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Written Question
Bus Services: Coronavirus
Wednesday 16th September 2020

Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure additional support for the coach industry during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch

On 8 August, the Government announced a funding package of over £40 million for Local Transport Authorities to procure additional, dedicated home to education transport services, including the provision of additional coach services.

This funding will help children and young people get to school and college, whilst social distancing reduces the capacity of existing public transport.

Coach operators could contact local authorities to discuss their home to school transportation plans.

The Government has also announced several measures available to UK businesses, including the coach sector, to support them through this time, including: a further exemption to the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations until July 2021; Government recognition of refund credits under the Bonded Coach Holiday Scheme to allow customers to book a future holiday or request a refund when trading resumes; and access to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan Scheme, and Time to Pay.

Written Question
Trailers: Registration
Wednesday 20th February 2019

Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of trailer registration charges on the operations of the haulage sector.

Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

An impact assessment was carried out on the effect of introducing a trailer registration requirement and was published alongside the Trailer Registration Regulations 2018.

The cost to business and private users of large non-commercial trailers was assessed as follows:-

  • Familiarisation costs estimated at a one-off cost at £7 per trailer

  • Trailer registration fee expected to be no more than £28 (one-off cost) per trailer and since confirmed at £26

  • Registration plate at an average cost of £16 from private suppliers

Trailer users will benefit from avoiding enforcement costs that may otherwise be incurred during international travel. Overall the benefits of the scheme are expected to be much greater than the costs and this scheme has been broadly welcomed by industry.

Speech in Westminster Hall - Wed 11 Oct 2017
HGV Driver Regulation

"I beg to move,

That this House has considered regulation of HGV drivers sleeping in their vehicles.

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this issue, which is of great concern to hauliers and residents in my constituency. I will touch on three important and closely related aspects of …..."
Gordon Henderson - View Speech

View all Gordon Henderson (Con - Sittingbourne and Sheppey) contributions to the debate on: HGV Driver Regulation
Speech in Westminster Hall - Wed 11 Oct 2017
HGV Driver Regulation

"I am more than happy to agree with my hon. Friend. It is a national issue, but she is right that we have a particular problem down in Kent, because we are the gateway to the country, so suffer far worse than anyone else. With regard to the facilities, I …..."
Gordon Henderson - View Speech

View all Gordon Henderson (Con - Sittingbourne and Sheppey) contributions to the debate on: HGV Driver Regulation
Speech in Westminster Hall - Wed 11 Oct 2017
HGV Driver Regulation

"I agree wholeheartedly with the hon. Gentleman. Part of what I am saying is for the benefit not only of hauliers but of drivers, who deserve and should be given decent working conditions, including decent accommodation when they have their 45-hour rest.

On off-street parking, in November 2015, the then …..."
Gordon Henderson - View Speech

View all Gordon Henderson (Con - Sittingbourne and Sheppey) contributions to the debate on: HGV Driver Regulation
Speech in Westminster Hall - Wed 11 Oct 2017
HGV Driver Regulation

"I fully agree. My hon. Friend mentioned enforcement; there should be an increase in fines for those who break the law and the police should be given more resources to assist the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in issuing those fines. We should move quickly to provide the lorry parks …..."
Gordon Henderson - View Speech

View all Gordon Henderson (Con - Sittingbourne and Sheppey) contributions to the debate on: HGV Driver Regulation
Speech in Westminster Hall - Wed 11 Oct 2017
HGV Driver Regulation

"Existing lorry parks are chargeable, and I think that any future lorry parks will be chargeable. However, there is no point having a charge for a lorry park if there is no lorry park in the first instance. We are saying in Kent that we need more lorry parks, and …..."
Gordon Henderson - View Speech

View all Gordon Henderson (Con - Sittingbourne and Sheppey) contributions to the debate on: HGV Driver Regulation
Speech in Westminster Hall - Wed 11 Oct 2017
HGV Driver Regulation

"I accept everything that the Minister has said, but does he recognise that a £300 penalty is not as much of a deterrent as the £26,000 penalty in France? That leaves British hauliers who have to operate overseas at a disadvantage...."
Gordon Henderson - View Speech

View all Gordon Henderson (Con - Sittingbourne and Sheppey) contributions to the debate on: HGV Driver Regulation
Speech in Westminster Hall - Wed 11 Oct 2017
HGV Driver Regulation

"While I welcome the trial, the Minister will recognise that clamping down on lorries on the A20 will just move them to the A2 and A249, which will probably exacerbate the problem in our area...."
Gordon Henderson - View Speech

View all Gordon Henderson (Con - Sittingbourne and Sheppey) contributions to the debate on: HGV Driver Regulation
Written Question
Roads: Isle of Sheppey
Monday 4th July 2016

Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of traffic lights on the A2500 on (a) traffic flows and (b) the economy and quality of life on the Isle of Sheppey; and if he will take steps to expedite the building of a new roundabout at the junction with Barton Hill Drive.

Answered by Andrew Jones

The design, installation and maintenance of traffic management measures including traffic lights and roundabouts are the responsibility of the local traffic authority, in this case Kent County Council. It is for them to determine which solution is appropriate for a particular road or junction, taking into account local circumstances. I am grateful to my Honourable Friend for raising this issue and have written to Kent County Council to ask them to respond to him directly on it.