Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with rail service providers on tackling anti-social behaviour on railway services in (a) Enfield North Constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield, and (c) London.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) on the rail network in London and throughout the country is a top priority for the British Transport Police (BTP).
Where ASB hotspots have been identified, BTP implements Problem-solving Plans (PSPs) in partnership with its policing and non-policing partners which target their resources and activity to deal with local issues of concern.
Problem Solving Plans are a structured method used to understand the nature and causes of problems that affect communities and take preventative action in collaboration with partners and stakeholders. The focus is on getting to the root of the problem, identifying who can help (both within and outside of policing) and working together from the outset, along with thinking creatively on how to solve a problem.
Problem-solving Plans currently in place in London include (but are not limited to) Finsbury Park, Croydon, and Victoria.
Enfield is not in BTP’s top crime locations for ASB so there is no bespoke Problem-solving Plan in place, but BTP’s high visibility officers conduct on-board and station patrols in the local area to reassure passengers and staff, while deterring those who would engage in criminal behaviour.
If passengers see or experience ASB on the rail network, in Enfield, London or across the country they should report this to BTP using their text 61016 service or via the Railway Guardian app. In an emergency, they should always call 999.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of train stations to disabled people in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Plan for Rail announced a comprehensive accessibility audit of network facilities. Accessibility audits of all 2,575 GB mainline rail stations have now been completed and quality assured. Work is ongoing to consider how to make the data available to the public and policy makers.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made a recent assessment of his Department's progress on increasing the number of electric vehicle charging points in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The most recent published figures for London, London Borough of Enfield and Enfield North Constituency can be found in the tables below. The first table shows the number of public charging devices, and those public devices funded under the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS). From October 2022 to October 2023 London has seen a 54% increase in the number of public charging devices, and the London Borough of Enfield a 16% increase.
| Public Charging Devices (Oct 23) | ORCS Completed (Jul 23) | ORCS Approved Applications (Jul 23) |
London | 16,963 | 1,557 | 7,921 |
London Borough of Enfield | 242 | 23 | 32 |
Enfield North Constituency | 67 | Data not held | Data not held |
The second table shows residential and workplace devices funded by the following schemes: Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant (EVCG), Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS), Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) and Domestic Recharging Scheme (DRS).
| EVCG Sockets (Jul 23) | WCS Sockets (Jul 23) | EVHS (Jul 23) | DRS (Jul 23) |
London | 795 | 2,981 | 26,379 | 1,031 |
London Borough of Enfield | 29 | 92 | 1,145 | 27 |
Enfield North Constituency | 13 | 31 | 300 | 8 |
Going forward, the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund will support local authorities to work with industry and transform the availability of public charging for drivers without off-street parking.
London – which includes the Enfield North constituency – has been allocated £35.7 million in capital funding, and £3 million in capability (resource) funding through the LEVI Fund.
Local authorities can also continue to apply for support from the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS).
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data he holds on the average waiting time for a driving test in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London as of 27 October 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In October 2023, the average waiting time for a car practical driving test in (a) Enfield North Constituency and (b) the London Borough of Enfield was 24 weeks, and in (c) London it was 23.5 weeks.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the safety of pedestrians in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport updated the Highway Code on 29 January 2022 to include changes to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders. However, responsibility for managing London's road network is shared between Transport for London (TfL), National Highways, and the 32 London boroughs, plus the City of London. They are responsible for making decisions about local roads, based on their local knowledge and taking into account local needs.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the safety of pedestrians on rural roads (a) with Transport for London and local authorities in (i) Enfield North constituency and (ii) London and (b) in England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Responsibility for managing London's road network is shared between Transport for London, National Highways and the London boroughs.
At a national level, the Highway Code was updated on 29 January 2022 to include changes to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders. Key changes include the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, strengthening pedestrian priority on pavements and at crossings and guidance on safe passing distances when overtaking cyclists, pedestrians and horse-riders. The changes will lead to improvements in road safety as they encourage more mutual respect and consideration for all road users.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made a recent assessment of the safety of pedestrians on rural roads (a) with Transport for London in (i) Enfield North constituency and (ii) London and (b) in England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Responsibility for managing London's road network is shared between Transport for London, National Highways and the London boroughs.
At a national level, the Highway Code was updated on 29 January 2022 to include changes to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders. Key changes include the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, strengthening pedestrian priority on pavements and at crossings and guidance on safe passing distances when overtaking cyclists, pedestrians and horse-riders. The changes will lead to improvements in road safety as they encourage more mutual respect and consideration for all road users.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take steps to increase the powers of the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
In May 2023, we published a review into the function of the Traffic Commissioners of Great Britain. This review sought to produce a robust assessment of the function and align it wherever possible to Cabinet’s Office direction on Public Bodies reviews.
The review found that the Traffic Commissioner function generally operates effectively and can meet the standards of service for the transport industry. It also identified that future, substantive, reform of the Traffic Commissioner function would require legislative changes to be made. These will need to be considered alongside other Government priorities.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the powers of the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
In May 2023, we published a review into the function of the Traffic Commissioners of Great Britain. This review sought to produce a robust assessment of the function and align it wherever possible to Cabinet’s Office direction on Public Bodies reviews.
The review found that the Traffic Commissioner function generally operates effectively and can meet the standards of service for the transport industry. It also identified that future, substantive, reform of the Traffic Commissioner function would require legislative changes to be made. These will need to be considered alongside other Government priorities.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the dates on which he held meetings with the Traffic Commissioner for London and the south east since November 2022; and if he will publish the minutes from those meetings.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Since November 2022, the Secretary of State has not met with the Traffic Commissioner for London and the South-East.