Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with Network Rail on the steps it is taking to ensure the health and wellbeing of neighbours impacted by rail maintenance.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I am replying as Minister responsible. I am not aware of any discussions between the Secretary of State and Network Rail on this issue. The health and wellbeing of lineside neighbours is a key consideration for Network Rail in undertaking any essential rail maintenance work. These are reflected in Network Rail’s safety management system arrangements, which covers how they manage operations and connected activities to ensure that disturbance is minimised as far as reasonably practicable, whilst upholding their statutory duties on safety and performance.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance she has issued on the recourse available to neighbours to Network Rail maintenance and construction projects for disputes relating to planned works.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While the Secretary of State has not issued specific guidance on this, there are options available for raising a dispute. Ahead of planned works Network Rail consults with communities affected, to address their concerns. Compensation for disruption will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Network Rail has a contact centre and webpage which details the process for making a complaint: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/contact-us/making-a-complaint/.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating additional funding for volunteer led community transport schemes.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department makes available over £3 million each year to community transport operators through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), supporting them to continue delivering inclusive and accessible transport across the country.
An uplift of 60% has been added to BSOG claims for community transport operators until 31 March 2025. This means operators will receive £1.60 for every £1 claimed, reflecting the increased costs faced by the sector.
We also encourage Local Transport Authorities to engage with community transport operators when preparing their Bus Service Improvement Plans which are vital in setting out an areas’ long term plans for bus services and how they will be improved.
The bus fare cap, only available in England, has proven popular with bus passengers in communities across England, particularly in rural and non-metropolitan areas, where our statistics show the overall price of bus fares between September 2022 and September 2023 dropped by almost 11%.
Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) in England, also devolved, is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 16 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Angus, (b) Scotland, and (c) the UK who are awaiting a practical driving test; and how many are awaiting such tests at the Arbroath remote testing centre.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
There are four driving test centres (DTC) that service the Angus region. The table below shows the number of people booked to take their test at (a) each of the four DTCs that service the Angus region (b) Scotland, and (c) Great Britain.
(a) Angus region |
| Number of forward bookings | Number of slots available |
| Arbroath | 234 | 3 |
| Dundee | 1,320 | 685 |
| Forfar | 186 | 21 |
| Montrose | 223 | 14 |
(b) Scotland | . | 44,080 | 7,143 |
(c) Great Britain | . | 525,070 | 51,363 |
There are four driving test centres (DTC) that service the Angus region. The table below shows the number of people booked to take their test at (a) each of the four DTCs that service the Angus region (b) Scotland, and (c) Great Britain.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many practical driving tests were carried out in Arbroath between 1 March 2022 and 1 March 2023; and what proportion of the examiners recruited in 2022 have commenced their posts in (a) Scotland, and (b) Angus.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
There are four driving test centres (DTC) that service the Angus region. The table below shows the number of people booked to take their test at (a) each of the four DTCs that service the Angus region (b) Scotland, and (c) Great Britain.
(a) Angus region |
| Number of forward bookings | Number of slots available |
| Arbroath | 234 | 3 |
| Dundee | 1,320 | 685 |
| Forfar | 186 | 21 |
| Montrose | 223 | 14 |
(b) Scotland | . | 44,080 | 7,143 |
(c) Great Britain | . | 525,070 | 51,363 |
Between 1 March 2022 and 1 March 2023, there were 407 car practical driving tests carried out at Arbroath DTC.
9% of driving examiners recruited in Great Britain in 2022 have commenced their posts in Scotland. This is in direct response to Scotland having 8.4% of the total number of forward bookings in Great Britain.
Driving examiners based at Dundee DTC service the four DTCs in the Angus region. 1% of driving examiners recruited in Great Britain in 2022 have commenced their posts at Dundee. This is in direct response to the Angus region having 0.4% of the total number of forward bookings in Great Britain.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many practical driving test were carried out per week on average in Arbroath (a) in 2019 and (b) between 1 January and 1 May 2022.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
As of 13 May 2022:
The waiting time for a practical car test at Arbroath is five weeks.
In 2019, 11 practical car driving tests were carried out, on average, per week, at Arbroath. 12 practical driving tests were carried out, on average, per week, at Arbroath between 1 January and 1 May 2022.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Angus and (b) the UK awaiting a practical driving test; and of those how many are awaiting those tests at the Abroath remote testing centre.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
As of 13 May 2022:
The waiting time for a practical car test at Arbroath is five weeks.
In 2019, 11 practical car driving tests were carried out, on average, per week, at Arbroath. 12 practical driving tests were carried out, on average, per week, at Arbroath between 1 January and 1 May 2022.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of delays at Dover on Scottish hauliers who transport high value, perishable goods long distances and for whom those delays can cause loss of earnings.
Answered by Robert Courts
Defra, who hold responsibility for the food sector, has well established ways of working with the food industry to monitor issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains. Our focus has been to work with our Kent Resilience Forum partners to solve the disruption in Kent as quickly as possible to support all hauliers, recognising the work they have done alongside Port of Dover, Eurotunnel and operators to get people moving as quickly as possible under difficult circumstances.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic development achievable by investing in maritime decarbonisation in the UK’s coastal communities; and what steps the Government will take to ensure that development is achieved equitably between all nations of the UK.
Answered by Robert Courts
The Department has made no assessment of the level of economic development achievable by investing in maritime decarbonisation in the UK’s coastal communities. However, in 2019, alongside the Clean Maritime Plan, the Department published an assessment which identified that low and zero emissions shipping could result in potential economic benefits to the UK of around £360-£510 million per year by the middle of the century.
Maritime UK has published its views that investment in maritime decarbonisation could in future create jobs in all four nations of the United Kingdom, particularly in coastal communities with a tradition of maritime economic activity, including shipbuilding.
Industry research estimates that in 2017 the UK maritime sector as a whole directly supported more than 220,000 jobs for UK employees.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the DVLA plans to substantively respond to the ongoing case of the constituent of the hon. Member for Angus, reference DD4418.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
A reply to the correspondence referred to was sent by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on 21 October. The reply included an apology for the delay in responding.