Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of extending HS2 from Old Oak Common to Euston Station.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is considering a range of development models and financing mechanisms to best meet the objectives of the Euston area while delivering value for money for the taxpayer. Decisions around any further investment at Euston are for the second phase of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps Shadow Great British Railways is taking to increase the volume of goods moved by rail.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State has tasked Shadow Great British Railways leaders with producing a delivery plan for both passengers and freight users. Priorities will be communicated in due course.
In the future, Great British Railways will have a statutory duty to promote the use of rail freight and an overall growth target, as confirmed by the Secretary of State when she announced the establishment of Shadow Great British Railways.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the speed of rail electrification.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government expects electrification to play an important role in our programme to achieve our Net Zero 2050 target and improve the passenger experience.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will provide additional funding for the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Live grant awards for this financial year total £20.8m, which is in line with historic levels of funding for this scheme. Future budgets are being determined as part of the continuing Spending Review.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 8568 on Roads: Freight, what steps her Department is taking to support road haulage businesses.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Small businesses including those in the road haulage sector are the beating heart of our communities, and essential to our economic success. This Government will draw on all resources to support these small businesses and boost productivity by delivering commitments made in our nine-point pledge, Plan for Small Business.
We are working on delivering these commitments and announced on 19th September 2024 measures to tackle the scourge of late payments and long payment terms. We are also creating opportunities for UK businesses to compete and supporting small businesses to access the finance they need to scale up and break into new markets.
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced continued support for haulage businesses, by extending the 5p fuel duty cut for one year and cancelling the planned inflation increase for 2025-26. This maintains fuel duty rates at the levels set on 23 March 2022 for an additional 12 months and represents a saving of nearly £1,100 for the average HGV in 2025-26.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of the Control Period 7 funding settlement remains available to Network Rail; and if she will take steps to ensure that total funding level remains the same for the next financial year.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The full regulated Control Period 7 funding settlement, as outlined in the Delivery Plan, remains available to Network Rail. The phasing of spend is subject to annual update of the Delivery Plan for the 5 year period as led by Network Rail working in conjunction with the regulator and Government.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what Network Rail’s year one projected spend profile is under the regulatory Control Period 7 funding settlement.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail’s year one projected spend profile for Control Period 7 can be found in Network Rail’s delivery plan for Control Period 7 which is published on its website. Please find below a link to the document:
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Network-Rail-CP7-GB-Delivery-Plan.pdf.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the terms of the agreement were with the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen that led to industrial action being called off at London North Eastern Railway.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following discussions, on 29 August London North Eastern Railway (LNER) and ASLEF found a resolution to their long running local dispute at no extra cost to the taxpayer and preventing 22 days of industrial action whilst ensuring an improved service for passengers. LNER has agreed a new rest day working agreement with its drivers and has agreed to use driver managers in line with common industry practices.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to fund (a) rail infrastructure and (b) fleet modernisation projects at (i) East Midlands Railway and (ii) West Midlands Trains (A) during and (B) following their potential transition to public ownership.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The process of transitioning railway passenger services into public ownership should not impact investment projects. Existing projects can continue unless there is a good reason for review; with new projects being considered on their merits. The Department will work closely with private sector train operating companies and Network Rail during the transition process to understand the position of any investment programmes, and build these into transition planning if appropriate.
Railway passenger services currently operated by private sector companies under contract to the Secretary of State will transfer into DfT OLR Holdings Ltd (DOHL) when current contracts end, reach their contractual break point, or if they fail. DOHL is tasked with undertaking transfers efficiently and effectively, with no disruption to passengers and employees. It has managed four successful transfers in recent years and is scaling up to ensure the successful transfer of more services into public ownership.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to support open access operators.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are committed to delivering benefits for both passengers and taxpayers, and there will remain a role for open access services where they provide improved connectivity and choice. We will also continue to work to protect access to the network for all operators as we take forward the Railways Bill.