Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and the North, announced on 21 February 2020, will include an assessment of the proposed route for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Integrated Rail Plan will consider how best to integrate HS2 Phase 2b and wider transport plans in the North and Midlands, delivering benefits from investments more quickly. This will include a recommended way forward on scoping, phasing and sequencing delivery of HS2 Phase 2b, Northern Powerhouse Rail, Midlands Rail Hub and other proposed rail investments.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to consult on the Integrated Rail Plan for the Midlands and the North, announced on 21 February 2020.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I am committed to ensuring the North and Midlands are fully engaged and consulted throughout the Integrated Rail Plan process. I plan to undertake a series of roundtables and visits with Northern and Midlands leaders in the coming months as we begin to develop our ambitious Integrated Rail Plan.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to the consultation on new cycling offences: causing death or serious injury when cycling, which closed on 5 November 2018.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The responses to the consultation are currently being analysed and the Government expects to publish its response in the first quarter of 2019.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) feasibility and (b) potential merits of completing work on the Northern Powerhouse Rail at the same time as High Speed Two.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The delivery of High Speed Two is integral to the success of Northern Powerhouse Rail and these two transformational projects will be complimentary to each other, as outlined in TfN’s Strategic Transport Plan.
In October 2017 the Chancellor announced £300m of funding to futureproof HS2 to accommodate future Northern Powerhouse Rail services.
Potential timescales for the delivery will be considered as part of the ongoing work on the business case for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of routing Northern Powerhouse Rail through Bradford.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Transport for the North, with support from the Department, are developing a business case for NPR which is due at the end of 2018.
As part of the business case a range of options are under development for improving connectivity between Manchester and Leeds, including options which would serve Bradford.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Transport for the North on the proposed route of Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Northern Powerhouse Rail aims to dramatically improve rail connectivity between major cities across the North of England. A range of options are under development including new lines, options that make use of HS2 infrastructure and substantial upgrades, as well as options to develop stations.
We are due to receive a business case from Transport for the North at the end of 2018.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many new build developments have included roads which have not been adopted by local authorities due to not meeting minimum standards in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department does not hold this information as we do not collect data about un-adopted roads. A local highway authority may adopt a road if it has been built to the required standard. It will then become maintainable at the public’s expense. An authority will not, however, adopt a road that does not meet the required standard. Some developers do not seek adoption, and some residents will prefer to keep the road as private.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Government will take steps to fund the Transport for the North's Strategic Transport Plan for the North to at least the same level per head of population as is invested in transport in Greater London.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department for Transport makes investment decisions based on a rigorous and fair appraisal process that ensures spending goes to the projects and programmes where it is most needed and delivers greatest value-for-money for both taxpayers and transport users. We do not allocate funding to transport on a ‘per head of population’ basis.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic effect of the decision to review improvements to the M62/M606 Chain Bar road junction on local businesses and communities.
Answered by Jesse Norman
When evaluating the scheme, transport related benefits including travel time, operating costs and reliability were taken into account. The Value for Money assessment for the scheme was less than 1, meaning for every £1 invested, there would have been a loss to the UK economy in terms of return.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to reduce train journey times between Bradford and (a) Manchester and (b) Leeds.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Northern Rail will be introducing, by December 2019, faster inter-urban services serving Leeds and Manchester from Bradford, operating with 100mph trains.
As part of their franchise commitments, Northern will undertake a feasibility study to identify options for delivering journey time improvements.