Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve the (a) frequency and (b) quality of bus services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government knows that Britain needs a modern transport network to help kickstart economic growth. Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities, and the government is committed to working at pace with local transport authorities, bus operators and passengers to ensure that our vital bus services truly reflect the needs of the local communities.
As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will introduce the Better Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, to ensure networks can meet the needs to the communities who rely on them, including in Buckinghamshire. We also plan to empower local transport authorities through reforming bus funding. By giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding they can plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to mitigate the impact of population density on the allocation of road safety funding.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The allocation of general road safety funding does not take into account population density as a funding requirement unless specified. The majority of our funding for road safety improvements is based on collision data, including killed and seriously injured statistics as well as road length. Targeted road safety improvements are devolved to the local authorities.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to spend £8.3 billion on local roads.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to maintaining and renewing the local road network, and to enabling local highway authorities to fix up to a million more potholes a year. The previous government made a number of funding commitments, the affordability of each of which is being examined closely as part of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to review the safety of (a) all-lane running and (b) smart motorways.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The safety of everyone travelling on our roads is the Government’s priority, which is why we are committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade. We will set out next steps on smart motorways in due course.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to fund independent research into the potential safety implications of headlight glare.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Yes. The government is in the process of commissioning independent research to better understand the root causes of headlamp glare and help identify potential countermeasures.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to respond to the consultation entitled Pavement parking: options for change, published on 29 June 2023.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2020, the Department undertook a public consultation on options for changing the way pavement parking is managed outside London. We are considering the views received to inform the Government’s next steps for pavement parking policy. The formal consultation response will be available to view at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is her policy to build new smart motorways.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes road safety very seriously and reducing those killed and injured on our roads is a key priority and that is why we are committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy. We will not roll out new smart motorways.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to respond to the closed consultation entitled Street works: fines and lane rental surplus funds.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is currently analysing responses to this consultation.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will use money from the cancellation of the A27 to repair potholes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government is committed to ensuring that people have access to transport and transport infrastructure that enables them to travel to the destinations they want to reach and meets their needs. As my Right Honourable Friend the Chancellor has set out, decisions must be made based on the assessment of the spending inheritance from the previous Government.
Tackling the poor state of our local roads is a priority for this Government, to ensure they are safe and serve all road users, and we will set out how we will achieve this in due course.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has for (a) retaining and (b) amending her Department's statutory guidance entitled Implementing low traffic neighbourhoods, which was published on 17 March 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) guidance is not in force as it was published in draft. The Government will be considering next steps with this guidance.