Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of local authority rules in tackling the negative effects of jet ski usage.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Local and harbour authorities have wide-ranging powers to introduce measures to respond to the negative effects of personal watercraft usage. They are best placed to decide how to ensure safety for all users in the waters they manage given significant differences in local geography and usage. Guidance, including case studies looking at effective management strategies, is available.
The Department for Transport is supporting these authorities through the introduction of new national legislation to further strengthen enforcement measures.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of (a) responsible and (b) irresponsible use of Jet Skis on (i) the marine environment and (ii) people including other water users and local residents.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Most people ride personal watercraft, like jet skis, safely and responsibly and as a result serious issues are rare. There are a small minority of users who through their irresponsible actions put other people at risk.
Local and harbour authorities already have wide-ranging powers to introduce measures to respond to dangerous or anti-social behaviour. The Department is supporting them through the introduction of new national legislation to further strengthen enforcement measures.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of learners waiting for a practical driving test; and whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of measures taken to reduce the driving test backlog over the past 12 months.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has a 24 week forward booking window and driving tests are not available to book beyond this.
As of 17 November 2022, there were 550,331 car practical tests booked.
Since April 2021, the DVSA has created 595,000 extra car practical driving tests appointments, to help reduce waiting times, by:
Measure introduced | Number of car practical driving slots created |
Recruiting new driving examiners | 245,000 |
Conducting out of normal hours testing through overtime, including at weekends and on public holidays | 165,000 |
Asking colleagues who are qualified to carry out driving tests, but do not do so as part of their normal duties, to do so | 105,000 |
Converting any unsold motorcycle tests and vocational tests to car tests 7 days before the test appointment | 55,000 |
Buying back annual leave from driving examiners | 20,000 |
Inviting recently retired driving examiners to return to work | 6,500 |
The cumulative total of the measures introduced (in the table above) has reduced the length of time forecasted for the DVSA to recover its driving test service by 20 months.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
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 extending the validity of foreign driving licences beyond 12 months in the context of delays in obtaining practical driving test appointments.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Holders of a valid driving licence issued by a country outside of the EU/EEA can drive small vehicles (cars up to 3,500kg and motorcycles), provided entitlement is shown on their licence, for 12 months from the date they become resident in GB. After this time, unless they have a licence from a country designated for driving licence exchange purposes, they are required to take a GB driving test.
The 12-month period is a concession that allows drivers who live and regularly drive in GB to continue to do so before having to demonstrate that they comply with the standards that apply to GB licence holders. There are no plans to change this requirement.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working hard to provide as many practical driving test appointments as it can, with several measures in place to do this. The DVSA is recruiting more driving examiners to help increase driving test availability.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that train tracks can function as normal during heatwaves.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Network Rail has well-established operational measures it implements to protect infrastructure and manage services safely during extreme weather events, such as line speed restrictions, diversions and painting parts of the railway tracks white.
Looking ahead, we want industry to proactively prepare wherever possible, but also to explore new technology which could help improve resilience.
Network Rail launched a resilience task force in July to review the UK rail networks capacity to deal with extreme heat, which will be led by independent experts. It will make recommendations on how the railway can develop its approach to resilience during hot weather.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to tackle motorists who add aftermarket mufflers to their exhaust systems in order to dramatically increase the noise produced by their vehicles.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
The Government takes the impact of traffic noise on communities seriously . Manufacturers of motor vehicles, including motorcycles and mopeds, are required to demonstrate compliance with strict noise limits before placing products on the market.
The police have powers to act if they suspect an exhaust has been modified to increase noise above these limits The Department is engaging with the police on the role of 'noise camera' technology in more targeted, efficient and effective enforcement
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with (a) manufacturers and (b) other stakeholders to ensure that all motorcycles and mopeds do not exceed limits for vehicle volume.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
The Government takes the impact of traffic noise on communities seriously . Manufacturers of motor vehicles, including motorcycles and mopeds, are required to demonstrate compliance with strict noise limits before placing products on the market.
The police have powers to act if they suspect an exhaust has been modified to increase noise above these limits The Department is engaging with the police on the role of 'noise camera' technology in more targeted, efficient and effective enforcement
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will put in place a new sustainable funding settlement for cycle training budgets in local authorities.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department for Transport has provided a record £20million funding for Bikeability cycle training in English local authorities outside London in 2022/23. Funding for the Bikeability programme in subsequent years, as well as revenue funding settlements for local authorities which support a range of activities including cycle training, will be a matter for Active Travel England and will come from the £710 million provided for walking and cycling at the last Spending Review. Funding for Bikeability in London is a matter for the Mayor.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to provide advice to people who miss their flights as a result of airport disruption and delays.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) provide air passengers information on what to do if something goes wrong with their flight. To further support air passengers, the Government announced as part of the Flightpath to the Future, that it will publish an Aviation Passenger Charter, developed in partnership with the sector and consumer groups, to ensure consumers are aware of their rights and responsibilities throughout their journey, including what to do if something goes wrong. The Charter will be essential for consumers, granting them clear and easily accessible information that they need when travelling by air.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle airport staff shortages.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The aviation industry operates in the private sector and therefore it is the responsibility of the industry to manage demands, recruit and roster staff, and have appropriate mitigations in place. However, we are working closely with the sector and airports to ensure resilience and services are as should be expected for passengers, and are pressing the sector to ensure their summer schedules are deliverable.
As set out in Flightpath to the future: a strategic framework for the aviation sector, published on 26th May 2022, skills retention for highly trained jobs needs to be a key element of the aviation sector’s recovery plan. That is why my Department launched the Aviation Skills Retention Platform and Talentview Aviation in February 2021 and November 2021 respectively to support skills retention and recruitment in the aviation sector.
In addition, we have introduced new legislation to allow certain training to be undertaken while industry background reference checks are completed. I have also permitted HMRC employment history letters to be used as part of the reference check. Both will help to speed up recruitment times.