Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will work with the Secretary of State for Education to set a target for the proportion of children to have benefited from cycling proficiency training by the end of Year 6, including through the Bikeability programme.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Since 2007 the Department for Transport has provided funding for over four million children in England, outside London, to learn safe cycling skills through Bikeability cycle training, and our manifesto commits us to extending cycle training to every child.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of amending the Advance Payment Code to empower local highway authorities to resolve unresolved section 38 Highways Act 1980 negotiations.
Answered by Karl McCartney
Local authorities are responsible for the setting their own design standards for their streets. It is not possible to design national standards as every community is different. It is entirely a matter for individual authorities to decide the standards for their network. The Department provides good practice guidance to assist local authorities in setting design standards
Where a developer obtains planning permission for a new development they will consider how or if they wish the roads on that development to be adopted. They may seek to have roads on that development adopted by entering into an agreement with the highway authority under the Highways Act 1980, or they may decide that their development will remain private and that the roads will not become public highway – for example as in a gated community.
Local authorities can use planning conditions or section 106 planning obligations to secure a commitment from developers to provide and maintain communal spaces and facilities. It is up to developers and local planning authorities to agree appropriate funding arrangements for developments with common areas or shared services. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities are responsible for planning policy.
No assessment has been made of amending the advance payment code to resolve section 38 Highways Act 1980 negotiations. We have previously published an advice note on the process of adopting private roads into the public road network and an updated version is to be published shortly.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if officials in his Department will hold discussions with representatives of the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport on standardising procedures and requirements across local highways authorities to increase the number of housing estate roads for adoption by specifying minimum adoption standards and enable developers to offer those roads for adoption.
Answered by Karl McCartney
Local authorities are responsible for the setting their own design standards for their streets. It is not possible to design national standards as every community is different. It is entirely a matter for individual authorities to decide the standards for their network. The Department provides good practice guidance to assist local authorities in setting design standards
Where a developer obtains planning permission for a new development they will consider how or if they wish the roads on that development to be adopted. They may seek to have roads on that development adopted by entering into an agreement with the highway authority under the Highways Act 1980, or they may decide that their development will remain private and that the roads will not become public highway – for example as in a gated community.
Local authorities can use planning conditions or section 106 planning obligations to secure a commitment from developers to provide and maintain communal spaces and facilities. It is up to developers and local planning authorities to agree appropriate funding arrangements for developments with common areas or shared services. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities are responsible for planning policy.
No assessment has been made of amending the advance payment code to resolve section 38 Highways Act 1980 negotiations. We have previously published an advice note on the process of adopting private roads into the public road network and an updated version is to be published shortly.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will conduct and publish an analysis of the monthly costs of ownership and operation of electric cars compared to petrol and diesel cars, based on indicative model types and scenarios of usage.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government has no current plans to publish such regular analysis. The monthly cost of electric vehicle ownership will depend on the vehicle type, the driver’s recharging pattern and usage.
We will continue to support industry and motorists to make the switch to zero emission vehicles. Phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 will put the UK on course to be the G7 country that will decarbonise cars and vans fastest. We expect total cost of ownership to reach price parity during the 2020s, compared to petrol and diesel cars.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 October 2020 to Question 98205 on roads: noise, when his Department plans to publish the results of the initial trials of a prototype acoustic camera.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Due to the pressures on the Department arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the necessity to temporarily redeploy staff, consideration of the research on the initial trials of a prototype acoustic camera has been re-phased.
The Government anticipates the results will be published in the summer.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on trends and patterns in (a) vehicle noise measurements and (b) complaints about vehicle noise.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department does not hold data on trends and patterns in vehicle noise measurements, but commissioned research in 2018 to better understand the prevalence of excessive vehicle noise and the options for reducing it.
The Department has seen an increase in the number of enquiries about vehicle noise over the past three years. It should be noted that this trend cannot be reliably linked to a change in individual vehicle noise levels or to the prevalence of excessively noisy vehicles due to the subjective nature of vehicle noise complaints.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support the transition to electric vehicles in rural areas.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
This Government is going further and faster to decarbonise transport by phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. We want people across the country to have the opportunity to make the move to electric vehicles. The Government had already committed £1.5 billion to support the early market and remove barriers to electric vehicle ownership. Alongside the new phase out dates we have pledged a further £2.8 billion package of measures to support industry and consumers to make the switch to cleaner vehicles. This support is available in both urban and rural areas across the UK
Today, a driver is never more than 25 miles away from a rapid?chargepoint?anywhere along England’s motorways and major A roads. Local authorities in rural areas are able to take advantage of the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), which assists them with the cost of installing chargepoints on residential streets. The Government will continue to monitor market developments to determine whether any significant gaps in charging infrastructure provision emerge where there may be a case for further measures.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to amend the Air Navigation Directions 2017 to require the Civil Aviation Authority when considering airspace change proposals to undertake an assessment of the available safety data regarding all airspace users and publish a statement on how proposals satisfy the requirements of the operators and owners of all aircraft; and whether the post-implementation review of the airspace change proposal that came into force at Farnborough Airport in February 2020 will include an analysis of safety data.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Air Navigation Directions 2017 are kept under review but there are no immediate plans to amend them.
When undertaking the post-implementation review of the Farnborough Airport airspace change, the Civil Aviation Authority will consider the safety and operational characteristics of this proposal, including available flight data, and then determine whether the proposal has met its regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people are waiting for a (a) theory and (b) practical driving test; how many of those tests are available; and what steps he has discussed with the DVSA to increase the availability of those tests.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is restoring its testing services with new COVID safe procedures in place to keep people safe and help stop the spread of coronavirus. As the DVSA has been unable to provide its normal level of service for the past seven months, demand for theory and practical driving tests are higher than usual.
As of 20 October 2020:
The DVSA is working with its theory test supplier to extend opening hours and add additional days where local lockdown restrictions allow. There are over 709,000 theory tests available for candidates to book until the end of January 2021, and an additional 151,290 test slots up to the end of February 2021. In remote areas of Scotland, where possible, the DVSA has replaced the Mobile Testing Vehicle (MTV) with alternative venues to provide theory tests, and increased availability of appointments by extending opening/closing times with landlord agreement. In Wales, the DVSA has made an additional 82 theory test slots available (week commencing 19 October) to compensate for the lack of testing in the next fortnight due to the Welsh fire-breaker. It is reducing the levels of potential reschedules by allowing candidates to move tests forward.
The DVSA has also made over 375,000 practical car slots available to the end of January 2021, and an additional 85,000 test slots up to the end of February 2021. From 19 October, driving examiners increased the number of tests they conduct from five to six per day, which should help to reduce waiting times.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2020 to Question 63308 on roads: noise, what plans his Department has for the further development and testing of noise camera technology.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department’s initial trials of a prototype acoustic camera have concluded, and the results will be published shortly. The outcome of the trial is currently being considered, including what further development would be required to enable the technology to be used for more targeted and efficient enforcement.
Some of the challenges include blending of noise from other vehicles and the surrounding environment, and the effect of changing ambient conditions.