Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
If he will take steps to provide the Civil Aviation Authority with additional powers to sanction (a) airlines and (b) other aviation industry stakeholders for failing to meet their obligations to disabled passengers.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Air travel needs to be accessible and enjoyable for everyone. That is why the Department consulted last year on whether the Civil Aviation Authority should have additional administrative powers to enforce consumer laws, and on compensation in the event of wheelchairs being damaged on UK domestic flights. Ministers are reviewing responses and will set out next steps shortly.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the extent of the backlog in practical driving test availability in Lanarkshire; and what steps he is taking to tackle that backlog.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The average waiting time for practical car driving tests in Lanarkshire is 19.75 weeks (East Kilbride 19 weeks, Airdrie 23 weeks, Hamilton 24 weeks, Lanark 13 weeks).
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has put in place a number of measures to increase practical driving tests. These include offering overtime and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays). The DVSA has also started a recruitment campaign to increase the number of examiners.
The aim is to increase testing capacity and reduce the backlog as quickly as possible, whilst maintaining a COVID-secure service for customers and examiners.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of train stations in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Motherwell and Wishaw constituency are fitted with tactile markings at the platform edge.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Rail Delivery Group are currently responsible collating data on facilities at stations and ensuring this is kept up to date. This is published on the National Rail Enquiries website.
Information on specific National Rail stations is here:
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/default.aspx
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of covid-19 restrictions on the completion of driving tests.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
To help stop the spread of coronavirus, restriction periods were introduced during which time driver testing was suspended.
Driving tests that were booked to take place during the restrictions were rescheduled to the next available slots. Candidates had the option of a test fee refund if their rescheduled date was not suitable.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency continues to work with Transport Scotland to resume testing services in a COVID-secure way and ensure the Scottish Government’s five-level system is adhered to.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when driving lessons and practical driving tests will resume; and whether tests cancelled as a result of covid-19 will be reimbursed in full.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
As the health and safety of staff and customers is key, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working closely with the Department for Transport to prepare for a safe return to testing. It will announce details of resumption in due course.
The DVSA recommends that, currently, approved driving instructors (ADI) should only provide lessons to candidates who have an essential need.
Before practical driving tests are reintroduced, the DVSA will inform the driver training industry. This will help candidates prepare and reach the standard of driving needed to pass their test.
Candidates who have had their practical driving test suspended as a result of COVID-19 will receive an email from the DVSA telling them the date of their rescheduled test. The test will be rescheduled automatically, and free of charge. The candidate can, if they prefer, request a refund of their practical test fee.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average length of time was for Ministers of his Department to respond to correspondence from hon. Members in each month in the last two years.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In line with Cabinet Office guidance, the Department for Transport has a target of responding within 20 working days where a response is required. In September 2019 the Department adopted its own internal target of 7 Working days.
As you will understand, the Department for Transport is currently dealing with unprecedented volumes of correspondence due to COVID-19. The Department ensures that urgent cases raised by hon. Members are prioritised, and is taking steps to provide substantive responses in as short a time as possible.
All correspondence received from hon. Members is being reviewed and will be responded to as soon as possible.
A table showing the average number of days taken to respond to correspondence from Hon. Members is below. Please note, in some cases Ministers had not been appointed to the Department at the time the correspondence was received, however they signed the final reply, leading to some delay due to the handover from previous ministers.
Average Number of Days to Respond - All Ministers by Month | |||||||
Jan-18 | 17.32 | Jan-19 | 32.06 | Jan-20 | 10.33 | ||
Feb-18 | 17.50 | Feb-19 | 14.66 | Feb-20 | 8.77 | ||
Mar-18 | 15.66 | Mar-19 | 31.23 | Mar-20 | 13.15 | ||
Apr-18 | 18.99 | Apr-19 | 31.70 | Apr-20 | 8.42 | ||
May-18 | 20.31 | May-19 | 30.27 | May-20 | 4.20 | ||
Jun-18 | 20.48 | Jun-19 | 24.80 | ||||
Jul-18 | 21.55 | Jul-19 | 15.22 | ||||
Aug-18 | 30.81 | Aug-19 | 13.07 | ||||
Sep-18 | 52.62 | Sep-19 | 7.27 | ||||
Oct-18 | 49.76 | Oct-19 | 6.63 | ||||
Nov-18 | 38.60 | Nov-19 | 6.53 | ||||
Dec-18 | 36.34 | Dec-19 | 10.10 | ||||
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to provide financial support to companies that need to replace their fleets in order to comply with the requirements of low emission zones.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Local authorities in England can bid for funding from the Government’s £286m Clean Air Fund (CAF) to provide support measures for individuals and businesses impacted by local air quality plans implemented as part of the 2017 UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations. These measures can include support for individuals and businesses to upgrade their vehicles to comply with the requirements of charging Clean Air Zones. £57.5m funding from the CAF has already been allocated including for vehicle upgrade schemes. Air quality is a devolved policy issue in the UK.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how long it should take for a licence to be returned following a D2 application when all medical evidence has been submitted to the Driver Medical Team at the DVLA.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency expects it to take around 15 working days following receipt of a D2 application for a licence to be returned to the customer. This is provided that the medical information declared on the accompanying D4 medical report confirms the applicant meets the required medical standards and no further medical information is required.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the cost of installing audio-visual equipment on (a) mid- and (b) late-life buses.
Answered by George Freeman
In 2018 the previous Government consulted on proposals for requiring the provision of audible and visible information on-board local bus and coach services in Great Britain. In particular, it sought evidence on the impact of installing audio-visual equipment on different vehicles.
Responses were received from a range of stakeholders, including representatives of smaller operators. We are finalising our response to the consultation and will announce our next steps in due course.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding was allocated to installing audio-visual equipment on buses in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by George Freeman
Alongside publication of its 2018 Inclusive Transport Strategy, the previous Government allocated £2 million to help smaller local bus and coach operators provide audible and visible information on board their services.
This money will be made available to operators in England, Scotland and Wales through a funding competition later this year, and further information on how they can apply for it will be made available in due course.
Equalities policy is devolved in Northern Ireland and operators there are not covered by this scheme.