Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Disruptive Passengers Working Group last met; and what steps his Department has taken to reduce disruptive behaviour on planes.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Disruptive Passengers Working Group last met on the 8 May 2019. The Civil Aviation Authority utilised an industry-led forum from summer 2019 to March 2020 to engage with the sector on disruptive passenger issues.
The industry-led forum will meet again after the immediate challenges resulting from Covid-19 have been resolved.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the reduction in the number of high speed platforms from 18 to 16 at Euston on high speed services to (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Preston.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Work is ongoing to develop an optimised design and delivery strategy for Euston Station, including consideration of opportunities, efficiencies and scope reductions to address identified cost pressures noted in the first HS2 six-monthly report to Parliament (October 2020). As part of this work, the Department and HS2 Ltd have, with the involvement of other partners including Network Rail, been investigating whether building the HS2 station in a single phase would speed up delivery and reduce the overall cost. This work is currently indicating that moving to a slightly smaller HS2 station at Euston would have some benefits in terms of reducing costs and risks.
This work will help inform the way forward, with a final decision expected in Spring 2021. Initial HS2 Ltd analysis indicates that a slightly smaller station will not preclude the future operation of high speed services to Stoke-on-Trent and Preston.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with representatives of Highways England's Historic Railways Estate body on the compatibility of that body's policy on infilling and demolition with his Department's Restoring Your Railways fund.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Discussions have taken place on an on-going basis between Department for Transport officials with the officials in Highways England who manage the Historical Railway Estate (HRE). In addition policy officials in DfT are working collaboratively to ensure opportunities for re-use of HRE assets are maximised where possible, whilst ensuring the safety of the public and, wherever practicable, enabling continued access for pedestrians and cyclists
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to complete the environmental impact assessment for Phase 2b of the High Speed Two project.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The results of the HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg environmental impact assessment will be published in the Environmental Statement at hybrid Bill Deposit. We are aiming for the Phase 2b WL Bill to be deposited in Parliament by early 2022 and sooner if possible.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to permit owners of (a) motor homes and (b) other leisure vehicles to be allowed to take them to workshops to carry out MOT tests.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
All motorists are currently permitted to attend garages and MOT test centres for the purposes of obtaining an MOT test and other essential repairs to their vehicle.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure support for cross-Channel Eurostar services.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Ministers and officials, working with other Government Departments, have engaged extensively with Eurostar since March 2020 in relation to their financial situation and to help the company access Government support schemes where it is eligible and appropriate. We will continue to engage, at both official and Ministerial level, with Eurostar and the French government regarding Eurostar’s financial situation and any potential support proposals.
We will also work with the international travel industry, including Eurostar, through the relaunch of the Global Travel Taskforce and as we look to support the restart of wider international travel when it is safe to do so.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the guidance to avoid travel into and out of a tier 3 local covid alert level area on (a) the coach travel sector and (b) that sector's ability to access the expanded job support scheme for businesses legally required to close.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department regularly meets with the Confederation of Passenger Transport and representatives of the coach travel sector to assess the impact of travel guidance across local COVID alert areas and the sector’s ability to access financial support.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what future discussions he has planned with the Global Travel Taskforce.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Secretary of State for Transport jointly chairs the Global Travel Taskforce with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. They and other Ministers have very regular discussions about its work with officials and industry partners.
The Taskforce has undertaken extensive consultation with the transport industry, international partners, the tourism sector, business leaders, and the private testing sector, and invited submissions from all of these partners on its work.
The Taskforce will submit its recommendations to the Prime Minister in November.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions the Government has had with (a) Germany, (b) Canada, (c) the UAE and (d) other countries that are trialling or have put in place covid-19 testing regimes for international arrivals.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Through the Global Travel Taskforce the Government has engaged with a large number of international partners to develop a shared understanding of the challenges of restarting international travel, to exchange best practice, and to develop longer term structures for the future. These discussions have included different testing models for international arrivals, as well as non-testing-based measures designed to help restart international travel.
Additionally, we continue to work in ICAO to ensure global compliance and coordination with their ‘Take Off’ guidance and Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce recommendations on health measures.