Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of planned East Coast Main Line timetable change in December 2025 on local rail services in (a) County Durham and (b) the North East.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
An assessment suggested Chester-le-Street calls on Trans Pennine Express be increased to hourly services, which have now been implemented. As well as the LNER London to Newcastle trains be increased from two trains per hour to three trains per hour, now scheduled to start from December 2025.
Darlington should retain its two trains per hour to London by LNER and Durham should retain its one train per hour to London by LNER, both of which have been confirmed.
Other benefits to the North-east identified for introduction include more local trains north of Newcastle.
Network Rail is modelling the timetable to enable industry to focus on actions to ensure the timetable can be delivered reliably.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) insurance requirements and (b) enforcement mechanisms are in place for (a) private hire and (b) delivery drivers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All drivers must have the correct insurance cover for the purpose they are using their vehicle for, and the police may check this when stopping a vehicle.
The Government takes uninsured driving seriously and tackles this through Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE), a scheme where the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency collaborate to identify uninsured drivers; police enforcement on the road and through Operation Tutelage.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the frequency of rail services (a) at Chester-le-Street station and (b) in County Durham.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department works with stakeholders including Transport for the North, elected mayors, transport authorities and passenger groups, as well as train operators, to assess the demand for services. Rail North Partnership, through which the Department jointly manages Northern and TransPennine Trains’ contracts with Transport for the North, monitors operators’ planned train deployment to ensure this falls within the requirement on them to match capacity to demand within the constraints of the network.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to improve the (a) reliability and (b) frequency of bus services in (i) County Durham and (ii) the North East in collaboration with the Mayor of the North East.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government knows that Britain needs a modern transport network to help kickstart economic growth. Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will pass the Better Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, to ensure networks can meet the needs to the communities who rely on them, including in County Durham and the North East.
We also plan to empower local transport authorities through reforming bus funding. By giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding they can plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities. The Department will work closely with local leaders and bus operators to deliver on the government’s ambitions.