Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the security risk of (a) connected and (b) autonomous vehicles manufactured using Chinese (i) software and (ii) hardware.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) contractors and (b) sub-contractors are involved in the main civil works phase of the HS2 programme.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
HS2 Ltd publish details of their main civil works contracts, and multiple other contractors, on their Contract Opportunities Table (https://www.hs2.org.uk/supply-chain/direct-contract-opportunities/); this table can be found on the supply chain section of the HS2 website. In addition to this, HS2 Ltd publish details of subcontracts, for which there are likely to be onward opportunities in the supply chain, through their Indirect Opportunities Table (https://www.hs2.org.uk/supply-chain/indirect-contract-opportunities/).
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to approve the business case for the A10 West Winch Housing Access Road.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I thank the Honorable Member for his continued support for the scheme. Officials are working closely with Norfolk County Council on the outline business case submitted to the Department. When they have completed their assessment, they will put advice to Ministers.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to provide funding to Network Rail for the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement proposals.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Both the Rail Minister and I are early in our tenure as Transport Ministers. As such, he is yet to speak to Network Rail regarding the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement. However, we do recognise the benefits the scheme could bring for freight and passenger rail services in East Anglia. The Department looks forward to discussing these proposals with Network Rail, and other stakeholders, in the near future.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the exemptions granted by the Office of Rail and Road under Section 5 of the Railway Safety Regulations 1999 on central door locking by the date they (a) were issued and (b) expire.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Office of Rail and Road publishes a list of exemptions granted under Regulation 6 of the Railway Safety Regulations 1999 on their website. This list of exemptions includes the date they were issued and their expiration dates.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of fuel prices on the competitiveness of the haulage industry.
Answered by Richard Holden
The Department for Transport (DfT) does not hold a formal assessment of specific impacts on haulage industry competitiveness.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Rail Delivery Group on the potential impact of proposed rail ticket office closures on the availability of ticket types; and whether he is taking steps to ensure the availability of all ticket types at train stations.
Answered by Huw Merriman
We recognise there are a wide range of fares and tickets offered to passengers, and that not all products are offered consistently online or at ticket vending machines. However, an estimated 99% of all transactions made at ticket offices last year could be made at TVMs or online.
The rail industry is looking to expand digital ticketing options and make them even easier for passengers to use through upgrades to ticket vending machines and digitisation of more tickets and processes.
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers. This includes ensuring that passengers can easily buy the right ticket for the journey they want to make, with consideration of the product range available at the station and what support is available to help with purchase.
Passengers will not be expected to travel out of their way to buy a ticket and will be able to buy en-route or at their destination.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the criteria of the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme to include new lorry parks.
Answered by Richard Holden
Good quality roadside facilities remain a priority for the Government. The first application window for the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme closed on 24 February 2023 and the Department for Transport is now evaluating applications in accordance with scheme criteria.
Improving facilities on existing sites was seen as the best way to utilise funds and raise the quality of facilities for HGV drivers in the short term.
An assessment of the process and criteria for the first round of applications will inform criteria for future application windows and any decision to extend the scheme to include funding the development of new lorry parks.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there are plans to upgrade rolling stock on the Govia Thameslink Railway route from King’s Cross to King’s Lynn.
Answered by Huw Merriman
This route is operated by modern Class 387 and, with effect from May 2023, a limited number of Class 700 trains per day, both of which are less than ten years old. There are currently no plans to upgrade these train interiors; however, they will be fitted with new technology from the £1.8 billion investment under the East Coast Digital Programme which will deliver signalling upgrades resulting in an even safer, more reliable and resilient East Coast Mainline.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing pilot schemes to use AI to identify vehicles from which litter is discarded on motorways.
Answered by Richard Holden
There are a small number of products available that claim to be able to detect littering from vehicles. National Highways is aware of the opportunities of using AI for this purpose and is exploring a range of options to potentially partner with a local authority to use AI enabled CCTV cameras to capture littering from vehicles.