Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Paragraph 1.301 of the Summer Budget 2015, what legislation he plans to bring forward to establish Transport for the North as a statutory body; and what statutory duties he intends Transport for the North to have.
Answered by Andrew Jones
In his Budget of 8 July the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Government’s intention to put Transport for the North (TfN) on a statutory footing with statutory duties.
The Government is working with TfN on an appropriate statutory framework and intends to announce its plans in due course.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the appointment of the Chair of Transport for the North will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
Answered by Andrew Jones
As Transport for the North (TFN) is working in partnership with the Department for Transport, they have asked the Secretary of State to approve the appointment which they will make. The Secretary of State is subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what responsibilities of Network Rail will be transferred to Transport for the North.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Transport for the North (TfN) is currently working in partnership with Network Rail in order to advise the Government on the strategic investment priorities for the North of England.
We are currently exploring options to establish TfN as a statutory body with statutory duties so that it can further drive economic growth in the North. As we take forward these discussions with TfN, Network Rail and others we will consider the working relationships between the various parties.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of the electrification of the Transpennine rail route on (a) economic growth and (b) job creation in each affected region.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Through the Northern Hub project, the Department assessed the effects of enabling faster, more direct and more frequent services to be operated between many places across the north of England, and of the capacity to accommodate more passengers at peak times. In the Business Case for the Northern Hub the project as a whole was assessed to bring £4 billion worth of wider benefits to the region and potentially 20,000 to 30,000 new jobs.
Additionally, the recently issued invitations to tender for the next Northern and Transpennine Express rail franchises mark an important step in the transformation of the train services in the north of England to support economic growth, and this includes a modernised fleet of Northern trains, including full replacement of the unpopular Pacers and the introduction of 120 new-build vehicles by 2020.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total amount of capital funding per capita on public transport was in each English region in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The following table shows estimated government capital expenditure on railways and local public transport per head of population in each region of England between 2009/10 and 2013/14, the latest year for which figures are available.
Government capital expenditure on railways and local public transport per head of population | |||||
Region | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 |
North East | £60 | £65 | £60 | £64 | £73 |
North West | £105 | £119 | £115 | £104 | £118 |
Yorkshire & Humber | £69 | £67 | £77 | £79 | £80 |
East Midlands | £42 | £40 | £53 | £44 | £45 |
West Midlands | £64 | £63 | £66 | £77 | £88 |
East of England | £63 | £60 | £66 | £63 | £66 |
London | £358 | £327 | £288 | £237 | £268 |
South East | £77 | £76 | £68 | £67 | £66 |
South West | £50 | £48 | £43 | £44 | £43 |
England | £113 | £110 | £104 | £96 | £104 |
Source: HMT, ONS | |||||
These estimates are based on the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) published by the Treasury. The methods used to allocate expenditure between countries and regions may be subject to changes over time, so changes from year to year may reflect differences in methodology rather than real changes.
Expenditure is usually allocated between regions on the basis of which regions benefit from the expenditure rather than on the basis of where the expenditure is made. However, it is not always possible to put the value of spending down to certain parts of the country on a ‘who benefits’ basis and this is particularly a problem for spending on motorways and trunk roads (by Highways England) and on the rail network, which two headings together comprise the majority of Department for Transport expenditure. As in previous years, this expenditure is therefore broadly allocated on an ‘in’ basis (i.e. the location where the spending took place) in the Treasury analysis.
It is important to note however that expenditure comparisons on a ‘per-head’ basis (using resident populations) can present a skewed picture of the distribution of benefits for transport generally, and for transport in London particularly. This is because the transport networks in London are routinely used by a very large number of other regions’ residents and it is not just Londoners who are receiving the benefits of the transport expenditure there.
Even allowing for this point, one would also expect London’s ‘per head’ transport expenditure to be higher than the national average. London provides key international travel gateways for the whole of the country. London is also densely populated with different public transport and infrastructure demands – for example London residents comprise around 15% of the population of England, but London accounts for around half of all bus passenger journeys in England, and almost two-thirds of rail journeys in Great Britain.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for the effect in regulation of taxi and minicab companies of increasing use of smartphone technology to calculate fares; and whether he plans to introduce legislation on that matter.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, including taxi fare regulation, is carried out by local licensing authorities. They have no power to determine private hire vehicle fares or prescribe how they are calculated. Private hire fares are set by licensed operators and when booking a private hire vehicle, customers can obtain a quote or estimate for a journey in advance.
The Law Commission has recently completed a comprehensive review of taxi and private hire legislation and recommended retention of the current system for setting taxi and private hire vehicle fares. The Government is currently considering the Law Commission report and will provide a full response in due course.