Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2021 to Question 29872 on Public Transport: Ventilation, what the budget is for enforcement activities for ventilation in each of the last ten years for (a) buses, (b) trains and (c) other forms of public transport; what enforcement action has been taken in respect of ventilation on (i) buses, (ii) trains and (iii) other forms of public transport in each of the last ten years; and when he last met with industry bodies representing operators of (A) buses, (B) trains and (C) other forms of public transport to discuss ventilation.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Transport companies must make sure that there is an adequate supply of fresh air in enclosed areas and this has not changed during the pandemic.
The type of ventilation in use across vehicles on the UK public transport network, varies according to vehicle age and vehicle type. Some older rail rolling stock and almost all UK buses are reliant on opening windows and doors for passenger ventilation.
The Office of Rail and Road carries out health and safety enforcement of railway operators, but there is not a specific budget covering ventilation matters and the regulator does not hold records for specific ventilation enforcement activities. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the ORR has encouraged all train and station operators to review their risk assessments and is continuing to monitor duty holders’ safety management systems and risk assessment arrangements.
For vehicles with Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, the exact standard which the ventilation meets will be dependent on the standard in place when the vehicle was designed. Measuring ventilation rates is extremely difficult, with the need to consider stopping patterns, occupation rates and weather conditions in addition to the capability of any HVAC systems in place.
We are working with transport operators to identify areas of poor ventilation for improvement following SAGE and HSE guidance to further ensure that ventilation on public transport is adequate. Our recent safer transport guidance for operators includes measures to assess and address the risk of Covid-19.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the level of (a) expertise in and (b) experience of rail in his Department's rail reform team.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department’s rail reform team has an excellent level of experience in Rail and other industries.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the delivery time for new fleets on (a) East Midlands Railway and (b) West Coast Partnership manufactured by Hitachi: and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The delivery timescales for new rolling stock are set out in the supply agreements between the operators and the manufacturers. The Department monitors delivery of new fleets against the requirements set out in national rail contracts or franchise agreements.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2021 to Question 27274 on Rolling Stock: Procurement, what estimate he has made of the trajectory of whole life rolling stock leasing costs on train fleets ordered since February 2016; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In line with our published guidance on how to assess costs and benefits of government schemes and policies, DfT consider a whole life asset approach for estimating rolling stock appraisals.
The Department’s value for money framework for completing assessments and communicating to decision makers can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-value-for-money-framework.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2021 to Question 27274 on Rolling Stock: Procurement, what specific assessment he has made of the best value bids for taxpayers of rolling stock ordered since February 2016.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Procurement of rolling stock has been undertaken by operators as part of their franchise requirements. As part of their bids, operators would have set out their evidence to demonstrate how they achieve the best value for taxpayers.
The Franchise Agreements can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/transport/rail-franchising.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2021 to Question 27274 on Rolling Stock: Procurement, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to passenger rail operating contracts since March 2020 on rolling stock leasing costs for new train fleets (a) procured and (b) agreed by his Department since February 2016.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Rolling stock leasing costs were contracted between the respective operator and owner as part of the franchising process. The department continues to monitor rolling stock related costs closely throughout the life of the contracts to ensure that they are in line with what has been agreed and that what is proposed will deliver benefits to passengers.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2021 to Question 27274 on Rolling Stock: Procurement, to what extent (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have (a) overseen and (b) agreed the rolling stock procurement processes undertaken by (i) Greater Anglia, (ii) TransPennine, (iii) West Midland Trains, (iv) South Western Railway and (v) c2c since February 2016.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Procurement of rolling stock has been undertaken by operators as part of their franchise requirements. As part of their bids, operators would have set out their approach to meet the minimum requirements in the invitation to tender. These bids will have been evaluated by officials and Ministers advised appropriately through the franchise competition process.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2021 to Question 27274 on Rolling Stock: Procurement, to what extent the specification for new rolling stock (a) procured and (b) agreed by the operators of (i) Greater Anglia, (ii) TransPennine, (iii) West Midland Trains, (iv) South Western Railway and (v) c2c was determined by the requirements set out by his Department as part of the invitation to tender for the relevant franchise.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The invitation to tender for previous franchise competitions sets out the minimum requirements that bidders are to meet, and it is for bidders to provide evidence as to whether existing or new build rolling stock meets those requirements.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 17 January 2020 to Question 1751 on London-Exeter Railway Line: Rolling Stock, whether he has exercised the call option over the leasing costs of the 36 Eversholt Rail funded class 802 bi-modes operating on the West of England route of the Great Western Region; and whether the discussions with the incumbent operator to secure the best price for all train leases for the existing train fleet have concluded.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Call Option was exercised by the Department. However, further commercial discussions with the rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs) led to a revised improved offer which enabled the Call Option to be withdrawn.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help ensure adequate ventilation in (a) trains, (b) buses and (c) other forms of public transport to reduce risk of covid-19 infection; what plans he has to issue guidance operators of public transport services on transport ventilation; what standards or criteria his Department advises are used to plan and measure transport ventilation; and whether his Department plans to make funds available to improve standards of ventilation on public transport.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Guidance on ventilation is included within the Department’s ‘Safer Transport Guidance for Operators’. It suggests operators consider how they can increase ventilation and air flow, and asks that wherever possible operators and businesses should ensure that a fresh air supply is consistently flowing though vehicles, carriages and transport hubs. The guidance sets out a number of ways in which this might be achieved including through the opening of windows, the use of air conditioning systems and through the use of filters. The Department’s public facing communications messaging asks that passengers open windows wherever possible and safe to do so.
The Department is also working with the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operating companies, to continue to develop guidance for operators on train ventilation. Operators are currently trialling the use of new high grade filters which are likely to offer further protection against airborne Covid transmission. Where trains are ventilated using an air conditioning system, the air in the carriage will be completely replaced every 6-9 minutes.
Buses typically rely on opening windows for passenger ventilation. Industry is using a range of methods to ensure that these windows are kept open, including through the use of window stickers, on-board announcement and the placing of small blocks in the windows which prevent them from being fully closed. Coach operators carry out risk assessments, with mitigations including enhanced ventilation and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) filters.
Aviation has high standards of ventilation and uses HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters as standard on passenger aircraft.
The Department is currently working with operators to understand scope for further ventilation improvements and to understand how we can best support industry moving forwards.