Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Civil Aviation (Working Time) Regulations 2004 to ensure that workers in civil aviation are awarded the national average annual leave entitlement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Department for Transport officials are liaising with colleagues in the Civil Aviation Authority to understand and review the historic rationale for the divergence in annual leave entitlements between the Civil Aviation (Working Time) Regulations and other legislation. Should the Department determine that amendments are appropriate, it would then look to consult with the sector to help inform any assessment.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which local authority in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) England had the highest number of alcohol-related traffic collisions in the latest period for which information is available.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Data on personal injury road collisions reported by police is available via the STATS19 data collection. This includes the results of breath tests conducted by the police at the scene of collisions. The latest breath test data is for 2021.
Within the Greater Manchester metropolitan area, the local authority with the highest number of injury collisions where at least one driver failed a breath test (including drivers who refused to provide a sample) was Manchester with 23. The local authority with the highest number in England was Kent with 154.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of Avanti West Coast staffing levels at the ticket office at Stockport railway station.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Staffing levels at stations is a matter for the operator. Each operator manages its staffing levels in order to meet its requirements and any other responsibilities.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that train operating companies accept cash at (a) catering outlets on trains and (b) ticket purchases at railway stations.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As modern ticketing and payment methods are rolled out more widely, we will continue to ensure that all passengers who need to use cash, or do not have access to a smartphone or the internet, can buy a ticket and have access to help and advice from a trained representative.
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers. This includes ensuring that passengers can easily buy the right ticket for the journey they want to make, with consideration of the product range available at the station and what support is available to help with purchase.
Catering arrangements are managed by individual train operators.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the number of journeys made on local bus services in (a) Stockport constituency and (b) Stockport Borough.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department publishes annual National Statistics on the number of passenger journeys on local buses. The statistics do not present figures for Stockport constituency or Stockport Borough as the data is not collected at this level of granularity, instead figures for Greater Manchester are available.
The latest annual bus statistics for 2021/22 are available on GOV.UK and passenger journeys for Greater Manchester are available in table BUS01e: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-bus-statistics-year-ending-march-2022
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to provide ring-fenced funding for (a) cleaning, (b) maintenance and (c) repair work for the Stockport viaduct.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government’s published its £44.1 billion funding settlement for Network Rail's operation, maintenance and renewal of the railway in the next Control Period on 1 December 2022.
It is for Network Rail, under the oversight of the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, in determining the best way to allocate this funding across the railways of England and Wales.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of future trends in the level of demand for flights to India from Manchester Airport; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
DfT officials hold regular discussions with airlines, airports and international partners, including India, to facilitate global connectivity. Routes operated, and the flights on those routes, are a commercial decision made freely by airlines not by the Government. As this is a commercial decision, the DfT has not undertaken any assessment on future trends in the level of demand for flights to India from Manchester Airport.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) promote cyclists traveling by train, (b) encourage train operators to provide more capacity for cyclists and (c) improve communication from train operators about travelling with cycles on their services.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to improving integration between rail and other modes of transport to improve journeys for passengers.
The long-term cycling and walking plan of July 2020 set out 33 actions to increase cycling and walking, including improving cycle rail integration and improving bike access on trains. Between 2012 and 2022, the Government provided over £40m to create new secure bike spaces at train stations, and additional supporting features such as CCTV, lighting, ramps and cycle repair stations. In 2021-22 this included £2 million funding for cycling facilities at train stations and £1m for cycling routes to stations.
The Department will continue to work with the Train Operating Companies to ensure that customers have the information they require for their journeys.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the pay rate for outsourced rail cleaners across Avanti West Coast services.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Although no assessment has been made of the adequacy of the pay rate of cleaners working on Avanti West Coast (AWC) trains by the Department, AWC are required to maintain living wage accreditation, which means ensuring its supply chain is also compliant within three years of receiving the accreditation in 2021.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department is providing to unpaid carers in (a) Stockport constituency and (b) Greater Manchester to help deal with the effects of the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Greater Manchester Combined Authority has been allocated £94.8 million government funding for their Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), to deliver improvements to their local bus services. Part of this funding has been used to introduce a £2 bus fare cap to help people in Stockport and Greater Manchester with cost of living pressures and save on everyday travel costs. This is in addition to £1.07billion funding from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement to transform local public transport and active travel networks and £37.5 million for zero emission buses, which will benefit all residents.
In order to keep vital services running, we have provided over £135 million in emergency and recovery funding since March 2020 to Greater Manchester Combined Authority and bus operators to support bus services until end of June. On 17 May, we announced that we will provide up to £300 million in further funding from July 2023 until April 2025, of which £140 million will go to bus operators in England, outside London, to help them maintain bus services. Recently we confirmed an additional £18m in extraordinary funding for Greater Manchester to help maintain local transport services until the end of 2024.