Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 23c of the National Audit Office report entitled Active Travel in England, HC 1376, what steps he is taking to implement that report's recommendation on funding for active travel.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department is carefully considering the report’s findings and recommendations. Officials from the Department and Active Travel England will be attending a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing on 19 July to discuss them. The PAC will publish a report following the hearing, and the Department will publish a formal response after this.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to expand Bikeability training for primary school pupils.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport has increased the funding available for Bikeability each year since 2020 and is providing at least £21 million in the financial year of 2023-24.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for the CP7 access for all programme.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is currently assessing over 300 stations nominated for Access for All funding beyond 2024. I hope to be in a position to announce successful projects and the funding available later this year.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding he is providing for (a) walking, (b) wheeling and (c) cycling in Greater Manchester in financial year 2023-24.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In February 2023, Active Travel England announced £200 million of funding to local authorities for active travel infrastructure. Allocations to individual local authorities will be announced later in 2023.
In addition, Greater Manchester Combined Authority is receiving £1.07 billion between 2022 and 2027 through the Department’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), of which £215.5m will be paid in the financial year of 2023-24. The funding will deliver improvements to local transport networks, including investment in active travel infrastructure.
As set out in the written ministerial statement made by the Secretary of State on 9 March 2023, the Government will invest at least a further £100 million of capital funding for active travel during this spending review period. This will include funding for local authorities such as the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many public consultations his Department has (a) undertaken and (b) responded to within 12 weeks of their closing since 12 December 2019.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department, its executive agencies and arm’s-length bodies publish a large number of consultations and calls for evidence, so collating the information requested would come at a disproportionate cost for the Department. Consultations and calls for evidence are accompanied by other forms of engagement with the public and stakeholders. The Department always aims to publish government responses to consultations in a timely fashion, in line with the Government Consultation Principles, and to keep stakeholders updated on progress.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many consultations that closed before the 31 December 2020 are awaiting a response from his Department.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department, its executive agencies and arm’s-length bodies publish a large number of consultations and calls for evidence, so collating the information requested would come at a disproportionate cost for the Department. Consultations and calls for evidence are accompanied by other forms of engagement with the public and stakeholders. The Department always aims to publish government responses to consultations in a timely fashion, in line with the Government Consultation Principles, and to keep stakeholders updated on progress.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many full time equivalent staff in his Department are working on the response to the Managing pavement parking consultation.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The number of staff working on this issue has varied over time, and will continue to do so, depending on the stage of the project.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of mobile network coverage on long distance rail routes.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport is continuing to work closely with Network Rail to reduce the commercial and technical barriers to improving mobile connectivity along the entire rail corridor. We are also currently working with Ofcom and Network Rail to baseline existing Mobile Network Operator signal coverage on the railway through the installation and maintenance of signal measurement equipment on Network Rail’s yellow maintenance trains.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time was for a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency practical driving test in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) West Didsbury test centres in the last 12 months.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working hard to provide as many practical driving test appointments as possible at all test centres. As a result of the measures already taken by the DVSA, overall, since April 2021, an estimated 813,000 additional test slots have now been created. On average, the DVSA is creating approximately 35,300 extra test slots each month.
The average time between booking and taking a practical car test in Greater Manchester and West Didsbury test centres over the last 12 months is 15.2 weeks and 15.6 weeks respectively. As of 27 March 2023, there are 1,847 driving tests available in Greater Manchester and 465 available at West Didsbury.
To prevent the booking and re-selling of driving test appointments, the DVSA has:
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help prevent approved driving instructors selling practical driving exams for a profit.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working hard to provide as many practical driving test appointments as possible at all test centres. As a result of the measures already taken by the DVSA, overall, since April 2021, an estimated 813,000 additional test slots have now been created. On average, the DVSA is creating approximately 35,300 extra test slots each month.
The average time between booking and taking a practical car test in Greater Manchester and West Didsbury test centres over the last 12 months is 15.2 weeks and 15.6 weeks respectively. As of 27 March 2023, there are 1,847 driving tests available in Greater Manchester and 465 available at West Didsbury.
To prevent the booking and re-selling of driving test appointments, the DVSA has: