Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to respond to the consultation on Lane rental scheme approval.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport consulted with stakeholders on lane rental scheme approval. This consultation concluded in January 2025. We plan to publish the response to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the National Underground Asset Register on roadworks in Broxbourne constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The DfT is supportive of the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) project. Strikes on cables and other underground assets are costly, lengthen the duration of roadworks and, most importantly, are a safety issue for those undertaking the works. Those excavating the public highway should already be taking all necessary measures to avoid strikes and safely plan their works, but anything that makes this process easier and reduces strikes can only be a benefit.
NUAR is improving the efficiency and safety of the way we install, maintain, operate and repair our buried infrastructure by providing secure access to data from public and private sector asset owners. These will include over 600 gas, water, electric and telecommunications companies and local authorities.
A specific analysis of the potential impacts of the NUAR on roadworks in the Broxbourne constituency has not been carried out. However, an impact assessment was delivered as part of the recent Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 which considered the impact of NUAR across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This assessment estimated the economic benefits of NUAR to be over £400m per year. This consists of benefits in efficiencies, reduced asset strikes and reduced delays to the public and businesses.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled, Transport Secretary acts to make thousands of extra driving tests available each month, published on 23 April 2025, whether the measures have been implemented.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Since the announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport, 23 April 2025, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has:
As part of the measures announced, 23 April, DVSA also has:
Further information on these actions and progress of DVSA’s plan to reduce driving test waiting times, which was announced in December 2024, can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Mayor of London on the potential impact of (a) unlicensed and (b) unregulated pedicab operators on (i) public safety and (ii) anti-social behaviour in central London.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Pedicabs (London) Act 2024 conferred powers onto Transport for London (TfL) to regulate London’s pedicab industry for the first time, giving TfL the tools it needs to tackle the unsafe, anti-social and nuisance behaviours of certain pedicab operators and drivers. TfL is currently analysing responses to a public consultation in order to inform the design and implementation of future pedicab regulations. Department for Transport Ministers and officials have regular conversations with the Mayor of London and TfL on a range of matters including pedicabs.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London on introducing regulations under the Pedicabs (London) Act 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Pedicabs (London) Act 2024 conferred powers onto Transport for London (TfL) to regulate London’s pedicab industry for the first time, giving TfL the tools it needs to tackle the unsafe, anti-social and nuisance behaviours of certain pedicab operators and drivers. TfL is currently analysing responses to a public consultation in order to inform the design and implementation of future pedicab regulations. Department for Transport Ministers and officials have regular conversations with the Mayor of London and TfL on a range of matters including pedicabs.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with the Mayor of London on the effectiveness of enforcement measures against fare evasion on Transport for London services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor, and TfL is responsible for operational decisions to support reduced fare evasion. Department for Transport ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues including fare evasion on their network. TfL has informed the department of their activity to tackle this important issue which includes an expanded dedicated team of investigators and 500 uniformed TfL officers deployed across the TfL network with 360 offenders found guilty at court in 2024.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the utilities industry on minimising disruption caused by street works.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport works closely with industry stakeholders, including utility companies, as we continue to review our legislation, statutory guidance and guidance, to identify areas where the regime can be improved to minimise the impact of street works. We have recently announced to the industry that we will be clamping down on disruptive works by doubling fixed penalty notices for utility companies who fail to comply with rules and extending charges for works that overrun into weekends.
As more highway authorities are progressing with their applications to operate lane rental schemes to target the most disruptive works on our roads, my Department have been engaging with utility companies directly as part of a series of regional visits. Utility companies have also been invited, along with a range of other stakeholders, to take part in a consultation on proposals to improve and simplify the lane rental application process.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many street works carried out under emergency procedures she considers as evidence of misuse.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department have examined data from our Street Manager digital service and spoken to industry representatives and found no evidence of misuse. Emergency works are needed to deal with danger to life and urgent works are needed, for example, to repair leaks, restore customer connections, and repair dangerous potholes. The Government believes, however, that there is scope to improve how such works are managed and communicated to road users and we are working with the sector to develop proposals to address this.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with Transport for London to reduce fare evasion.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues including fare evasion on their network. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL is responsible for operational decisions to support reduced fare evasion.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train collisions with people have been reported in each train operating company's network area in the last 12 months; and how many people were involved in such collisions in each area.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The number of people struck by trains in the last 12 months within each of Network Rail’s regions and routes is set out below. This data shows whether the incident led to a fatality or injury, and if it was classified as a suspected suicide or as non-suicidal. The total number of people struck by trains over this period was 339.
NR Region | Fatalities | Injuries | ||
Suicidal | Non-suicidal | Suicidal | Non-suicidal | |
Eastern | 98 | 1 | 11 | 9 |
North West and Central | 63 | 3 | 11 | 8 |
Scotland's Railway | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Southern | 47 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
Wales and Western | 50 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
NR Route | Fatalities | Injuries | ||
Suicidal | Non-suicidal | Suicidal | Non-suicidal | |
Anglia | 29 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
East Coast | 20 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
East Midlands | 18 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
North & East | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Central | 18 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
North West | 35 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
West Coast Mainline South | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scotland's Railway | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Kent | 12 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Sussex | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Wessex | 19 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Wales and Borders | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Western | 39 | 1 | 0 | 4 |