Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using lower carbon warm mix asphalt in national road repairs.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department allocates pothole and highway maintenance capital funding to local highway authorities in England, outside of London, based on the length of roads, number of street lighting columns, and the number of bridges for which they are responsible. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil its statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, based on local knowledge, circumstances and priorities.
The Department strongly advocates a risk-based whole lifecycle asset management approach to local authority highways maintenance programmes. This considers all parts of the highway network, such as bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns – and not just the fixing of potholes.
The Department encourages good practice in local highway maintenance and endorses the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice 'Well-managed highway infrastructure' - https://www.ciht.org.uk/ukrlg-home/code-of-practice/. The Code gives advice on all aspects of highway maintenance and Recommendation 32 gives advice on carbon reduction.
Decarbonisation is a key Government priority. Through the ADEPT Live Labs research programme, the Department is investing £30 million into seven projects aimed at reducing carbon by using sustainable materials and processes, such as warm-mix asphalts and asphalt modifiers.
Local highway authorities across England are set to benefit from a major boost in funding for highway maintenance, representing the biggest ever road resurfacing programme to improve local roads. My Department has published details of the £8.3 billion extra road funding which will make an unprecedented transformation in the condition of our highways.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will issue guidance to local authorities on (a) effective and (b) efficient ways to allocate pothole and road maintenance funding.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department allocates pothole and highway maintenance capital funding to local highway authorities in England, outside of London, based on the length of roads, number of street lighting columns, and the number of bridges for which they are responsible. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil its statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, based on local knowledge, circumstances and priorities.
The Department strongly advocates a risk-based whole lifecycle asset management approach to local authority highways maintenance programmes. This considers all parts of the highway network, such as bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns – and not just the fixing of potholes.
The Department encourages good practice in local highway maintenance and endorses the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice 'Well-managed highway infrastructure' - https://www.ciht.org.uk/ukrlg-home/code-of-practice/. The Code gives advice on all aspects of highway maintenance and Recommendation 32 gives advice on carbon reduction.
Decarbonisation is a key Government priority. Through the ADEPT Live Labs research programme, the Department is investing £30 million into seven projects aimed at reducing carbon by using sustainable materials and processes, such as warm-mix asphalts and asphalt modifiers.
Local highway authorities across England are set to benefit from a major boost in funding for highway maintenance, representing the biggest ever road resurfacing programme to improve local roads. My Department has published details of the £8.3 billion extra road funding which will make an unprecedented transformation in the condition of our highways.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the email of 27 July 2023 from the Hon. member for Sefton Central, Case reference BE12979, on the use of medical equipment in people's homes.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have received the Hon. Member’s correspondence and will reply as soon as possible.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she plans to respond to the email of 12 May 2023 from the Hon. member for Sefton Central, Case reference BE 1233, on fake reviews of businesses.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Department attaches great importance to the timely processing of all correspondence. Making the most of the opportunities presented by the formation of a new department, the new team is working to maximise efficiency and innovation. Performance is regularly reviewed to ensure response times and backlogs are being actively managed. We apologise for the exceptional delay in replying to this case and will respond as a matter of urgency
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his department plans to publish a response to L-category vehicles consultation.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department is now analysing the responses and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to The Plan for Drivers, published 2 October 2023, what 20mph zones his Department expects to be affected by changes in guidance.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Local speed limits are a matter for local authorities, who have the power to set their speed limits.
While the government supports 20mph limits in the right places, we do not support them being set indiscriminately on all roads without due regard to the safety case and local support. We plan to review the current guidance to English authorities to ensure consistency on setting 20mph speed limits and to be clear about the factors that local authorities should consider when considering new 20mph schemes.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 40p of Network North: transforming British transport, CP 946, published by his Department in October 2023, how much he plans to spend on fixing potholes in (a) 2024/25 and (b) 2025/26.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department intends to publish funding allocations for individual local highway authorities shortly, which will make clear how much of the £8.3 billion uplift will be available in future years for maintenance of the highway network.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places in Sefton Central constituency by the start of September 2025 to offer eligible children aged nine months and above to access 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year until the end of the term before they start at primary school.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Having enough staff in place to deliver high-quality education and care will be key to ensuring the successful delivery of our record expansion of early years entitlements. Driving up interest in early years careers and ensuring there are enough opportunities for career development is a priority for this government.
In the government’s Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, this Government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The department is developing a range of new workforce initiatives including the launch of a new national campaign, planned for the beginning of 2024, to boost interest in the sector and support the recruitment and retention of talented staff. To increase interest in early years, we are working to remove unnecessary barriers to entering the sector as well as considering how to make early years qualifications more accessible, coordinated and relevant.
Over the summer the department launched a competition for Early Years Skills Bootcamps with a pathway to an accelerated level 3 Early Years Educator apprenticeship, and we will consider degree apprenticeship routes so everyone from junior staff to senior leaders can easily move into or indeed enhance their career in the sector. We are also working across government to boost early years career awareness by collaborating with the Department for Work and Pensions and Careers & Enterprise Company to promote the importance and value of a career in early years.
Regarding safe premises, with a growing number of staff joining the sector, the safety of our youngest children remains as important as ever. All new and existing early years providers must keep children safe and promote their welfare. The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers in England must meet to ensure that children are kept healthy and safe. More information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170108/EYFS_framework_from_September_2023.pdf.
Under these requirements, all owners and managers of childcare settings have a responsibility to ensure that their premises, including overall floor space and outdoor spaces, are fit for purpose and suitable for the age of children cared for and the activities provided on the premises. All providers must also comply with the requirements of health and safety legislation, including fire safety and hygiene requirements. At all times when children are present, at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid certificate must be on the premises.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the Early education and childcare statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities should report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.
The Department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has provided for supporting electric vehicle charging infrastructure in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The table below provides the data for the Department’s chargepoint grant schemes, published by Department for Transport as part of its Official Statistics for the United Kingdom as of 1 July 2023.
| Financial year ending 2021 | Financial year ending 2022 | Financial year ending 2023 |
Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant (EVCG) |
| £350 | £2,575,626 |
Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) | £23,505,788 | £59,326,260 | £700 |
Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) | £2,583,976 | £4,436,875 | £5,355,971 |
On-Street Residential Scheme (ORCS) | £7,270,281 | £25,414,354 | £34,619,759 |
In addition, under the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund Pilot, the Government awarded almost £32 million of funding to twenty-five Local Authorities (LAs) across England in FY 2022/23, alongside close to £8 million of resource funding through the LEVI Capability Fund.
Local EV Infrastructure Fund Pilot |
|
| £31,939,189 |
Local EV Infrastructure Capability Fund |
|
| £7,644,060 |
Total | £33,360,045 | £89,177,839 | £82,135,305 |
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Taking charge: the electric vehicle infrastructure strategy, published by his Department in March 2022, what progress he has made on meeting the aim of having at least 300,000 public charge points by 2030.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As of 1 September 2023, the Government and industry have supported the installation of over 48,100 public charging devices in the UK. This represents an increase of 43 per cent since September 2022, a growth rate consistent with over 300,000 public charging devices in the UK by 2030.
Looking forward, the Government expects a market-led rollout for the majority of electric vehicle chargepoints, which will be supported by public investment in key areas. The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund will support local authorities to work with industry to increase the number of chargepoints across England. This Fund will help residents without access to off-street parking to have better access to electric vehicle chargepoints. At the same time, the Rapid Charging Fund will future-proof electrical capacity to accelerate the rollout of high-powered chargers on the strategic road network.