Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage cyclists to use (a) high visibility clothing in the dark, (b) cycle helmets, (c) bicycle bells and (d) other safety precautions when out on the road.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Rule 59 of The Highway Code already says that cyclists should wear a cycle helmet which conforms to current regulations, is the correct size and securely fastened. It also recommends they should wear light-coloured or fluorescent clothing to help other road users see them in daylight and poor light, as well as reflective clothing and/or accessories in the dark. Rule 66 says that cyclists should use their bell when necessary to signal to other road users that they are nearby.
Changes to The Highway Code are due to come into effect later this month which will clarify and strengthen this advice. The proposed changes are summarised at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-the-highway-code-to-improve-road-safety-for-cyclists-pedestrians-and-horse-riders.
The Department has established a working group of key organisations to ensure that these changes are disseminated as widely as possible and understood by all road users. Our well-established THINK! campaign will ensure that as many road users as possible are aware when the changes come into effect, and will also highlight the importance of cyclists following the strengthened advice.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the hierarchy of road users as outlined in the Highway Code is understood by road users.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The hierarchy of road users is one of a number of proposed changes to The Highway Code to improve road safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse rider. The plan is to communicate the changes in two phases:
- A factual awareness raising campaign in early February, alerting road users to the changes as they come into effect.
- A broader behaviour change campaign later in the year, to align with seasonal increases in active travel, to help embed the changes and encourage understanding and uptake of the new guidance.
We are working with a broad range of stakeholders to ensure we develop communications that are fit for purpose and meet the needs of all road users.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the £1 billion of Government support for the electrification of vehicles and their supply chains includes (a) rural SMEs and (b) farms.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In November 2020, the Prime Minister announced a 10 Point Plan for a green industrial revolution, making clear our ambition to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030. To achieve these ambitions to accelerate the UK’s transition to zero emission vehicles, it is vital that we develop our capacity to manufacture key components for these vehicles, including batteries. The Automotive Transformation Fund has been set up to support the creation of a localised, internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain right here in the UK.
As part of the Net Zero Strategy, a further £350m of funding was announced for the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF). This is additional to the £500m of funding previously announced. The ATF supports R&D and capital investments across strategically important parts of the electric vehicle supply chain. The fund is open to applications from large, medium and small companies, provided they can demonstrate how their proposed project meets the ATF’s key objective of supporting the key elements of the electrification of the automotive sector. These technologies developed with HMG support, will be of benefit in the production of a range of types of vehicles including off-road vehicles as well as passenger cars and vans.
Government regularly engages with manufacturers, including supply chain businesses and automotive trade associations on opportunities to support the growth and competitiveness of the sector in the UK
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that rural and remote areas, including farms and on-street locations, will be included in plans to extend electric car charge point installation to homes and workplaces.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government is investing over £1.3 billion in accelerating the roll out of charging infrastructure, targeting support on rapid chargepoints on motorways and major A roads to dash any anxiety around long journeys, and supporting the installation of chargepoints near homes and workplaces to make charging as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car.
The Government’s forthcoming Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will focus on how we will unlock the chargepoint rollout needed to enable the transition from early adoption to mass market uptake of EVs. We will set out our next steps to address barriers to private investment, and level up charge point provision across all areas of the country, including rural and remote areas.
The Government already provides support for chargepoint installations at homes and workplaces across the UK. In 2022, the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme will be reformed to provide additional help for people living in rented and leasehold accommodation and the Workplace Charging Scheme will be opened to small accommodation business and the charity sector. This will help to accelerate electric vehicle uptake in rural areas and support the UK tourist industry.
To future proof homes, the Government has announced that it will require new homes and buildings undergoing major renovation with associated parking to have a charge point installed.
