Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the maintenance regime for balancing ponds owned by National Highways.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The maintenance requirements of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) are governed by a robust set of standards - the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) - and National Highways determines the maintenance works to be undertaken on all assets, based on the GM701 standard which details asset maintenance requirements. While no specific assessment has been made by the Department on the effectiveness of the standards for maintaining SRN balancing ponds, standards are continually evolving in line with best practice.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of maintaining balancing ponds owned by National Highways.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Maintenance costs for the Strategic Road Network (SRN) are borne by National Highways and their financial systems do not categorise spending to the level of sub-asset class granularity. I, therefore, cannot provide a reliable estimate for the costs of maintaining balancing ponds.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring balancing ponds owned by National Highways to Internal Drainage Boards.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No such assessments have been undertaken on the potential merits of transferring ownership of balancing ponds.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of constructing East-West Rail in 2024 prices.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
£1.3bn has been provided towards the delivery of East West Rail Connection Stage 1 (CS1) which will provide services from Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes.
The capital cost estimate for Connection Stages 2 (Oxford-Bedford) and 3 (Oxford-Cambridge) is £5bn-£6bn in 2021 prices. Final costs for the project will be driven by scope and design choices.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of train delays in (a) Q3 and (b) Q4 2024 on productivity.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Whilst the Department has not made an assessment of the impact of train delays on productivity, we recognise the inconvenience and costs felt by passengers, local communities and businesses arising from poor performance.
Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers. The Department expects passenger services currently operated by private sector operators under contract with the Secretary of State to transfer into public ownership over the next three years. The failures of the past three decades cannot be fixed overnight, but bringing train operations into public ownership is the first step in the government’s plans to improve the railways for passengers and taxpayers.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to improve the reliability of train services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Improving railway performance and delivering reform is a top priority for the Department. Ministers continue to meet with Managing Directors of the worst performing train operators and their Network Rail counterparts to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards. Furthermore, performance information will be displayed at stations, demonstrating transparency, and allowing passengers to hold us to account as we deliver change.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with Thameslink on the performance of services on the Bedford Line.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Recent levels of disruption experienced on Thameslink due to delays and cancellations are clearly not acceptable and passengers deserve better.
Ministers are meeting with the Managing Directors of all Train Operating Companies and their Network Rail counterparts to address poor performance and what is being done to improve it. Department officials also continually monitor the Train Operators’ performance and meet with them and Network Rail to ensure they deliver improvements to services.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of delayed services on the Bedford Line in (a) Q3 and (b) Q4 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Information relating to the number of delayed services on the Bedford line is not held by the department. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publishes quarterly statistics on punctuality and reliability for passenger trains in Great Britain at: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/. Table 3133 shows Train punctuality at recorded station stops by operator in Great Britain, quarterly from April 2014 to June 2024. The operators servicing the Bedford line are Govia Thameslink Railway and the East Midlands Railway.
Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers. Cancellations are at a ten-year high and punctuality is inconsistent across the network. We need to improve services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.
Ministers continue to meet with the Managing Directors of the worst performing TOCs and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken to help the automotive industry meet the 2030 phase-out date for petrol and diesel cars.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We will continue to support industry and consumers to make the switch to zero emission vehicles, with over £300 million announced in the Budget to drive uptake of electric vehicles and £2 billion to support the transition of domestic manufacturing and supply chain.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had discussions with Stellantis on the phase-out timeline for petrol and diesel cars.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State met Stellantis on multiple occasions throughout the summer and more recently in relation to its manufacturing presence in the UK. The Department has close engagement with the vehicle industry and engages regularly on topics including the transition to zero emission vehicles.