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Written Question
Northern: Contracts
Tuesday 29th October 2019

Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to maintain existing contracts between Northern Rail and subcontractors in the event that Northern Rail is taken into Government control.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

In the event that any franchise were to be taken into Government control, the standard practice would be for a Transfer Scheme to be put in place between the existing and new operator to transfer those existing contracts and assets that would be required for the continued running of the railway.


Written Question
Railway Stations: Access
Monday 9th September 2019

Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to increase funding to the Access for All scheme to allow more stations to be upgraded.

Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)

We have made a further £300m available, which has been allocated to projects until 2024. If the programme continues to be delivered successfully, DfT will make submissions for further funding in due course. In the meantime, if the industry installs, replaces or renews station infrastructure this will need to comply with current accessibility standards.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Thursday 5th September 2019

Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to help ensure that more public charging points are provided for electronic vehicles.

Answered by George Freeman

We want to encourage private sector investment to build and operate a self-sustaining public network that is affordable, reliable and accessible.

Government funding and leadership, alongside private sector investment, has supported the installation of more than 21,000 public chargepoints, 2,100 of which are rapid – creating one of the largest networks in Europe. In August the Secretary of State announced that funding for this year’s on street residential charging scheme, which offers grants to local authorities to support investment at a local level, would be doubled from £2.5 to £5 million. Highways England has also committed £15m to ensure there are chargepoints (rapid where possible) every 20 miles on 95% of the Strategic Road Network by 2020.

This is in addition to the £400m Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment Fund announced at the Autumn budget in 2017.


Written Question
M65
Tuesday 3rd September 2019

Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to work with Transport for the North to expand the M65 to Bradford and Leeds.

Answered by George Freeman

The Department announced in March 2019 that Highways England would work with Transport for the North on a study looking at options for improving road links between the M65 and north and west Yorkshire. The output of this study will inform consideration of the case for future investment.


Written Question
Skipton-Colne Railway Line
Tuesday 3rd September 2019

Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government supports the reinstatement of the rail link between Skipton and Colne.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Local stakeholders have championed the reinstatement of the Colne-Skipton railway line and work is currently progressing to assess the proposed scheme and determine if it can be made affordable, will attract sufficient traffic, and is part of the right long-term solution for trans-Pennine rail traffic.

We expect to receive the results later this year to inform a decision as to whether the scheme should progress to the ‘develop’ stage of the Government’s Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline. This is part of our new approach to rail enhancements to ensure we address the needs of passengers and freight, and that funding commitments appropriately reflect the stage of development of schemes.


Written Question
Transport for the North: Finance
Tuesday 3rd September 2019

Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to allocate additional funding to Transport for the North to implement the One North Strategic Transport Plan ahead of schedule.

Answered by George Freeman

The Government welcomed the launch of the Strategic Transport Plan and we are engaging with TfN as they seek to sequence and prioritise the projects contained within it.

We are already investing over £13bn in improving transport in the North – more than any Government in history. The current spending review period will end in 2020/21. Longer-term investment and funding decisions will be taken in due course.


Written Question
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Sales
Thursday 27th June 2019

Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the regulation of the sale of drones.

Answered by Michael Ellis

As set out in the Government’s recent drone consultation response on 7 January 2019, my Department is working with the Home Office and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy on product standards for drones. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has also published new product standards for drones which will become fully applicable by 2022. These include a mandatory requirement for drones to be fitted with geo-awareness software and being remotely identifiable before being placed on the market.

At an international level, the International Organization for Standardization is currently developing standards for drone safety and operation in which the British Standards Institution (BSI) committee members represent the UK. It is vital that we balance maintaining the UK’s world-leading position in aviation safety and security with supporting the development of this emerging industry.


Written Question
Roads: Hedgehogs
Tuesday 5th February 2019

Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to introduce hedgehog crossing signs.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Department for Transport has been exploring the options for a traffic sign to make drivers aware of the presence of hedgehogs and other small animals in the road ahead, in locations where there have been a high number of animal casualties. The Department expects to make an announcement on this in due course.


Written Question
Railway Stations: Disability
Tuesday 4th December 2018

Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase funding for the Access for All scheme to improve the provision of step-free access at train stations.

Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)

The Inclusive Transport Strategy, published on 25 July 2018, included a commitment to extend our Access for All programme across rail Control Period 6 (2019 to 2024) with an additional £300m of funding from the public purse. We have received more than 300 nominations for this funding and plan to announce the successful stations in April next year.


Written Question
Railway Stations: Disability
Tuesday 4th December 2018

Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the time required for all train stations in England and Wales to have step free access at the current pace of works funded by the Access for All funding scheme.

Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)

It is this Government which is giving funding to continue the Access for All programme into the 2019 to 2024 period. Around 75% of rail journeys in the UK now have step free access to and between every platform, which compares with only 50% of journeys in 2005.