Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to enhance strategic road networks before the development of new housing projects in the South East.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways play a key role in the planning process to determine the necessary strategic road requirements of new major housing projects, and new major developments are a key consideration in future network investment planning as part of the Road Investment Strategy. Alongside this, the Department continues to work with colleagues in the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government and other partners to deliver a well-designed, integrated, and affordable transport network that unlocks homes and supports new developments. This is key to realising wider growth benefits, including reducing congestion and emissions, and ensuring communities can access jobs and services.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of measures to (a) educate drivers on sharing roads with cyclists and (b) foster a safe environment for all road users.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In January 2022, The Highway Code was updated to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding horses. The changes aim to initiate a positive shift in road user behaviour by making road users aware of their responsibility to use roads safely and reduce the danger they may pose to others. The changes included the introduction of a “Hierarchy of Road Users”, which places those road users most at risk in the event of a collision at the top of the hierarchy.
Communications to raise awareness of the changes were launched via a factual awareness raising campaign in 2022, alerting road users to the changes as they came into effect. This was followed by broader behaviour change campaigns in the summers of 2022 and 2023, to help embed the changes and encourage understanding and uptake of the guidance. Over £2.4million has been spent on media across the campaign, utilising channels such as radio, digital audio, video on demand and social media advertising.
Campaign outcomes include 86% of road users having heard of the changes by September 2023, and 81% of drivers claiming to leave a gap of 1.5m when passing a cyclist all or most of the time.
We will continue to promote The Highway Code changes on THINK! and DfT social media channels and via our partner organisations.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that medically unfit drivers are (a) identified and (b) reported effectively.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The law requires all driving licence holders to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of any medical condition that could affect their fitness to drive and failure to do so is an offence.
When a driver declares a medical condition to the DVLA, or a third party (for example a doctor, police officer, family, friends or neighbours) raises concerns, the DVLA will carry out an investigation and a driving licence will only be issued or retained if the individual can meet the appropriate health standards. These medical investigations can range from the consideration of information provided by the driver or applicant to a more detailed investigation. This can include information provided by medical professionals, reports, examinations, eyesight tests or driving assessments.
All drivers are encouraged to discuss any concerns about their fitness to drive with their own healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals, doctors and opticians play an important role in the driver licensing process. They advise their patients of the implications of their condition on driving and the effect of any treatment or medication and they advise when a patient should notify the DVLA. If a patient is unwilling or unable to notify the DVLA, the General Medical Council offers clear guidance of when doctors should report any concerns and the DVLA treats such notifications as a high priority. Similar guidance is available to opticians.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to (a) tackle the use of (i) bots and (ii) third-party resellers on the DVSA booking system and (b) ensure equitable access to driving tests.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests, very often at significant profit.
DVSA deploys enhanced bot protection on its public facing booking system to stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing and DVSA continues to take steps to block cancellation services from accessing the booking system.
DVSA operates an online booking service (OBS) for Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) and trainers so that they can book and manage driving and riding tests for their pupils. DVSA has made changes to the OBS by stopping automatic online registrations to use the service, ensuring each company that registers employs an ADI and removing access for any companies not linked to driving instructors.
In January 2023, DVSA changed its booking service terms and conditions to help prevent anyone from selling tests at profit. Since then, the DVSA has issued 327 warnings, 779 suspensions, and closed 727 business accounts for misuse of its booking service.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to improve the (a) speed and (b) connectivity of rail services (i) within Surrey Heath constituency and (ii) between Camberley and London.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Department officials work closely with South Western Railway and Network Rail to ensure that any areas of potential improvement that provide a positive outcome for both passenger and taxpayer are regularly considered and are introduced where possible. This includes within the Surrey Heath constituency, as well as between Camberley and London.