Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Jones and Andrew Stephenson

Thursday 17th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

1. What steps his Department is taking to prevent the rent of high-performance sports cars by dangerous drivers.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Andrew Jones)]

The Government are committed to ensuring that courts have sufficient powers to deal with dangerous driving and will soon commence a consultation looking at driving offences and penalties. Rental companies can check Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency driver records and should not be renting vehicles to unsafe drivers. The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association has a code of conduct it expects its members to comply with, and, if concerned, the public can contact the BVRLA or trading standards.

[Andrew Stephenson]

In my area, and across the UK, a large number of accidents and deaths have been caused by inexperienced drivers, who often hire high-performance cars for just a few days at a time. Later this month, the Lancashire Telegraph will launch a dangerous driving campaign looking at this and many other aspects of road safety. Will the Minister join me in supporting the campaign, which aims to shine a light on what is happening on our roads?

[Andrew Jones]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about road safety, which is a critical issue, because, despite our enviable national record, 1,730 people lost their lives on British roads last year. Media campaigns in this area can be very helpful, so I do, indeed, support the Lancashire Telegraph campaign in principle, and I look forward to hearing more when it starts.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Jones and Andrew Stephenson

Thursday 10th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Jones]

The hon. Gentleman has forgotten the investment that is being made, the improvements that are coming through the franchise for the east coast main line and for the trans-Pennine line, and the significant enhancements for Huddersfield, including the London connections.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

Will the Minister join me in welcoming the fact that, thanks to the Government’s action to cap rail fare increases, wages are now rising faster than fares for the first time since 2003?

[Andrew Jones]

My hon. Friend makes as wise a point as ever. We are trying to ensure that regulated rail fares are affordable. What we are seeing is a wide range of tickets on offer, including some very low-priced fares, which can be bought in advance. That allows more people to travel by rail. We only have to look at the growth in passenger numbers to see how that is working.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Jones and Andrew Stephenson

Thursday 29th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

Pendle residents are concerned about the state of local roads across our area. Given that the Government have made £6 billion available for pothole repairs, how can we encourage local authorities to deliver the repairs that we all want to see?

[Andrew Jones]

We are providing local authorities with financial support amounting to a record £6 billion between now and 2021 for highways maintenance. We are also encouraging them to look at the way in which they manage their programmes, and 85% of local authorities in England have now signed up to the highways maintenance efficiency programme. This is how we are supporting councils. We are talking about a significant investment here: it is enough to deal with 18 million potholes per year, and it is making a difference to the quality of our road network.