For those without access to off-street parking, the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, which is available to all UK local authorities will help to provide public chargepoints for their residents. This year, £20 million is available under the scheme to ensure more local authorities and residents can benefit.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on negotiations with (a) his Spanish counterpart and (b) his counterparts in other EU states that do not have reciprocity arrangements to allow blue badge holders to use their UK issued blue badge while travelling.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government remains committed to confirming the status of UK issued Blue Badges for visiting motorists, and continues to engage in discussions with a number of countries, including Spain. We cannot comment in detail on these discussions at this stage. The list of countries who have confirmed their position is available on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-badge-using-it-in-the-eu/using-a-blue-badge-in-the-european-union
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what initial assessment he has made on the progress of the e-scooter trials taking place across the UK.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We are running e-scooter trials in 32 areas to assess their safety and wider impacts.
E-scooter trials will run until 31 March 2022. This is an extension to the original deadline of 30 November 2021. It takes into account the slower start to trials as a result of the pandemic and will allow us more time to gather evidence as restrictions ease.
We have put in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme and data continues to be collected from the e-scooter trials. An interim report summarizing findings from the data collected so far will be published in autumn 2021, with a final report due in spring 2022.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the ability of the DVLA to improve the six week turnaround time for (a) HGV and (b) car driving licences.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and social distancing measures coupled with industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union and the current increased demand for DVLA services has led to delays for customers.
The DVLA is currently prioritising applications for HGV driving licences as these cannot currently be made online.
The DVLA continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times for paper applications and has introduced additional online services and recruited additional staff. The DVLA is exploring the possibility of securing extra office space to house more staff. This will be surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce backlogs while providing future resilience and business continuity.
Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
The DVLA has a number of channels of communication in order for applicants to seek updates on their driving licence applications. As well as the contact centre, email and webchat services are available. The DVLA also uses a Notify service for customers applying for an HGV driving licence which sends an email confirming receipt of their application. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support the DVLA to be contactable by applicants seeking updates on (a) HGV and (b) car driving licence applications.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and social distancing measures coupled with industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union and the current increased demand for DVLA services has led to delays for customers.
The DVLA is currently prioritising applications for HGV driving licences as these cannot currently be made online.
The DVLA continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times for paper applications and has introduced additional online services and recruited additional staff. The DVLA is exploring the possibility of securing extra office space to house more staff. This will be surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce backlogs while providing future resilience and business continuity.
Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
The DVLA has a number of channels of communication in order for applicants to seek updates on their driving licence applications. As well as the contact centre, email and webchat services are available. The DVLA also uses a Notify service for customers applying for an HGV driving licence which sends an email confirming receipt of their application. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the work of the DVLA to improve paperwork turnaround times during summer 2021 for (a) HGV and (b) car driving licences.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and social distancing measures coupled with industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union and the current increased demand for DVLA services has led to delays for customers.
The DVLA is currently prioritising applications for HGV driving licences as these cannot currently be made online.
The DVLA continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times for paper applications and has introduced additional online services and recruited additional staff. The DVLA is exploring the possibility of securing extra office space to house more staff. This will be surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce backlogs while providing future resilience and business continuity.
Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
The DVLA has a number of channels of communication in order for applicants to seek updates on their driving licence applications. As well as the contact centre, email and webchat services are available. The DVLA also uses a Notify service for customers applying for an HGV driving licence which sends an email confirming receipt of their application. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to (a) encourage passenger growth and (b) support passenger capacity on the (i) Birmingham to Leicester and (ii) Birmingham to Derby via Tamworth railway routes.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The rail industry has launched the “Get back on track” advertising campaign to attract passengers back to the railway. CrossCountry also has its own advertising campaign. Passenger demand is increasing across the network which is to be welcomed.
In May 2021, all contractual train services were reinstated on the CrossCountry Class 170 routes including between Birmingham and Leicester and Nottingham. Investment by the DfT has provided six additional carriages for these routes. As a result there are more services on the Birmingham - Leicester – Stansted and the Nottingham – Cardiff routes, which are now formed of three rather than two carriages.