Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has a policy on Uber taxi drivers operating outside the local authority area in which those drivers have a licence.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Legislation allows taxis and private hire vehicles to operate outside of the area in which they are licensed. Taxis can only ply for hire (pick up passengers at taxi ranks or be hailed in the street) in the area in which they are licensed. Pre-booked work by private hire vehicles and taxis can be undertaken anywhere. This allows the sector to work flexibly to meet the needs of their passengers.
The Government however recognises concerns around out-of-area working and is considering options to strengthen the regulation of the sector.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on the construction of the Midlands Rail Hub project.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
£123m was committed to design the first phase of Midlands Rail Hub in March 2024, which, subject to future decisions, could be delivered by the early 2030s.
In December, the Chancellor launched the second stage of the Spending Review. This is a zero-based Spending Review, to ensure every line of spending – including the transport infrastructure portfolio – delivers the Plan for Change and provides good value for taxpayers. We expect the Spending Review to conclude by June 2025.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to take steps to improve the regulation of electrically assisted pedal cycles to (a) assist police with enforcement and (b) clarify the law for the public.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no immediate plans to amend the regulations on electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs). The previous administration consulted on potential changes to regulations, including increasing the maximum power of an EAPC from 250 to 500 Watts, but the Government has decided against this.
More broadly, the Government’s White Paper on English Devolution, published in December 2024, included proposals for greater powers for Local Transport Authorities to manage EAPC rental schemes and to tackle the scourge of badly parked cycles and e-cycles.
In addition, the Government will be bringing forward new legislation to enable the police to take vehicles, including EAPCs, off the road more quickly where they are being ridden in an anti-social manner, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing them.
Finally, the Department published updated information for the public in December 2024 on the legal use of EAPCs, which is available on gov.uk. It is for the police to take enforcement action where these rules are not followed.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department (a) is undertaking research projects and (b) has issued recent guidance on best practice on pothole repairs.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to enabling local highway authorities to maintain and renew the local highway network.
As well as providing highway maintenance capital funding allocations to local highway authorities in England, it also funds the Transport Research Innovation Grant (T-TRIG) programme, run jointly with the Connected Places Catapult, and is funding the £30 million “Live Labs” Decarbonising Roads programme, which enables local authorities to trial innovative low-carbon ways of maintaining their highway networks.
In addition to the funding that the Department provides to local highway authorities, it endorses guidance such as the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice on Well Managed Highway Infrastructure. This recommends that local highway authorities take an integrated, risk-based approach to managing their highway infrastructure, and offers advice on all aspects of highway maintenance, including the frequency of inspections recommended for various types of structures. The Department has committed to updating this guidance and has begun scoping changes with the UKRLG.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential economic impact of the disruption to rail services between Cheltenham and London during the construction of Old Oak Common station on affected (a) consumers and (b) businesses.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Old Oak Common is essential to support the Government’s growth mission. We recognise the potential economic impact that disruption could have, and my department continues to work with Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies to align works and minimise disruption to passengers on the Great Western Main Line during the construction of the new station. We are also using standard industry precedents to manage enhancements on the network including compensating industry bodies.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to mitigate (a) cancellations and (b) delays to rail between Cheltenham and London during the construction period for Old Oak Common station.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department continues to work closely with HS2, Network Rail, GWR, TfL and Heathrow Express to mitigate the impacts of Old Oak Common construction. This aims to minimise disruption to passengers on the Great Western Main Line during the construction of the new station and during its operation, including through investing £30m to ensure that passenger services can continue to operate.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to implement the policies in her Department's policy paper entitled The plan for drivers, published on 2 October 2023.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
“The Plan for Drivers” was published by the previous government. The Department is considering the measures within it in the light of this Government’s priorities.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of train cancellations by Great Western Railway on passengers travelling to and from Cheltenham Spa station on (a) weekdays and (b) weekends.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rail Minister recently met with Great Western Railway and Network Rail Western route to review recent performance and made it clear that both organisations must address issues contributing to cancellations. Officials continue to monitor both organisations’ performance against targets and when performance falls below these, appropriate action will be taken to address this.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the (a) punctuality and (b) performance of Cross Country rail services (i) to and (ii) from Cheltenham Spa.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
CrossCountry has recently been placed on a formal Remedial Plan to ensure it takes action to address performance issues across its network and increases essential driver training. This is expected to result in a more reliable service following the implementation of the plan. The Department will closely monitor the progress of the plan and if CrossCountry fails to deliver, further action will be taken in line with its contractual terms.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has had discussions with Network Rail about its intentions to allow its land between Cheltenham Spa rail station and Lansdown Road, Cheltenham to be used to facilitate the development of the Gloucestershire Cycle Spine.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has not directly discussed land access with Network Rail for this route but is supporting and providing funding to Sustrans and Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) to deliver a route between Cheltenham Spa Station and Lansdown Road as part of the Cycle Rail Programme. We understand that Great Western Railway, Network Rail and GCC are working closely together to progress this project. GCC is responsible for securing appropriate land access agreements with Network Rail.