Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Dart Charge payments were (a) late and (b) not paid since 2010.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Dart Charge free flow system is a prepayment system, but with users given until midnight the day after the crossing was made to make a payment without penalty. 95% of users of the Dartford Crossing pay in compliance with these charging rules and the 5% who do not are sent a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). There is no category of ‘late payment’.
The number of UK PCNs issued since the introduction of the free flow charging scheme is as follows:
2015 - 2,106,748
2016 - 2,051,013
2017 - 1,869,800
2018 (up until 30/11/2018) - 2,014,737
Highways England pursue PCN cases vigorously, with 75 per cent of these paid following enforcement processes.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the current average (a) waiting time and (b) crossing time for cars using the Dartford crossing.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Highways England do not hold data for average waiting times for cars using the Dartford Crossing. The Dartford Crossing was designed to be a Free Flow Crossing without toll booths.
With regard to average crossing times, the table below contains the available average all-day journey time data for the northbound route from M25 Junction 2 to M25 Junction 30 including the Dartford Thurrock Crossing. This data has been collected by Highways England and processed on a consistent and comparable basis since June 2018. With regard to data collected from 2014 to June 2018, I refer my Rt Hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 7 November 2018 to Commons Question 185533.
Average Journey Time, Dartford Crossing Northbound (M25 J2 - J30), July 2018 – Sept 2018
Time period (month-year) | Average journey time (minutes: seconds) |
Jul-18 | 10.16 |
Aug-18 | 10.13 |
Sep-18 | 08:51 |
The table below contains the available average all-day journey time data for the southbound route from M25 Junction 29 to M25 Junction 1b including the Dartford Thurrock Crossing. This data has been collected and processed on a consistent and comparable basis since 2014.
Average Journey Time, Dartford Crossing Southbound (M25 J29 – J1b), 2014-18
Time period (month-year) | Average journey time | Time period (month-year) | Average journey time |
Jan-14 | 11:32 | Jan-17 | 10:58 |
Feb-14 | 13:25 | Feb-17 | 11:33 |
Mar-14 | 12:47 | Mar-17 | 10:52 |
Apr-14 | 17:04 | Apr-17 | 10:19 |
May-14 | 17:08 | May-17 | 10:31 |
Jun-14 | 17:04 | Jun-17 | 11:00 |
Jul-14 | 21:53 | Jul-17 | 10:53 |
Aug-14 | 21:44 | Aug-17 | 11:13 |
Sep-14 | 15:36 | Sep-17 | 10:57 |
Oct-14 | 19:21 | Oct-17 | 11:38 |
Nov-14 | 17:26 | Nov-17 | 11:45 |
Dec-14 | 10:47 | Dec-17 | 11:22 |
Jan-15 | 10:17 | Jan-18 | 10:58 |
Feb-15 | 10:25 | Feb-18 | 11:41 |
Mar-15 | 10:54 | Mar-18 | 12:18 |
Apr-15 | 10:34 | Apr-18 | 10:42 |
May-15 | 11:11 | May-18 | 10:46 |
Jun-15 | 11:20 | Jun-18 | 10:41 |
Jul-15 | 11:28 | Jul-18 | 11:32 |
Aug-15 | 10:25 | Aug-18 | 11:20 |
Sep-15 | 10:16 | Sep-18 | 10:48 |
Oct-15 | 10:54 | ||
Nov-15 | 11:11 | ||
Dec-15 | 11:23 | ||
Jan-16 | 11:59 | ||
Feb-16 | 13:16 | ||
Mar-16 | 12:27 | ||
Apr-16 | 12:31 | ||
May-16 | 12:21 | ||
Jun-16 | 11:32 | ||
Jul-16 | 12:08 | ||
Aug-16 | 12:33 | ||
Sep-16 | 11:37 | ||
Oct-16 | 12:15 | ||
Nov-16 | 13:09 | ||
Dec-16 | 11:29 |
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the environmental effect of the current volume of traffic at the Dartford crossing.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Along with Dartford Borough Council and Thurrock Council, Highways England maintains air quality monitoring units near the Dartford Crossing and monitors the effect of traffic volumes.
