Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of restoring the hard shoulder on the M6 motorway between junction 13 and junction 15.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
On 16 April 2023, the Government announced that all plans for new smart motorways have been cancelled, recognising the lack of confidence felt by drivers and cost pressures. This means no new smart motorways will be built.
We are focused on investing £900m to add further safety improvements to existing smart motorways, including constructing 150 extra emergency areas – so that people can continue to get around easily and with increased confidence.
Any reduction in capacity on our motorways, the safest roads in the country, could put more drivers and passengers at risk of death or serious injury by forcing them onto roads that are less safe. Restoring the hard shoulder while maintaining capacity would be hugely disruptive and come at enormous cost.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent trends in the level of staffing at train stations on provision for disabled passengers.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Disabilities shouldn’t stop people using our railways. Rail staff will always provide face-to-face service for passengers who need additional support. We are committed to transforming accessibility across the UK rail network, moving staff out of underused ticket offices and into the station where they can provide help where it is most needed. We are also undertaking a full accessibility audit across 2,564 stations across Great Britain to help shape future investment in accessible rail travel.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has provided to support (a) cycling and (b) walking activities in (i) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (ii) north Staffordshire in the last 12 months.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
We provide significant support to upper-tier councils to make it easier and safer for people to choose to walk or cycle. In the last year, we’ve given Staffordshire County Council over £595,000 in funding for active travel – it is a matter for them how that is then allocated within the county.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with international counterparts on improving data sharing between international vehicle registration databases.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Transport officials engage with a range of international counterparts on issues including data sharing between international vehicle registration databases, both in the context of wider negotiations and in response to specific queries from international partners.
While it would not be appropriate to comment on the details of these conversations, the UK is committed to honouring its international obligations.
The Secretary of State for Transport has not been involved directly in discussions on this matter.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road traffic collisions foreign HGV drivers have been involved in the last 10 years on UK roads.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The information requested is not available as the Department’s reported road collisions statistics are not broken down by nationality of driver.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of speed limits on smart motorways.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
Rules 124-125 of The Highway Code set out the speed limits applicable on motorways (including smart motorways), in accordance with the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
Smart motorways have variable mandatory speed limits to smooth traffic flow, and reduce congestion, and have electronic signs to warn drivers of incidents ahead. This enables less speeding, tailgating and fewer rapid changes of speed.
Enforcement by the Police is one of a number of measures which are used to encourage compliance with variable speed limits and ensure that schemes are working as intended.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of arrangements with the Netherlands for sharing foreign HGV registration details.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Netherlands, like other EU Member States, can request HGV registration details under Mutual Legal Assistance provisions. However, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement suspends timescales for responding to Mutual Legal Assistance requests for vehicle registration data in respect of the enforcement of minor traffic offences until 1 January 2024. Requests are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
We are reviewing our approach to the provision of data once timescales apply.