Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of (a) reduce the vehicles that are blocking pavements and (b) unroadworthy vehicles parked for long periods of time in public areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Through measures in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill we will implement the necessary primary legislation to allow local transport authorities to prohibit pavement parking across their areas, putting power in the hands of local leaders. Even in locations where a pavement parking prohibition does not exist, virtually all local authorities (those with designated civil parking enforcement powers) will be granted the power to tackle the worst instances of pavement parking (unnecessary obstruction), through secondary legislation introduced later this year.
The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 gives local authorities the power to remove certain abandoned vehicles without notice. The legislation on abandoned vehicles falls within the remit of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including improving health as a key theme in the Integrated National Transport Strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Integrated National Transport Strategy will set the long-term vision for transport in England, focusing on how transport should be designed, built and operated to better serve the people who use it. The strategy’s scope is still being determined, but the Government is aware that there are further opportunities to encourage and facilitate active travel which could deliver wider societal benefits for public health and the environment.
The Strategy is being developed through open engagement with the transport sector and the general public, including an 11-stop Regional Roadshow, where one of the key themes attendees were asked to discuss was health and wellbeing. We will consider everything we hear through our engagement activities as the Strategy develops over the coming months.