if so, what steps they are taking to achieve this; how much progress has been made; and when they expect that line to re-open.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Government is working with local authorities and other partners to identify the best new rail projects that can unlock new housing and economic growth, ease overcrowding, meet future demand and offer good value for money.
No immediate decisions have been made to reopen the Leamside line.