Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the number of days that Avanti staff worked on previously booked rest days between June and August 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Department does not hold this information across all staff grades at Avanti West Coast (AWC).
On 30 July 2022, AWC experienced a near total cessation of drivers volunteering to work passenger trains on rest days. As noted by Avanti in its stakeholder bulletin of 8 August, it had regularly and reliably seen approximately 400 services a week worked by drivers on their rest day. This figure fell suddenly by 90 per cent.
Daily driver rest day working has remained minimal since then.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department holds data on how many and what proportion of staff have regularly worked on their rest days per quarter over the last three years in (a) each train operating company and (b) Avanti.
Answered by Kevin Foster
It is the responsibility of train operating companies to ensure they have adequate staffing to resource their operations.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help ensure that people who have their driving tests cancelled can re-book an appointment in a timely manner.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) recognises the high demand for learners wanting to take their practical driving test following the suspension of routine driver training and testing during the pandemic.
The DVSA understands how disappointing it is when driving tests are cancelled and therefore will only cancel appointments as an absolute last resort. Those affected by cancellations will automatically be offered a new appointment at the original test centre on the next earliest date available.
The DVSA is working hard to provide as many practical driving test appointments as possible and has a number of measures in place to do this. These include offering a national recovery allowance and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays and weekends).
The DVSA is also continuing with its campaign to recruit more driving examiners across Great Britain and further increase availability of driving test appointments.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to help increase (a) recruitment and (b) retention of staff within the DVSA in North Wales.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is continuing with its campaigns recruiting front line operational roles across its Driver, Vehicle and Enforcement services. The DVSA monitors retention across all roles and takes action when required. There are currently no concerns regarding the retention of staff in North Wales.
There is a national recruitment campaign aimed at recruiting driving examiners across Great Britain to further increase availability of driving test appointments. This has identified four successful candidates to fill the current vacancies in North Wales.
The DVSA will also shortly launch a further campaign aimed specifically at candidates that speak Welsh who may wish to join the agency as driving examiners.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with industry representatives on the introduction of (a) Graduated Driver Licences and (b) mandatory telematic devices to cars in the UK.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
In October 2020 the Department for Transport discussed the topic of a Graduated Driver Licence and compulsory black box usage at the Transport Select Committee on Young and Novice Drivers.
After giving our reasoning that we are not currently pursuing the topic as a future policy, the Secretary of State has accordingly not met with industry representatives on the matter.
The Department for Transport take any consideration of restrictions on any road users very seriously, particularly those in rural areas for access to education, employment and leisure.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this Government has no current plans to enforce any further restrictions which could be detrimental to the younger generation’s prospects for employment, education or livelihood.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with local stakeholders on the future of the Wrexham to Bidston Railway line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
My Department is actively engaged with Transport for Wales’s work to progress plans for a North Wales Metro and is providing strategic planning support and guidance on funding mechanisms.
Interventions to deliver service frequency improvements are currently being progressed and my officials will continue to engage with regional bodies on wider proposals and to provide advice on how they might be funded in the future.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 52205, on Rolling Stock: Energy, what steps he is taking to ensure that North Wales benefits from developments to low carbon rail transport solutions.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Rail decarbonisation will be an important element in the UK’s first Transport Decarbonisation Plan. The Department is working with Network Rail and the rail industry to determine which parts of the network are best suited to use of hydrogen and battery trains and electrification.
Introduction of these technologies will deliver environmental improvements and benefits for rail users across the rail network. Through the Transport Decarbonisation Plan the Government will continue to support the UK economy through the development of expertise on low carbon technologies.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on linking railway stations in (a) North Wales and (b) Chester to Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
This month the HS2 Minister will meet with leaders from the Midlands and the North, to discuss priorities for rail investment. During this meeting the Government will present an Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands by the end of 2020, which will look at how to deliver NPR, HS2 Phase 2b, and related connections more effectively.
Some supporting infrastructure enhancements in this corridor, including line speed improvements, are already under consideration through industry planning studies and the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received a completed business case for an High Speed Two hub station at Crewe.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
We welcome the work Cheshire East Council and the Constellation Partnership are doing to ensure the wider local benefits can be fully realised. We continue to work collaboratively on the development of a business case to support this vision and look forward to formally receiving in due course.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that energy efficient rolling stock is available to train companies.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Rolling stock procurement in the UK is undertaken through a competitive process by franchised or open access train operators. The Government supports technological innovation which aims to improve the performance of vehicles in terms of energy-efficiency, and support an industry that is a world leader in developing and delivering low carbon rail transport solutions for all. We are working with industry to ensure rail significantly decarbonises and we achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.