Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the rail service between Heathrow Central and Terminal 4; and what plans they have to ensure that the service meets requirements.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and delivered by Transport for London. Rail services between Heathrow Central and Terminal 4 are the responsibility of Transport for London.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the limitation in London on the use of bus lanes to black cabs and include badged private hire vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London through the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It is the responsibility of the Mayor, and delivered by Transport for London. Decisions on how bus lanes are used are therefore a matter for the Mayor.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the franchise arrangements concerning the shuttle service between Heathrow Central and Terminal 4.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The rail network at Heathrow is privately owned and is exempt from the franchising requirements of the Railways Act 1993. This means that the Secretary of State cannot designate services on that network for franchising. Train services operating on the Heathrow rail network are not provided under franchise agreements.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the performance of Transport for London in relation to the frequency and reliability of the shuttle service between Heathrow Central and Terminal 4 to ensure a regular service every 10 minutes in each direction every day.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Transport for London Rail operates shuttle services between Heathrow’s terminals. The scheduling and performance of these services is a matter for Transport for London.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many days of work were carried out on the roadworks on the M20 between London and Folkestone in August 2018; and how many days did contractors work during August 2018 on that stretch of motorway.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
For Highways England’s major projects currently being carried out on the M20 between London and Folkestone, the information is provided in the table below:
Project Description | Number of days in August when live work was being carried out | Total workforce hours |
M20 junction 3-5 smart motorway | 24 | 27,401 |
M20 junction 10a improvements | 22 | 32,500 |
M20 junction 8-9 Temporary Solution | 25 | 10,707 |
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of planned motorway roadwork projects in the UK are completed (1) on time, and (2) within budget.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The management of motorways in the UK is a devolved matter. In England, to date, Highways England has completed 23 major schemes in the current Road Investment Strategy.
Nearly four-fifths (78 per cent) of projects were completed either ahead of schedule or on time. The remainder opened later than originally planned for a number of reasons, including unexpected contaminated ground and archaeological finds, and the addition of maintenance work to reduce the need for future roadworks.
Of the 23 completed schemes, nearly four-fifths (78 per cent) were within budget.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any proposals to review construction and use regulations relating to public service vehicles, with particular reference to the continuing use on such vehicles of aged critical parts which are incapable of in-service testing, such as tyres.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The ageing of vehicle parts is a complex matter, and whilst the Government does not currently have any proposals to amend construction and use regulations, it will continue to review scientific evidence to inform policy decisions.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the deaths of two children and a coach driver on 11 September 2012 as a result of the failure of a tyre which was over 19 years old fitted to the coach and of the resulting Traffic Commissioner's Public Inquiry and the inquest into the deaths, whether they have any proposals to introduce legislative requirements relating to the use of tyres of more than 10 years old on public service vehicles.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has no proposals to introduce legislation restricting the use of tyres on the basis of their age.
Expert advice suggests that tyre ageing is a complex issue where use and maintenance are significant factors rather than simply chronological age.
However, applying the precautionary principle, in 2013 the Department distributed guidance to bus and coach operators on how to establish the age of a tyre and advised that tyres over 10-years of age should only be fitted as part of a twin-wheel arrangement on a rear axle. Enforcement staff of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency continue to advise operators if a non-compliance is identified.
The Department consulted with experts from the tyre industry in both the UK and Europe and the free “Guide to Tyre Management on Heavy Vehicles” was produced with the support of the tyre industry and Senior Traffic Commissioner Bell. In October 2016, copies of this guide were sent to every registered bus and coach operator in the country ensuring that, no matter the size of fleet and irrespective of affiliation to a trade association, these important messages reached as wide an audience as possible.
The Department for Transport has gone to the market twice to commission scientific research regarding the effect of chronological age on tyre integrity. These approaches have not been successful in establishing a robust programme of research and the Department is considering how to proceed. Scientific evidence will inform any future policy decisions and the Department will publish the outcome of the research once completed.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the standard of training for air-sea rescue, formerly provided by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, is maintained under the contract with Bristow Group.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The standard of training provided by Bristow Helicopters for its search and rescue (SAR) helicopter crews is scrutinised in two separate ways. Firstly, as a civil helicopter operator, Bristow Helicopters is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Bristow must demonstrate to the CAA that its crews have at least the minimum standard of training the regulator requires for the SAR services Bristow provides to the Government. Secondly, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will regularly audit Bristow’s contractual compliance with its contract specification, much of which mirrors the military’s SAR standards.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to improve or increase transport services at night to ensure the safety and security of passengers from offensive behaviour and disorder, with particular reference to the safety of women.
Answered by Baroness Kramer - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Treasury and Economy)
We want to see more and more people using public transport - one of the key ways of encouraging this is to make sure it is a safe option. The transport industry, local authorities, the police and others are already investing in, and undertaking, wide-ranging initiatives to improve the personal security of public transport passengers and staff and to keep our public transport systems as low crime environments.
However, the Government is not readily able to increase passenger services in commercial transport markets. For example, decisions about bus services outside London are largely a matter for the private sector. Equally, it is difficult to see that any such increase would have a positive effect on matters of personal security.