Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the efficiency of (a) traffic commissioners and (b) DVLA offices in processing licence renewals for C1 vehicle handlers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A functional review of the work of the traffic commissioners was carried out in 2021-2022 and the report can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-commissioner-function-review-2021-to-2022. The Department is working towards implementing the recommendations of the review.
Where the Secretary of State has concerns about the conduct of an applicant for a large goods vehicle or passenger carrying vehicle driving licence, the matter may be referred to a traffic commissioner for consideration.
Where appropriate cases are referred to a traffic commissioner, they are provided administrative support by Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency staff who are deployed to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. The Senior Traffic Commissioner has issued statutory guidance to assist traffic commissioners in adopting a consistent approach. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-commissioners-vocational-driver-conduct-january-2016. As part of the strategic objectives of the traffic commissioners, a review of this document is currently being undertaken.
Straightforward applications for vocational driving licences are being processed within normal turnaround times. Applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued may take longer as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is often reliant on receiving information from third parties, for example doctors, other healthcare professionals or the applicant themselves, before a decision on whether to issue a licence can be made.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many employee settlement agreements there were in her Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Exit packages are published in the DfT Annual Reports and Accounts and all redundancy, severance and other department costs, are paid in accordance with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (except where instances are detailed in the accounts as otherwise) e.g. see Page 141 of 2023/24 DfT Annual Report and Accounts https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a7690649b9c0597fdb0617/dft-annual-report-23-24-print.pdf.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many pensioners qualify for free bus passes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Concessionary travel is a devolved policy area, and legislation and assessment of eligibility with regarding concessionary travel in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the appropriate devolved administration.
In England, the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The Office for National Statistics mid-year estimates for 2021 show that around 9.9 million people in England were aged 66 and above and therefore eligible for an ENCTS bus pass.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations she has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on retaining the £2 bus fare scheme beyond December 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Delivering reliable and affordable public transport services for passengers is one of the Government’s top priorities and we know how important this is for passengers and for local growth. The Government is urgently considering the most effective and affordable ways to deliver on these objectives.