Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the impact of bright (a) LED and (b) conventional motor vehicle headlights on people in rural communities.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All types of road vehicle headlamps are designed, tested and approved to internationally recognised standards to help prevent undue glare on a broad range of roads and environments. However, the Government is aware of concerns raised by members of the public and we are considering options for building our evidence base on this issue.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage safer cycling at night-time in (a) Selby and Ainsty constituency, (b) rural communities and (c) nationally.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is investing over £3 billion in active travel over this Parliament, including high quality cycle infrastructure and cycle training opportunities. The safety of vulnerable road users is a priority for the Government, and the Department is determined to make the roads safer for everyone.
North Yorkshire has been allocated over £1.1 million capital funding through the Active Travel Fund over the last three years, and over £428,463 of revenue funding. This funding supports not only the provision of safe cycle infrastructure but also activities including cycle training.
The Highway Code sets out a number of requirements for cycling at night, including that cyclists must use lights, as well as providing advice on matters such as reflective clothing and accessories. Enforcement of these matters is the responsibility of the police.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to support rural bus services in (a) Selby and Ainsty constituency and (b) Yorkshire.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is investing over £2 billion in funding for Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) to deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs). This includes £1 billion from redirected HS2 funding to level up bus services in the North and Midlands as part of Network North.
The support provided for bus services (including rural bus services) in Yorkshire is £137million. This includes:
Area | BSIP funding up to March 2025 (£million) | BSIP (Plus) funding up to March 2025 (£million) | Network North BSIP funding up to March 2025 (£million) |
North Yorkshire council |
| 2.9 | 3.5 |
East Riding of Yorkshire council |
| 2.3 | 1.9 |
Hull City council |
| 1.5 | 1.5 |
South Yorkshire MCA |
| 6.3 | 7.8 |
West Yorkshire CA | 70 | 7.8 | 13.4 |
City of York council | 17.4 |
| 1.2 |
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to support (a) vulnerable and (b) disabled passengers affected by the potential closure of railway ticket offices in Selby and Ainsty constituency.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours – including closures – train operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers who are disabled, and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. When consulting, operators should have also clearly considered other equality-related needs. Operators prepared Equality Impact Assessments, and these were available on their websites during the consultation.
The consultations closed on 1 September and the independent passenger bodies, Transport Focus and London TravelWatch, are currently assessing the proposals and consultation responses. We expect train operators to work collaboratively with the passenger bodies in the coming weeks, to listen to the concerns raised and to refine their proposals accordingly.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take steps to improve bus services in Selby and Ainsty constituency.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The National Bus Strategy, published in March 2021, set out the Government’s vision for delivering better bus services for passengers across England. The Strategy asked that all English Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) outside London publish Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs). Over £1 billion has been allocated to LTAs in BSIP/BSIP+ funding to improve local bus services. In addition North Yorkshire LTA have been allocated an extra £1.463 million BSIP+ funding for 2023/24. Any funding for improving bus services in Selby and Ainsty will be from North Yorkshire’s BSIP+ allocation.
The Government also introduced the £2 bus fare cap on 1 January to help passengers save on their regular travel costs. The scheme is set to run until 31 October, and covers over 5,000 routes in England outside London, including in Selby and Ainsty. The scheme will then be replaced by a longer-term £2.50 fare cap until 30 November 2024, with the Government investing over £300 million across both schemes.