Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of capacity on Chiltern Railways services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern Railways to support the delivery of an improved passenger experience. In response to passenger demand and to reduce overcrowding, Chiltern periodically adjusts its timetable.
The Department is fully engaged with Chiltern’s fleet renewal programme. We are considering the option to procure additional trains to increase capacity, whilst ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate she has made of the cost of HS2 Phase 1.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As reported in the last HS2 report to Parliament published in November 2023, HS2 Ltd indicated that its projected cost to deliver Phase 1 would significantly exceed the current Funding Envelope of £44.6 billion (2019 prices). Following the significant scope changes and deferrals made under the previous government, the Department is working with HS2 Ltd to review the Estimate at Completion (EAC) for HS2 Phase 1 and will report to Parliament 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 recent discussions she has had with the DVLA on the call for evidence entitled Registering historic, classic, rebuilt vehicles and vehicles converted to electric: call for evidence, updated on 9 December 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The summary of the responses to the call for evidence was published on 9 December.
As part of the ongoing engagement regarding this matter, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency held a positive meeting with representatives of the Historic Vehicle User Group on 12 December, in which the DVLA updated the Group on potential next steps in reviewing the policies in this area.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of construction inflation on mitigation projects linked to the building of HS2 Phase 1.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The funding provided to HS2 Ltd includes allowances for inflation based on inflation forecasts set at spending reviews. HS2 Ltd has been impacted by high levels of inflation in recent years alongside all major construction projects. However, HS2 Ltd continues to bear down on its costs to mitigate this, manage pressures within its annual budgets, and is working to reduce the impact to any mitigation projects linked to the building of Phase 1.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she last met with the HS2 (a) Construction Commissioner and (b) Residents Commissioner.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State, who was appointed on 29th November 2024, has not yet met the Construction or Residents’ Commissioners. However, Minister for Rail Lord Hendy met both Commissioners on Monday 16th December.
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.