Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to help restore direct off-peak Paddington services to (a) Hungerford and (b) Kintbury.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no current plans to increase the number of direct services between Paddington and Hungerford/Kintbury, as this would require additional rolling stock which is currently unfunded.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a discounted railcard for people aged 30 to 60 years old who earn below the average.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are several Railcards that people aged 30 to 60 are eligible to hold, including the Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card that offers 50 per cent off selected rail fares. Affordability of rail travel is one of our key objectives. However, any concessions made to rail fares policy must balance benefits for certain groups against the impacts on taxpayers.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department issues on the amount of time a level crossing may be down each day; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of delays caused by crossings being down on (a) commuters, (b) the local economy and (c) the environment.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), in its capacity as the independent safety regulator for Britain’s railways, works closely with the rail industry to improve level crossing safety, including by issuing guidance on managing level crossings and minimising risks so far as is reasonably practicable. The law requires railway businesses to manage level crossing risk effectively using their own safety management systems on a case-by-case basis, and ORR provides assurance that they are doing so. This involves ensuring that duty holders work with local authorities to understand the needs of local communities and impacts of operational decisions. The department does not, however, have a formal role in this process.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps to stop automated systems from booking driving test slots for financial gain.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards. To increase the number of available test slots, it is conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.
Driving examiners from areas with lower waiting times continue to travel and test in those centres with longer waiting times. This is in addition to DVSA recruiting additional examiners across the country into areas where waiting times are highest.
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, DVSA continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests. Such apps or bots are not approved by DVSA. They make it harder for candidates to get a test and can also result in people paying more for a test. DVSA will continue to take steps to block cancellation services from accessing the booking system, which are having a positive impact.
In January 2023, DVSA changed the terms and conditions for using the booking service to help prevent anyone from selling tests at profit. Since then, DVSA has issued 283 warnings, 746 suspensions, and closed 689 businesses for misuse of its booking service.
To ensure its booking system is used correctly, DVSA has also:
Following these changes, there has been a significant drop in traffic to these services because DVSA is successfully identifying and blocking apps or bots.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) reduce waiting times for driving tests and (b) ensure people can take their driving test locally.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards. To increase the number of available test slots, it is conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.
Driving examiners from areas with lower waiting times continue to travel and test in those centres with longer waiting times. This is in addition to DVSA recruiting additional examiners across the country into areas where waiting times are highest.
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, DVSA continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests. Such apps or bots are not approved by DVSA. They make it harder for candidates to get a test and can also result in people paying more for a test. DVSA will continue to take steps to block cancellation services from accessing the booking system, which are having a positive impact.
In January 2023, DVSA changed the terms and conditions for using the booking service to help prevent anyone from selling tests at profit. Since then, DVSA has issued 283 warnings, 746 suspensions, and closed 689 businesses for misuse of its booking service.
To ensure its booking system is used correctly, DVSA has also:
Following these changes, there has been a significant drop in traffic to these services because DVSA is successfully identifying and blocking apps or bots.