In response to concerns about air quality at the Crossing, Highways England are currently investigating options for improving air quality on the A282 approach to the Crossing.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles used the Dartford crossing in each year since 2010; and how many vehicles his Department forecasts will use the Dartford crossing in 2027.
Answered by Jesse Norman
| During charging hours only | All Hours |
2014 | 43,877,259 | 49,931,560 |
2015 | 46,658,806 | 53,396,502 |
2016 | 48,113,881 | 55,527,345 |
2017 | 49,498,775 | 57,341,717 |
2018 (up until 30/11/2018) | 45,898,753 | 53,251,637 |
Highways England does not hold forecast data for vehicles on the Dartford Crossing in 2027.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to classify diabetes as a clinical priority.
Answered by Steve Brine
Preventing diabetes and promoting the best possible care for people with diabetes is a key priority for this Government.
The Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2018/19 includes an objective for NHS England “to lead a step change in the National Health Service in preventing ill health and supporting people to live healthier lives”. This includes people with diabetes.
The NHS has been asked to set out a long term plan for the future of the NHS, setting out ambitions for improvement over the next decade, and plans to meet them over the five years of the funding settlement. Further investment in diabetes prevention and treatment will be determined in the context of the long term plan, which is due to be published later this year.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the building of a footpath over the railway bridge in Crockenhill, reference SD341, has been delayed; and what the timetable is for Network Rail to complete that work.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport does not hold this detailed information. However, I understand from Network Rail (NR) that the Crockenhill footbridge was inspected and found to be in a dangerous and unsafe condition and has been closed since September 2017. NR has put together a plan to see this old bridge removed and a new one installed by the end of this financial year. However this schedule is dependent on agreement of third parties whose co-operation is required to carry out both the removal of the old bridge and the installation of the new one. Providing NR can resolve these matters successfully, they expect to be able to confirm the timescales for the replacement of the bridge before the end of 2018.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on SMEs in Kent of making customs declarations for the first time in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government remains confident of agreeing a mutually advantageous deal with the EU. However, we understand that if in the unlikely event that the UK leaves without a deal, customs declarations will become a new obligation for UK-EU trade which could affect many small and medium sized businesses.
HMRC continues to engage with businesses and their representative trade bodies and undertakes further specific engagement to understand how they will be affected by these new obligations. HMRC has written to 145,000 traders over the VAT threshold who currently only trade with the EU to help them plan for a no deal scenario. Alongside this, HMT and HMRC are supporting the intermediaries sector to expand ahead of March 19, so that they can provide services to SMEs.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect on Kent’s tourism industry of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Michael Ellis
My Department has not made an assessment of the impact on Kent’s tourism industry of different scenarios related to leaving the EU. My officials are however in regular dialogue with the tourism sector to understand potential implications. This includes recently meeting with Visit Kent.
We have agreed in principle the terms of the UK’s smooth and orderly exit from the EU, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement. We have also agreed the broad terms of our future relationship as set out in the outline Political Declaration. We do not want or expect a no deal scenario, however we continue to prepare for a range of potential outcomes.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what financial assistance he plans to provide to Kent Police in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Government is confident that we will secure the right deal for the UK’s exit from the European Union. We are working with the police to make appropriate plans should they be required. Any force which faces significant unexpected costs may apply for additional funding through the Police Special Grant in the first instance. Kent Police has made a request for funding through Special Grant in respect of planning costs, which is being considered.
Asked by: Michael Fallon (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the absence of the Royal Air Force aerobatic team during part of the 2019 UK air display season, what steps his Department is taking to promote the Royal Air Force to a domestic audience in the next calendar year.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The tour of North America in 2019 by the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team is a large-scale tour which will support the UK prosperity agenda through the GREAT Britain campaign. The RAF will continue to engage with the domestic audience in the air and on the ground, and will build on the success of the RAF 100 campaign. In particular, other air display assets including Typhoon, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Falcons Parachute Team will be available to support a variety of events and their participation will be carefully prioritised to deliver maximum impact.