Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve connectivity between the east and west of England.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are changing our approach to transport across the country with the announcement of Network North.
We are investing in schemes such as Northern Powerhouse Rail which will connect some of the North’s biggest towns and cities with faster, more frequent electrified services; East West Rail, a new railway line that will provide east-west connectivity across the Oxford-Cambridge region; improvements to the A50/A500 corridor; and the A66 project between M6 junction 40 at Penrith and A1(M) at Scotch Corner which will widen to dual-carriageway standard the remaining six single-carriageway sections and upgrade major junctions.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will provide funding to reopen the Leamside rail line.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Leamside Line is a Transport North East led project. The Government is giving locally elector mayors the means to spend on the priorities they determine are right for the parts of the country they represent, rather than taking all decisions in Westminster. We have made a promise to provide around £1.8 billion funding to the North East and they can then choose which schemes they allocate the funding to.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to take steps to create a Government app for electric vehicle charging which has access to all charging point providers sites.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is driving innovation in the charge point market in order to best support consumers. This would be hindered by mandating a single app.
The Government has instead laid The Public Charge Points Regulations 2023, which will mandate payment roaming at all public charge points. Drivers will then be able to pay for multiple chargepoint networks through one app or smartcard. This will enable streamlined payments across charging networks, without the need for multiple apps.
The Governments expects the market to eventually converge on a few apps that cover the majority of the public charging network.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve road safety for all road users; and what plans he has to help reduce the number of road (a) accidents and (b) fatalities.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Britain’s roads are some of the safest in the world, but we are always looking at ways to help keep drivers and all road users safe. In June 2018 the Department announced £100 million of funding for the Top 50 most dangerous ‘A’ roads in England, to date £147.5 million has been allocated throughout a series of rounds over the last 6 years.
This project works closely with the Local Authorities and the Road Safety Foundation, providing tailored safety interventions specific to each road’s risk, encouraging safe system principles and improving infrastructure for more active travel. This scheme is expected to save 1500 lives over the next 20 years and is already improving safety for all road users.
The Highway Code was updated on 29 January 2022, the changes will lead to improvements in road safety as they encourage more mutual respect and consideration for all road users.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that responses to the consultation on ticket office closures are given appropriate weight in line with the Equality Act 2010 and the Transport Act 2000.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Following the end of the consultations, the independent passenger bodies now play a vital role in assessing and shaping proposals. Train operators have entered into discussions with the passenger bodies to take account of feedback from the consultation responses. We expect train operators to work collaboratively with the passenger bodies in the coming weeks, to listen to the concerns raised and to refine their proposals accordingly.
The Department has no role in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) process unless objections cannot be resolved between the train operator and passenger body and are referred to the Secretary of State for a decision. If called upon to make a determination on a specific ticket office proposal, the Secretary of State will follow the TSA process alongside the relevant guidance and will take into account the equality implications of the proposal in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle strike action which delays commuters.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Since coming into office, the Secretary of State and I have positively changed the tone and facilitated discussions to bring an end to the industrial action.
Negotiations are between industry and the trade unions. RMT and ASLEF decided not to allow their members to have a say on the fair and reasonable offers that were proposed by industry. Instead, they rejected these outright and have pressed on with industrial action that impacts their members and the public. This industrial action will not avoid the need for essential workforce reform.
Together with industry we are keen to press ahead with critical reforms so that we achieve a financially and operationally sustainable rail network that provides a service that passengers deserve.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to (a) tackle reductions in bus services and (b) help ensure that older people can access transport.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Transport recently announced a long-term approach to protect and improve bus services backed by an additional £300 million until April 2025. £140 million of this funding will go to bus operators to support services, and the remaining £160 million will go to Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) to protect and enhance bus services, and support local fares initiatives. This funding builds on the over £2 billion the Government provided to bus operators and LTAs from March 2020 to June 2023 to keep bus services running and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.
This funding is in addition to the over £1 billion the Government is providing to 34 counties, city regions and unitary authorities to help local areas level up their bus services and deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans. We also make available up to £259 million every year for bus operators and LTAs to keep fares down and run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation through the Bus Service Operators Grant.
The Government supports council spending of around £1 billion a year on concessionary travel so that eligible older and disabled people can travel on off-peak buses up and down the country for free. Statistics for 2021/22 showed that concessionary bus journeys are down by more than a third since before the pandemic. That is why we recently launched the ‘Take the Bus’ communications drive to encourage older and disabled people who are eligible for a concessionary pass to use the free bus travel available to them to get out and about, meet friends and family, and rediscover local attractions.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage HGV drivers over the age of 60 to continue working; and whether his Department is taking steps to (a) reduce the cost for the Driver Qualification Card and (b) remove other barriers for people in this age range.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The five-yearly renewal of lorry and bus licences from age 45, and annual renewal from age 65 require an HGV driver to make a declaration regarding their health and to submit a medical report. This process is designed to be balanced and proportionate and reflect the greater road safety risks posed by the driving of larger vehicles. Age on its own is not a reliable indicator of health, however, it is widely accepted that the likelihood of developing conditions which may affect fitness to drive increases with age.
The Department for Transport has consulted on possible reforms to the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, which was enabled by the UK leaving the European Union. Officials are reviewing responses to proposals, which include reforms to make renewal of cards and re-entry to the sector more proportionate for experienced drivers.
Welfare is key to driver retention and improving lorry parking facilities continues to be a central component of this work. Lorry drivers will soon benefit from improved roadside facilities and safer rest areas thanks to up to £100 million investment from industry and Government via the ‘HGV parking and welfare grant scheme’ and National highways funding to improve roadside facilities. This funding will support operators to improve security, showers and eating facilities.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure local commuter railway lines in the North East are served by (a) frequent and (b) reliable services.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Rail North Partnership (RNP), through which the Department and Transport for the North jointly manage Northern Train’s and TransPennine Express contracts, work closely with operators and stakeholders to monitor services and seek improvements to meet the needs of passengers and communities in the North East.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of the A19.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The A19 north of Thirsk is part of the strategic road network managed by National Highways. Safety is National Highways number one priority, and it is committed to continue improving road safety for all its customers, work force and supply chain across the network, including the A19.
National Highways has delivered a number of schemes recently on the A19, including carriageway widening between Norton and Wynyard, as well as new junctions at Testos and Downhill Lane, both of which are aimed at improving road safety, reducing congestion and enhancing accessibility for non-motorised users. It is also delivering a rolling programme of safety improvements at central reserve gaps along the A19.
The A19 is considered in National Highways London to Scotland East (North) route strategy. This will consider further work packages of interventions that address safety concerns on the route. It will also identify wider active travel, environmental, and resilience measures where possible. With regards to the accessibility of the A19, the route strategies process has used a broad range of metrics and stakeholder input to consider this, including: severance caused by the physical infrastructure, particularly the impact this has on pedestrians, cyclists and local communities; the physical capacity of the A19 and associated delay experienced by drivers; and the accessibility that the A19 affords to the work places and communities of the urban areas that it serves.
The initial findings of the London to Scotland East (North) route strategy will be published in the coming months. National Highways will continue to review the performance of the A19 and engage with its stakeholders ahead of the publication of final route strategies alongside its Strategic Business Plan and Delivery Plan following the publication of RIS3.