Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the financial guarantee given to ensure the operators of the Mersey Gateway Bridge have no financial shortfall as a result of lower than expected traffic across that bridge has yet been called upon.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The financial guarantee has not been called upon.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many penalty charge notices issued by Merseyflow to people for failure to pay the toll on the Mersey Gateway Bridge have been appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal; and how many of those appeals were successful.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Mersey Gateway Bridge and its tolling system are the responsibility of Halton Borough Council. The Government does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2017 to Question 117278 on buses: tyres, which organisations have been approached by his Department to commission the research referred to in that answer.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to using robust evidence to guide policy decisions. To that end the Department for Transport approached Atkins/CH2M, the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), WSP (and their partner Frazer Nash), Arup and Pell Frischmann through the Highways England Procurement Framework to commission scientific research into the effects of chronological age on the integrity of tyres.
The first tender exercise in June 2016 received no bids. Following further discussions in September 2016 with potential suppliers to improve their understanding of our requirements, a second tender exercise was undertaken. However, this received only one response in December 2016 which did not address the research questions raised.
The Department subsequently engaged direct with TRL who were invited to submit a formal bid in December 2017. After careful consideration, TRL was awarded a 12-month contract to the value of £250,000 in January 2018. This was announced to the House on 1 March 2018. The findings will be published.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2017 to Question 117278 on buses:tyres, what progress his Department has made on commissioning the research referred to in that answer.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to using robust evidence to guide policy decisions. To that end the Department for Transport approached Atkins/CH2M, the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), WSP (and their partner Frazer Nash), Arup and Pell Frischmann through the Highways England Procurement Framework to commission scientific research into the effects of chronological age on the integrity of tyres.
The first tender exercise in June 2016 received no bids. Following further discussions in September 2016 with potential suppliers to improve their understanding of our requirements, a second tender exercise was undertaken. However, this received only one response in December 2016 which did not address the research questions raised.
The Department subsequently engaged direct with TRL who were invited to submit a formal bid in December 2017. After careful consideration, TRL was awarded a 12-month contract to the value of £250,000 in January 2018. This was announced to the House on 1 March 2018. The findings will be published.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2017 to Question 117278 on buses: tyres, what estimate he has made of the cost of commissioning the research referred to in that answer.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to using robust evidence to guide policy decisions. To that end the Department for Transport approached Atkins/CH2M, the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), WSP (and their partner Frazer Nash), Arup and Pell Frischmann through the Highways England Procurement Framework to commission scientific research into the effects of chronological age on the integrity of tyres.
The first tender exercise in June 2016 received no bids. Following further discussions in September 2016 with potential suppliers to improve their understanding of our requirements, a second tender exercise was undertaken. However, this received only one response in December 2016 which did not address the research questions raised.
The Department subsequently engaged direct with TRL who were invited to submit a formal bid in December 2017. After careful consideration, TRL was awarded a 12-month contract to the value of £250,000 in January 2018. This was announced to the House on 1 March 2018. The findings will be published.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on the liability of tractors to pay tolls on the Mersey Gateway Bridge.
Answered by Jesse Norman
No such representations have been received. The administration and imposition of tolls and penalty charge notices, including for tractors, are a matter for Merseylink and Halton Borough Council to decide.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that toilet facilities accredited to the Changing Places standard are available in all motorway service stations in England.
Answered by John Hayes
Whilst all Motorway Service Areas (MSAs) are privately operated businesses, they are required to fully comply with the Equality Act 2010 legislation. The application of the Act does not require operators to provide accessible changing facilities, but I have made it clear to operators my wish to see MSAs offer more than the legal minimum they are required to.
I have agreed to address this issue through my forthcoming Taskforce on the design and facilities of MSAs. The Taskforce will commission independent advice on the options and potential levers to increase well-being of all visitors to MSAs in England.
We will also consider the accessibility requirements of disabled and older travellers when visiting MSAs as part of the final Accessibility Action Plan due to be published in 2018.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of motorway service stations in the North West which provide toilet facilities to the Changing Places standard.
Answered by John Hayes
According to figures provided by Motorway Services Online, there are currently 14 toilet facilities provided to the Changing Places standard in England, with none in the North West. But I am clear that customers should have access to toilet facilities at motorway service areas that are appropriate to their needs.
I have therefore agreed to address this issue through my forthcoming Taskforce on the design and facilities of Motorway Service Areas (MSAs). The Taskforce will commission independent advice on the options and potential levers to increase well-being of all visitors to MSAs in England.
We will also consider the accessibility requirements of disabled and older travellers when visiting MSAs a part of the final Accessibility Action Plan due to be published in 2018.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of motorway service stations in England that provide toilet facilities to the Changing Places standard.
Answered by John Hayes
According to figures provided by Motorway Services Online, there are currently 14 toilet facilities provided to the Changing Places standard in England. But I am clear that customers should have access to toilet facilities at motorway service areas that are appropriate to their needs.
I have therefore agreed to address this issue through my forthcoming Taskforce on the design and facilities of Motorway Service Areas (MSAs). The Taskforce will commission independent advice on the options and potential levers to increase well-being of all visitors to MSAs in England.
We will also consider the accessibility requirements of disabled and older travellers when visiting MSAs as part of the final Accessibility Action Plan due to be published in 2018.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to remove the disparity in tolls on the Mersey Gateway Bridge between people who live within the local authority boundaries of Liverpool City Council and Knowsley Borough Council and those who have a Halton postcode.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As the recent Westminster Hall debate made clear, tolling on the Mersey Gateway Bridge is the responsibility of Halton Borough Council.
The Council has been clear from the time of early preparatory work for the bridge that it could only be constructed with the support of toll revenue, and that this would require also tolling the Silver Jubilee Bridge once renovated.
The Government has made a commitment by £288m to help fund this important piece of new infrastructure over the coming years, on top of the £86m already provided to Halton to develop the scheme and pay for land and contamination. The scheme is to that for the Dartford Crossing, which also has free use (after paying a small fee every year) for those in the immediate vicinity, but not for those outside it. The other major crossing across the Mersey, the Mersey Tunnels, is tolled for everyone, including those who live in the immediate vicinity.
The further extension of free tolling would incur substantial costs, much of which would fall on local councils, and would incur a very high risk of successful legal challenge.