Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to HGV driving tests.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has put in place a number of measures to increase driving tests for heavy goods vehicle drivers.
These include offering overtime and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays). The DVSA has also started a recruitment campaign to increase the number of examiners.
The aim is to increase testing capacity as quickly as possible, whilst maintaining a COVID-secure service for customers and examiners.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's Smart Motorway Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan, what progress his Department has made in investigating whether more can be done on to improve the M1 smart motorway between Junctions 30 to 35 (Sheffield).
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We have committed £500 million to deliver smart motorway safety improvements across the strategic road network. The Secretary of State has asked Highways England for a one-year on report since the Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan was published, setting out the progress in delivering the 18-point Action Plan and identifying actions that can be delivered early. He has asked for the report by 12 March 2021 so any accelerated works can rapidly be put in place.
For the M1 J32-35a, Highways England will commence the installation of SVD in February 2021 and it is expected to be operational in Summer 2021.
For the M1 J28-31, Highways England are expected to start the installation of SVD in August 2021 and it is expected to be operational by March 2022.
All emergency areas now have a new bright orange road surface and new, more frequent signs have been installed.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce on-street parking congestion on public roads in residential areas.
Answered by George Freeman
The responsibility for traffic management on local roads rests with the relevant local authority, as they are best placed to consider how local needs can be met effectively. It is entirely a matter for individual authorities to decide on the nature and scope of their on-street parking policies and to balance the needs of residents, emergency services, local businesses and those who work in and visit the areas.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the safety of smart motorways compared with that of motorways with a hard shoulder.
Answered by George Freeman
The Secretary of State announced on 24 October that the Department for Transport will carry out an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about smart motorway safety. This will include assessing the safety performance of smart motorways and conventional motorways with a hard shoulder.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of journeys made from Dronfield train station to Manchester Piccadilly train station in the 2017-18 financial year.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Passenger demand flows between specific stations and on specific routes are not publicly available as this data is commercially sensitive. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish data on the estimates of the total number of passengers entering and exiting each station in Great Britain.
Total number of station entries and exits, 2017-18 financial year
Station name | Entries and exits |
Dronfield | 202,622 |
Manchester Oxford Road | 8,558,308 |
Liverpool Lime Street | 16,032,460 |
Manchester Piccadilly | 27,724,962 |
Additional years are available at the following link:
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage/
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of journeys made from Dronfield train station to Liverpool Lime Street train station in the 2017-18 financial year.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Passenger demand flows between specific stations and on specific routes are not publicly available as this data is commercially sensitive. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish data on the estimates of the total number of passengers entering and exiting each station in Great Britain.
Total number of station entries and exits, 2017-18 financial year
Station name | Entries and exits |
Dronfield | 202,622 |
Manchester Oxford Road | 8,558,308 |
Liverpool Lime Street | 16,032,460 |
Manchester Piccadilly | 27,724,962 |
Additional years are available at the following link:
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage/
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of journeys made from Dronfield train station to Manchester Oxford Road train station in the 2017-18 financial year.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Passenger demand flows between specific stations and on specific routes are not publicly available as this data is commercially sensitive. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish data on the estimates of the total number of passengers entering and exiting each station in Great Britain.
Total number of station entries and exits, 2017-18 financial year
Station name | Entries and exits |
Dronfield | 202,622 |
Manchester Oxford Road | 8,558,308 |
Liverpool Lime Street | 16,032,460 |
Manchester Piccadilly | 27,724,962 |
Additional years are available at the following link:
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage/
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using British Model Flying Association drone registration data to avoid duplicate registrations in the UK Drone Registration Scheme.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Small unmanned aircraft (SUAs) can be enormously beneficial, both commercially and as a leisure pursuit. However, SUAs also have the potential to pose a safety and security threat so it is important that those operating them understand the law and their responsibilities as a remote pilot of an aircraft in UK airspace.
The changes to the Air Navigation Order laid before Parliament in May 2018 require that all operators of SUAs of all types weighing 250g – 20kg must register their aircraft by 30 November 2019.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is working with the British Model Flying Association to see whether, as a service to their members, they may want to assist in the initial upload of data. The CAA will be launching an awareness-raising campaign to ensure that new and existing operators and remote pilots of small unmanned aircraft (SUAs) are aware of the requirement to register and take a competency test by 30 November 2019.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to publicise the UK Drone Registration Scheme to (a) new and (b) drone owners.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Small unmanned aircraft (SUAs) can be enormously beneficial, both commercially and as a leisure pursuit. However, SUAs also have the potential to pose a safety and security threat so it is important that those operating them understand the law and their responsibilities as a remote pilot of an aircraft in UK airspace.
The changes to the Air Navigation Order laid before Parliament in May 2018 require that all operators of SUAs of all types weighing 250g – 20kg must register their aircraft by 30 November 2019.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is working with the British Model Flying Association to see whether, as a service to their members, they may want to assist in the initial upload of data. The CAA will be launching an awareness-raising campaign to ensure that new and existing operators and remote pilots of small unmanned aircraft (SUAs) are aware of the requirement to register and take a competency test by 30 November 2019.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria his Department used to calculate the £950,000 cost of the annual upgrade of the UK Drone Registration Scheme.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
The Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) consultation document explains that the predicted 170,000 unmanned aircraft operator registration figure has been calculated using adoption rates for other national registration schemes (such as those in Ireland and the United States) against the UK population, and available research on drone use and attitudes.
The document also sets out the rationale for the cost of ongoing upgrades to the service. The initial scheme will be launched with a minimum scope and service level and, in common with best practice and the Government Digital Service framework, the CAA plans to make minor service improvements and major functionality improvements. Major improvements may include a renewal invitation process and incorporate the existing unmanned aircraft service for commercial operators.