Iain Stewart

My Department is working with representatives from the bus industry, through the Project Coral consortium, as well as Transport for the West Midlands and Midlands Connect, to develop a technical solution for multi-operator ticketing and automatic revenue apportionment for buses in England outside of London. Procurement is planned later this year.

We are also encouraging local authorities in England, through Enhanced Partnerships, to pursue low-cost, interim measures whilst the national system is being developed. For example, through paper-based, multi-operator tickets and mutual acceptance of return tickets, where different operators serve the same corridor.

Fifteen Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) were allocated funding for demand responsive transport (DRT) schemes as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) process, totalling over £37m. This figure only includes schemes from LTAs who have had their funding confirmed. In cases where the LTA has not provided granular detail, some elements of this funding will include funding for other services alongside DRT.

We will publish the first report from the Department’s monitoring and evaluation project for the ZEBRA scheme, covering process evaluation of the pre-implementation phase of the project in due course. We will publish a final report at the end of the project.

The Rural Mobility Fund demand responsive transport pilots are planned to last between two and five years from the point of launch. They have all launched at different times, influenced by multiple factors such as vehicle availability and resourcing, so the end of each trial period may vary from the original timeframes envisaged.

We expect to publish interim findings in the first half of 2023, further findings in late 2023/early 2024, and the final findings in 2025 in the form of written reports. However, the exact timings and dissemination approach will be determined closer to the time.

The report will be published in due course.

The Bus Services Act 2017 incorporates powers to introduce an Accessible Information Requirement, mandating the provision of audible and visible information on local bus services in Great Britain.

We are currently working with stakeholders to develop the detail of the requirement, including timescales for its implementation, with a view to consulting publicly in 2018. Following consideration of the consultation responses, we expect to publish Regulations and accompanying guidance when the Parliamentary timetable permits.

The Department for Transport did not undertake a formal cost-benefit analysis of the measures contained in the Pavement Parking (Protection of Vulnerable Pedestrians) Bill 2015-16. The Department does not routinely undertake cost-benefit analysis of Private Members’ Bills.

The Secretary of State is responsible for parking penalties outside London, where local authorities can already penalise the parking of vehicles in restricted places with penalties of up to £70. There are no plans to raise them at present.

A full economic appraisal has been carried out by HS2 Ltd. for the evaluation of the Phase 1/2a rolling stock fleet mix options in line with the HS2 Business Case modelling framework. The cost-benefit analysis confirmed the procurement of a single fleet of classic (or conventional) compatible trains is expected to deliver similar value for money to that of a mixed fleet solution.

The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, including the implications for the continued participation in the European Aviation Safety Agency system.

I and my ministerial team regularly meet with senior officials of Network Rail to discuss a wide range of key issues facing the company.

We recently discussed progress against the recommendations made by Dame Colette Bowe. In my letter to her on 25 November 2015, I committed to publishing a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department and Network Rail. This is the formal framework which resets the rail enhancements framework. It will improve and strengthen the governance and day-to-day management of the process for planning and overseeing rail enhancements, providing clearer accountability for associated costs and project management. It is deposited in the libraries of the House and available on the GOV.UK website.

The Department is providing £263 million through the Local Pinch Point Fund, targeted at traffic congestion hot-spots, which when combined with local authority and developer contributions is funding schemes costing around £500 million.

Based on estimates from the promoting authorities, many of the schemes awarded funding encourage housing and commercial development around them, with the potential to support around 150,000 new homes and 200,000 jobs.

The Road Investment Strategy (RIS), announced in December 2014, is the biggest upgrade to England’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads in a generation. As part of the RIS, a new £100 million fund dedicated to Growth and Housing was announced. This allows Highways England to help accelerate the progress of key housing and mixed-use sites that have secured planning consent but are not progressing due to the strategic road infrastructure improvements they require.

In addition, many of the major schemes announced in the RIS support economic and housing growth. These include the A5-M1 Link Road, a new Junction 10a on the A14 at Kettering and the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme. Together, these two A14 schemes support delivery of over 20,000 homes.

The New Station Fund has already delivered two new stations at Pye Corner in Wales and Newcourt in Devon. Three more new stations will be delivered as part of the fund at Ilkeston in Derbyshire, Lea Bridge in London and Kenilworth in Warwickshire. All of these new stations will be a catalyst for new housing as they make transport easier between communities and employment. Specifically the stations at:

• Newcourt will serve thousands of new dwellings (originally estimated as 3,500) as part of the Masterplan for the area;
• Ilkeston will support plans for significant house building around the town;
• Lea Bridge is within one of Waltham Forest’s key regeneration areas. The Council tell us that a significant number of housing sites are coming forward near the station and the population is forecast to increase.

Mother and Baby Units open in 2010:

1. Newcastle Beadnell Ward, St George’s Park, Morpeth, Northumberland
   
2. Leeds Mother and Baby Unit, Leeds Partnership Foundation Trust
3. Manchester Anderson Ward, Wythenshawe Hospital
4. Nottingham Perinatal Psychiatric Services, Perinatal Inpatient Unit
5. Derby Mother and Baby Psychiatric Unit, Derby City General, Uttoxeter Rd, Derby
6. Leicester Mother and Baby Unit, Brandon Unit, Leicester General Hospital (closed 2014)
7. Stafford Brockington Mother and Baby Unit, St George’s Hospital Foundation
8. Birmingham Mother and Baby Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
9. Welwyn Garden Thumbswood, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Howlands, Welwyn
10. Hackney Mother and Baby Unit, Mermaid Ward, City and Hackney Centre for Mental Health, Homerton Hospital, Homerton Row
11. North Middlesex Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Coombe Wood Annexe, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health
12. Beckenham Mother and Baby Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Rd, Beckenham, Kent
13. Bristol New Horizon Mother and Baby Centre, Southmead Hospital
14. Basingstoke Fairways House, Parklands Hospital (Moved to Winchester in 2013)
15. The Eastbourne Clinic Mother and Baby Unit, Eastbourne, East Sussex (this unit was open in 2010 but not referenced in report closed 2014)
16. Mother and Baby Unit, Godden Green Clinic, Godden Green, Sevenoaks, Kent (closed in 2010)
17. York Mother and Baby Unit, Bootham Park Hospital (closed temporarily in 2010 and remained closed)

Source: National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report 2010

This information updates previous information submitted in relation to the number of mother and baby units open in 2010. Previous answers were drawn from the Specialised Mental Health Services (all ages) Definition No 22 (2009), which states that “there are 10 MBUs in England” but does not include a list of the 10 units.

The updated answer is taken from the 2010 National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report. The Department recommends using the latter as the source of information on services in 2010 as this report provides more detail, specifying the name and location of the units.