Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to (a) support British companies bidding for electric bus contracts and (b) ensure that (i) BYD, (ii) Yutong and (iii) other foreign companies do not have a disproportionate share of Government electric bus (A) contracts and (B) grants.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The transition to zero emission buses represents a great opportunity for UK bus manufacturers, both to supply the zero emission buses needed here in the UK and to win export orders abroad as other countries upgrade their bus fleets.
On 8 October, the Department announced plans to create a new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel. This panel will bring together industry experts and local leaders to explore ways to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. More details on this will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve bus services in rural areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to delivering better, more frequent and more reliable bus services for passengers. We have already made significant progress, introducing the Bus Services Bill to help give local leaders the powers they need to take control of their local services if they choose to do so, and announcing investment of over £1 billion to support and improve bus services.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All manufacturers must demonstrate that their vehicles and equipment comply with international vehicle approval requirements before they are permitted to offer their products for sale, and these include detailed provisions for vehicle lighting. The approval requirements are complemented by the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 to ensure that vehicles operating on the roads of Great Britain continue to have effective and safe lighting systems whilst in service.
All vehicle lighting requirements, including the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, are kept under review and amended as necessary to account for advances in vehicle lighting technologies and emerging evidence to ensure regulatory effectiveness is maintained.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of raising the bus cap to £3 on pensioners.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Those of state pension age, currently sixty-six, have access to free off-peak bus travel under the terms of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require drivers to report cat killings under Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no plans to amend section 170 of the Road Traffic Act to make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats.
Although there is no obligation to report all collisions with animals on roads, Rule 286 of The Highway Code advises drivers to report any collisions involving an animal to the police, and if possible, they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals and advise them of the situation.
Since June this year, all cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, unless exempt or free-living. This will increase the likelihood that cats can be reunited with their owners.