Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
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 has been made on that research.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Research commissioned by the Department for Transport is proceeding to schedule and, as the House was advised in June this year, the report should be available early in 2019.
The current research does not include tyres over 10-years of age but work is underway to secure suitable samples that will be added to the programme. Additional funding is being made available to support this extended analysis and the Department is working with the contractor to ensure that any delays to the final report are kept to a minimum.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the trends in the (a) quantity and (b) frequency of bus services in Garston and Halewood constituency since 2010.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Department does not hold any data on the quantity and frequency of bus services in Garston and Halewood constituency.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has allocated to Merseytravel for supported bus services in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Up until 31 December 2013 Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) was paid directly to bus operators and was not split between commercially run or subsidised bus services. We are therefore unable to provide figures for this period. From 1 January 2014 local authorities have received funding equivalent to the level of BSOG which would otherwise have been paid to operators for running subsidised services in 2014. Details of the amounts paid to local authorities each year can be found on the “Payments to Local Authorities” tab of the relevant spreadsheets published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bus-services-grants-and-funding#bsog-spend
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many supported bus services currently run in the Garston and Halewood constituency; and how that figure has changed in each year since 2010.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Department does not hold any data on the quantity and frequency of bus services in Garston and Halewood constituency.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure the continued provision of existing supported bus services in the Garston and Halewood constituency.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Where there is not enough demand for a bus route to be commercially viable in its own right, all local authorities have powers to subsidise bus services which they consider socially necessary.
Local authorities are best placed to decide which services are most appropriate for support in their respective areas and deliver the greatest benefits for their residents. We believe it is right that such decisions should be made locally. To enable them to do this, the Government provides funding through Revenue Support Grant, which local authorities are free to prioritise as they set fit; and through the £50m local authority Bus Service Operator Grant, which is ring-fenced for bus services.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the trends in the frequency of (a) commercial bus services and (b) supported bus services in Garston and Halewood constituency since 2010.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Department does not hold any data on the quantity and frequency of bus services in Garston and Halewood constituency.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) communications and (b) meetings Ministers and officials of his Department have had with (i) Halton Borough Council, (ii) Mersey Gateway since the ruling of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal on the legal enforceability of the Mersey Gateway Bridge tolls; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Ministers have had no communications or meetings with Halton Borough Council or the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, since the ruling of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal on the legal enforceability of the Mersey Gateway Bridge tolls. Halton Borough Council have been in contact with Department officials regarding their response to the ruling. The Department has no plans to intervene in this issue.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will undertake research to identify the economic impact on the Liverpool City Region of tolls on the (a) Mersey Gateway Bridge, (b) Silver Jubilee Bridge, (c) Kingsway Tunnel and (d) Queensway Tunnel.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Department has agreed with Halton Borough Council that they will produce a monitoring and evaluation report, one year and five years after the opening of the Mersey Gateway Bridge. The five year report will include consideration of the economic effects of the scheme. The Department has no plans to undertake research on other crossings in the region.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
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 - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The financial guarantee has not been called upon.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
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 - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Mersey Gateway Bridge and its tolling system are the responsibility of Halton Borough Council. The Government does not hold the information requested.