Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of public transport in County Durham.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department for Transport is investing in the bus sector to deliver the ambitions of the National Bus Strategy to make bus services more reliable and cheaper. We are providing over £2 billion of funding for English Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) outside London to support the delivery of Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), including the introduction of new services. This includes the recent announcement of an additional £1 billion redirected from HS2 to support bus services in the North and Midlands.
We have also announced that a new uplift of 60% will be added to Community Transport Operators’ (CTOs) Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) claims until 31 March 2025. On top of this, we have extended the £2 bus fare cap until the end of 2024, meaning we are investing nearly £600 million in total to cap bus fares.
North East Combined Authority and North of Tyne Combined Authority received £163,521,172 in Government funding to make improvements set out in their joint BSIP up to March 2025 in the first phase of BSIP funding. They have also been indicatively allocated £11.2 million in further BSIP funding from Network North for 2024/25. The allocations for future years will be published in due course.
Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that there is an adequate supply of rest areas for HGV drivers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government recognises the need to ensure hauliers have access to appropriate services and facilities.
We are aware of the concerns expressed by many HGV drivers about the provision, quality and value of lorry parking in the UK. We have announced £32.5 million in new funding to improve roadside facilities for hauliers and are undertaking a new National Lorry Parking Survey supported by direct industry engagement to help identify where improvements are most needed. We continue to engage with key stakeholders to encourage the development of safe, secure and high-quality lorry parking.
The National Planning Policy Framework already sets out that local planning policies and decisions should recognise the importance of providing overnight lorry parking facilities, taking into account any local shortages, to reduce the risk of parking in locations that lack proper facilities or could cause a nuisance.
The Government recently published a Written Ministerial Statement to reinforce the importance of providing hauliers with access to parking and services.
The Department for Transport continues to work with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUCH) to highlight the criteria and consideration for lorry parking with Local Authorities.
Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that rural communities have the infrastructure necessary to enable the use of electric vehicles.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We want people across the country to have the opportunity to make the move to electric vehicles (EVs). Most EV drivers choose to charge their cars at home, overnight (and 85% of dwellings in rural areas have off-street parking) or increasingly at the workplace. For those without access or undertaking longer journeys, public charging is important.
The Department has committed over £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure on motorways and major A roads, in homes and businesses and on-street. Government will publish its forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy soon. This will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the whole of the UK, including rural areas. It will also set out roles and responsibilities for ensuring charging infrastructure rollout is delivered at the pace needed to transition to a zero-emission car and van fleet. We will continue to monitor this situation and consider the case for direct central government support in rural areas if required.
The On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) is available to all UK local authorities, including those with rural areas, to apply to and provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking. £20 million is available in the 2021-22 financial year. To support local authorities in accessing this funding, DfT funds Energy Saving Trust to offer expert advice on EV charging and support on developing EV strategies. Energy Saving Trust, in partnership with DfT, also hosts a library of webinars and guidance for local authorities on installing charging points. This includes webinars specifically for rural local authorities.
Government will also launch a Local EV infrastructure Fund, which will be available to English local authorities in 2022-23. This fund will facilitate the roll-out of larger scale charging infrastructure projects across the country.
In addition, this year, we will expand the Workplace Charging Scheme to support small accommodation businesses and charities to install chargepoints for their guests and visitors. This should help provision of more chargepoints in rural areas, for example it should support places like village halls provide chargepoints for their communities.
Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the delays in licensing applications at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are dealt with in a timely manner.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed.
Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is the Government taking to help resolve delays to licensing applications at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The DVLA understands the impact of delays on those who make paper applications and is working hard to process them as quickly as possible. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
The majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online here.
Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to include hydrogen trains in the Transport decarbonisation plan; and what his timeframe is for ordering the first hydrogen train fleet.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Government is developing an ambitious Transport Decarbonisation Plan to achieve net zero emissions across all modes of transport. The Network Rail-led Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy (TDNS) makes recommendations about whether hydrogen or battery trains or electrification will likely be the best way to decarbonise each part of the network. TDNS will inform the Transport Decarbonisation Plan and the procurement of rolling stock.
The Department is supporting work to understand and develop hydrogen trains, so that they can be introduced smoothly onto lines where and when they are appropriate.
Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
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 trialling hydrogen trains on the Tees Valley line to help decarbonise the railway network.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Government believes that there will be a role for hydrogen trains in decarbonising the railway. My Department is considering the case for running hydrogen trains in Teesside.
Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made in introducing E10 fuel to UK forecourts as part of the Government’s Build Back Better and green recovery plans.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We plan to publish the Government response to our consultation on the introduction of E10 as soon as possible.
Asked by: Dehenna Davison (Conservative - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on ensuring the effective control of levels of pay in arm's-length bodies connected to his Department.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Transport bodies deliver complex, nationally important, infrastructure that is critical to building back better – however exceptional pay demands exceptional performance and remuneration must be proportionate. We are firmly focused on addressing the issue of high pay within the transport sector. The overall senior pay bill to taxpayers has reduced this year by over £1 million, and we intend to continue this trend.
Each year, the Cabinet Office publishes transparency data on senior salaries at public sector bodies. Analysis of this data since 2015 for Network Rail, Highways England and HS2 Ltd shows that an overall downward trend in pay awards to these high earners has begun, both in numbers of staff involved and total spend.
The Secretary of State has taken a personal interest in this issue and is bearing down on senior pay at the Department of Transport’s Arms-Length Bodies. This includes agreeing with some CEOs and Chairs voluntary, temporary, pay cuts in the light of current economic circumstances.
Taxpayers must be confident that their money is being spent wisely, with due regard to real-world performance and conditions.