Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of building a railway station in Galgate.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Local Transport Fund granted £494 million to Lancashire to take forward local transport projects. The Government believes that local authorities are best placed to promote and take forward transport schemes that will most benefit their local areas. I would therefore encourage local stakeholders to work together to develop proposals and a business case for schemes such as a railway station in Galgate.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the economic impact of electrifying the railway line between Lancaster and Morecambe.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Electrification, alongside alternative technologies such as hydrogen, battery and bi-modes, will play an important role in meeting our Net Zero targets. We are working with the Great British Rail Transition Team to bring forward options to decarbonise the whole network including Lancaster to Morecambe for government to carefully consider in terms of overall deliverability and affordability
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of the HS2 budget will be allocated to transport upgrades in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The PM has set out that all of the savings from Phase 2 of HS2 will be spent in the North. This includes investing £3.3bn to tackle potholes and extending the bus fare cap until the end of 2024 in England which will help improve transport for users in the region. The new Local Integrated Transport Settlements and future rounds of the Major Road Network programme will provide further opportunities for investment over the coming decade. We continue to invest in the region through our existing programmes, such as the improvements to the A585 between Windy Harbour to Skippool which is due to open in March 2024.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to reopen the railway line into Fleetwood as part of Network North.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Fleetwood rail line reopening project is part of the Restoring Your Railway Programme rather than Network North.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to improve air quality on the A6 between junctions 33 and 34 of the M6 motorway.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Local authorities are required by the Environment Act 1995 to review air quality in their area and designate an Air Quality Management Area if improvements are necessary. Lancaster City Council is responsible for reviewing and assessing local air quality in this location.
Through the Environment Act 2021, Government strengthened requirements for local authority Air Quality Action Plans and we are challenging councils to use their existing powers and responsibilities more effectively to deliver improvements to air quality.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the level and quality of service provided to rail users at Lancaster station using (a) Northern, (b) TransPenine Express and (c) Avanti West Coast rail services in the last year.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department routinely engages with all rail operators on service frequency and quality of service across the network, including at Lancaster Station. Operators are evaluated on the standards that they deliver at stations and onboard through the contractual Service Quality Regime and the results of these evaluations are available online at each of the operator’s respective websites. The Department will continue to work collaboratively with train operating companies to ensure a high performing railway contributes to growth and local economies.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in Lancaster on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the North West.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.
Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons his Department has reduced the budget for active travel.
Answered by Jesse Norman
This Government has done more than any other in relation to the promotion of walking and cycling, and it remains fully committed to the vision that by 2030 half of all journeys in towns and cities are walked or cycled. This is in addition to the objectives outlined in the second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
Around £3 billion is projected to be invested in active travel up to 2025, despite the need for efficiency savings across Government due to global financial pressures, triggered by the impact of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, as well as supply chain disruption as the global economy recovers from the effects of Covid-19.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to reopen the Poulton-le-Fylde to Fleetwood railway line.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Network Rail has recently concluded the latest phase of development work for the Fleetwood to Poulton project, as part of the wider Restoring Your Railway programme. An updated Strategic Outline Business Case is now with the Department for consideration.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to help support disabled drivers in the haulage industry.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Drivers who may have a disability can drive an HGV so long as they meet the medical standard required. There are more stringent medical and eyesight standards for driving larger vehicles due to the size and weight of the vehicle and the length of time a professional driver typically spends at the wheel.
The Government provides annual grant funding to the Mobility Centres of England, who conduct driving assessments for older/disabled people. Two of these Mobility Centres, in Carshalton and Birmingham, offer driving assessments for older/disabled HGV and PSV drivers.
The Government and industry is investing up to £100 million to improve roadside facilities and rest areas via the ‘HGV parking and welfare grant scheme’ and National Highways funding to improve roadside facilities. This funding can be used for upgrading and improving facilities for disabled drivers.