Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the decision by Avanti West Coast to withdraw the daily direct service between Shrewsbury and London after June 2024.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
While Avanti will be withdrawing this service due to the very low number of passengers who use it, West Midlands Trains has plans to ramp up the number of trains between Shropshire towns and Birmingham, while Avanti is looking to increase fast services between Birmingham and London. This will bring greater benefits to more passengers in the West Midlands. Furthermore, the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway Company has applied to operate services between Wrexham General and London Euston, which would include calling at Shrewsbury and other stations in North Wales and the West Midlands. While it is ultimately a decision for the Office of Rail and Road whether to approve this application, the Rail Minister has set out his support.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department holds information on external assessments made of the potential impact of the construction of the North West Relief Road on water supplies to Shrewsbury.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold information on external assessments made of the potential impact of the construction of the North West Relief Road on water supplies to Shrewsbury. Any information of this nature would be gathered by the local authority, Shropshire Council, not the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with Avanti West Coast on the reported content of an internal presentation referencing (a) the receipt of funds from the public purse and (b) conditions for the receipt of performance-related payments; and whether his Department has paid fees to Avanti to deliver services for which third-party suppliers and inspections have already been provided to deliver.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Officials have discussed this issue with senior managers at First Rail Holdings (Avanti West Coast Owning Group) and the Managing Director of Avanti West Coast. Further discussions will be taking place with Ministers.
The Department reimburses pre-agreed budgeted costs incurred by operators on a good and efficient basis.
Additionally, operators earn two types of fees. A fixed management fee and a performance-based fee. Payment of the performance-based fee is dependent on operators’ performance against contractual criteria and target measures.
One element of that performance component is the SQR Regime, which was fully implemented for Avanti in April 2023. This regime is entirely separate from the operational performance regime which incentivise the operator to manage on-time running and cancellation levels. To date no fees have been paid to Avanti under the SQR regime. The first period to be assessed to determine the Performance Fee are the scores for April to October 2023. The evaluation process for this period is underway.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of industrial action on the number of rail cancellations between Shrewsbury and (a) Birmingham and (b) London in 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold specific statistics on the cancellations caused by industrial action on services between Shrewsbury and either Birmingham or London during 2023. However, such action will undoubtedly have caused severe disruption and inconvenience for passengers on this route throughout the year.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using non-fungible tokens in the issuing of driving licences.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will continue to monitor any relevant ongoing work within government on non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will have discussions with Shropshire Council on the potential impact of the North West Relief Road on (a) levels of (i) congestion in Shrewsbury town centre and (ii) emissions and (b) journey times within Shrewsbury.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport continues to work with Shropshire Council, but has not yet received the Full Business Case (FBC) from them. Once this has been received, then officials will examine the local authority’s proposals before putting any recommendations to Ministers.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an estimate of the potential impact avoiding compulsory purchase of properties for the building of the North West Relief Road on the cost of building that Road.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The governance of a local road scheme such as the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road, including considering any potential impact of compulsory purchase of properties for that road scheme, is overseen by the local authority, in this case, Shropshire Council. This would therefore be a matter for them.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the number of daily direct trains between Shrewsbury and London.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The pandemic has changed travel habits, and we have seen some substantial changes in passenger demand for rail travel. Operators are using this opportunity to reassess their services to ensure they provide rail timetables that meet new passenger travel patterns, are fit for the future, and carefully balance cost, capacity and performance.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to release funds from the northern leg of HS2 to improve the railway line between Shrewsbury and Birmingham New Street stations.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Although upgrading this line was not included in the Network North plan, £9.6 billion funding has been allocated towards transport infrastructure enhancements across the Midlands. This does not preclude the scheme from being funded in the future, and I understand Midlands Connect’s Strategic Outline Business Case outlines the potential benefits of the scheme for line-speed improvements to the Shewsbury to Wolverhampton line.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the building of the North West Relief Road on congestion in Shrewsbury.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport continues to work with local stakeholders, including the MP and Shropshire Council, and is currently awaiting receipt of the Full Business Case (FBC). The scheme, along with its impact, will be assessed by my department once Shropshire Council submit the FBC.