Oral Answers to Questions

Richard Holden Excerpts

Thursday 24th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Darren Henry (Broxtowe) (Con)]

1. If he will meet representatives of the George Spencer Academy and National Highways to discuss the safety of the footbridge crossing the A52.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Richard Holden)]

National Highways has been in contact with representatives of Spencer Academies Trust, the multi-academy trust responsible for George Spencer Academy, and has met in recent days with representatives on site to discuss their concerns about the A52 footbridge.

[Darren Henry]

On Monday, I met National Highways at George Spencer Academy in my constituency of Broxtowe. As the Minister knows, the academy is separated by the A52 and is therefore connected by a footbridge. The footbridge has tragically been the site of several suicide attempts over the years, and it is essential that we look at new safety measures for the bridge. Although that was discussed with National Highways on site, my view is that the various solutions proposed were inadequate. A cage could be a safer solution. Will the Minister meet me to discuss a way to ensure we can have a future where tragedies do not occur?

[Mr Holden]

National Highways’ suicide prevention strategy sets out a vision that no one should attempt to take their own life on our roads, and everyone who does is a tragedy. I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to see whether there are further things we could do to prevent such events occurring in the future.

[Mr Speaker]

Although Elliot Colburn is not here, will the Minister answer question 2 to allow us to bring in the shadow Minister?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Richard Holden)]

Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London, which includes decisions about the London ultra low emission zone. It is the Mayor of London and TfL’s responsibility to consult and ensure that residents and businesses are fully engaged with the ULEZ and that their feedback is properly considered and responded to.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister, Gill Furniss.

[Gill Furniss (Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab)]

One way to build local support for promoting electric vehicles is by incentivising the switch to electric vehicles, but at the pace the Government are going, the UK is set to miss the target for 300,000 charge points not by one year or two years but by 17 years. This risks stalling the switch, and this week we learned that, far from charging ahead, this Government are slipping back, with rapid charging fund trials delayed.

[Mr Holden]

The Government are committed to decarbonising transport across the piece, whether it is in rail, road or my own section of buses. We have already seen hundreds of zero-emission buses delivered in London and thousands across the country.

[Sir Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth and Southam) (Con)]

3. What steps he is taking to help ensure those people adversely affected by HS2 are compensated fairly.

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[Sir Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)]

5. If the Government will take steps to prevent local authorities in England from spending money allocated for local highways maintenance on other purposes.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Richard Holden)]

The Department for Transport allocates capital funding to local highways authorities so that they can most effectively spend it on maintaining and improving their respective local networks, based on local knowledge, circumstances and priorities. It is up to the highways authorities how they spend that funding to fulfil their duty under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980.

[Sir Christopher Chope]

Is that not a rather complacent response? A lot of the £500 million allocated last year to local authorities in England for highway maintenance was not spent on highway maintenance, so it was effectively a fraud on taxpayers. Will my hon. Friend please ensure that next year, the allocations of money to highway authorities are made contingent upon them showing that last year’s allocation was spent on highways?

[Mr Holden]

I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. Local highways maintenance is a critical service provided by local authorities. In recognition of that, a central highways maintenance fund has an incentive element built in to drive best practice. However, it would be counterproductive for central Government to go beyond that and override local leaders, who have the best understanding of the needs of their local areas. This approach is in line with the wider Government funding framework led by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the Minister not agree that flexibility in budgets is important? At the moment, many of us in the road safety campaigning area are very worried about the lack of representation in this House on road safety and transport safety issues. Could local authorities with some of this extra cash not be encouraged to take road safety more seriously?

[Mr Holden]

I thank the hon. Member for his question. Flexibility is important for local need, which is why local authorities are the decision makers in this area. If local people do not like what local authorities are doing, they can make a change to local priorities at the ballot box.

[James Grundy (Leigh) (Con)]

6. What recent steps his Department has taken to help level up communities through the transport network.

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[Mr Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall) (Lab)]

8. What recent estimate he has made of the number of people waiting for a practical driving test.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Richard Holden)]

There are 95,000 available car test slots at the moment, an increase of over 80,000 in the past six months thanks to the hard work of the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency and our brilliant driving examiners.

[Mr Sharma]

I thank the Minister for his response. Data from the DVSA shows that ethnic minorities are far less likely to pass their tests than white candidates. What steps will his Department take to ensure that discrimination has no place in driving test centres?

[Mr Holden]

Discrimination has absolutely no place in driving test centres. I advise the hon. Gentleman to get in touch with me about any such incidents and I will take them up directly with the DVSA.

[Sir James Duddridge (Rochford and Southend East) (Con)]

9. What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, published in November 2022, on the impact of 20 mph speed limits on road traffic incidents.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Richard Holden)]

We are reading the report with interest and looking into the details as we speak. Local authorities are best placed to decide where 20 mph limits will be most effective on their local roads.

[Sir James Duddridge]

I thank the Minister for that answer, but local community campaigner Nadia Fabri has organised opposition to an expensive 20 mph limit in Thorpe Bay in Southend. Will the Government consider suspending funding to projects that are not wanted, expensive and now proven to be ineffective?

[Mr Holden]

Decisions on setting local speed limits on roads are a matter for local authorities and they are democratically accountable for them. They also have the power to decide and implement traffic-calming measures if they are more appropriate. Most central Government funding for local government is not ringfenced, so local authorities can make the best decisions relating to local priorities. My Department is providing £170 million this financial year to local highways authorities in England outside London and city region areas through the integrated transport block for small-scale transport schemes, but we will continue to look at all evidence provided to the Department on all sorts of road safety and transport schemes.

[Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba)]

10. What recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Scottish Government on the re-establishment of direct ferry services between Rosyth and mainland Europe.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Richard Holden)]

The operation of international ferry routes is primarily a commercial matter and as a result I have not discussed it with either Cabinet colleagues or the Scottish Government to date.

[Neale Hanvey]

The ancient nation of Scotland, independent for centuries before its coercive incorporation in 1707, was taken out of Europe against its democratic wishes. Yesterday, the UK state apparatus told Scotland it is not a colony and does not lack meaningful political process. So, will the Minister tell me what funding is to be made available to Scotland for direct ferry links from Rosyth to Europe, now that the EU motorways of the sea funding has been cut off? Can the Minister tell his Government colleagues that the British state may say no at every time, but the sovereign people of Scotland say yes, yes, yes?

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[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

15. What assessment his Department has made of the strategic importance of the A5 in the midlands to the national economy and transport network.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Richard Holden)]

The Department and I recognise the significant strategic importance of the A5 to both the regional and national economy, which is why we continue to work with regional partners such as Midlands Connect to consider options to improve the route as part of our third road investment strategy—RIS3—investment plans.

[Dr Evans]

I am grateful to the Minister for his encouragement on the strategic importance of the A5, because its improvement has political support from the parishes all the way to MPs of all colours. Economically, improving the A5 will drive our growth and, strategically, will deliver houses and prosperity in my area. Is he aware of Midlands Connect’s most recent report, which shows that, on average, there are 36 accidents on the road every year, and that one in five is serious? Will he meet me to discuss that as another reason why the A5 must be improved?

[Mr Holden]

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the report to me. I have seen it, and I will ensure that my officials consider it as part of the body of evidence to support the case for improvements to the A5. I would also be delighted to meet him and other colleagues to discuss this matter further.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

On all A roads, as with the A5, there is a need for rapid charge points, but more widely we need more public charging points, as only 800 are currently being delivered per month. Will the Secretary of State update this House on his meetings with the Business Secretary on delivering this priority?

[Mr Holden]

Meetings are in progress, and we will look further at this strategy and how we can more rapidly roll out electric vehicle charging points across the country, including rapid charge points, which are being rolled out to our motorway service station network as well.

[Peter Dowd (Bootle) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

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[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

T2. Will the Roads Minister confirm that a new junction 10a on the A14 at Kettering remains in the pipeline for road investment strategy 3 for the period 2025 to 2030 and that the proposals are being actively developed by National Highways?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Richard Holden)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I can confirm that the Government’s proposed junction 10a of the A14 to the east of Kettering continues to be developed by National Highways as part of the pipeline of schemes being considered for development as part of RIS3.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister, Mike Kane.

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

Earlier this year, the then Transport Secretary said of the P&O scandal:

“we will never support those who treat workers with such callousness”—[Official Report, 30 March 2022; Vol. 711, c. 842.]

I now have evidence that its competitor, Irish Ferries, pays its seafarers just £5.50 an hour, yet in September Ministers awarded it a contract worth tens of thousands of pounds. How can the Government condemn the scandal of seafarers’ pay and then hand over taxpayers’ money without conditions to a company whose business model is based on poverty pay?

[Mr Holden]

We are looking speedily at this important matter at the moment. The Seafarers’ Wages Bill is coming to this House within the next few weeks to address many of these issues that the Opposition spokesman raises.

[David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)]

T5. During my recent visit to West Lodge Primary School in my constituency, I saw the excellent work the children were doing to deal with bad parking and, in particular, engine idling outside the school. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me, my many constituents, my local councils and even Hillingdon Council Labour group that we need effective measures to tackle air quality hotspots in the suburbs, rather than Mayor Khan’s one-size-fits-all ultra low emission zone scheme, which does nothing to address issues such as engine idling outside schools?

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[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)]

T4. Unite the union, which represents tens of thousands of lorry drivers, has discovered by a freedom of information request that the UK Government’s scheme of £32 million to improve toilet facilities for lorry drivers is entirely unspent a year after the then Chancellor announced it. Why is that the case?

[Mr Holden]

The hon. Member may have missed the announcement this morning that the scheme has just been opened. I shall be visiting a road haulage site this afternoon to launch the scheme for match funding across the country to improve lorry facilities for our truckers, who worked hard throughout the entire pandemic.

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

Highways England is now looking at much-needed safety improvements along the A38 between Carkeel and Trerulefoot in my constituency. I welcome that, but what this road really needs is major improvements to help our economy and the economy of Cornwall to level up. Will the Minister commit to start looking at the options to make this a reality?

[Mr Holden]

My hon. Friend is a real champion for South East Cornwall and has been hammering away on this scheme for years. Highways England is developing a package of targeted safety measures for the A38, which will be considered for possible delivery within the third road investment strategy, RIS3. Although we are not considering further massive enhancements such as a bypass at this time, the work that we are doing at the moment would not prevent such a scheme in the future. I look forward to working with her on future road plans.

[Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

T6.   Arriva in North Tyneside is letting down my constituents. Buses do not turn up or are cancelled at short notice. Surely enough is enough when pupils at North Gosforth Academy need counselling because they are so worried about getting to and from school. Can the Minister do something to force Arriva to be a more responsible and reliable service provider?

[Mr Holden]

I have had similar issues in my North West Durham constituency with Arriva over the past few months. It is looking at some of these plans and, as part of the bus service improvement scheme, £163.5 million will be heading to the north-east. We are just finalising the details on that and looking at how we can improve transport services in the future. I look forward to working with the hon. Lady and other colleagues across the region to deliver that.

[Mr Speaker]

I welcome the new Chair of the Select Committee on Transport, Iain Stewart.

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[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (Ind)]

T7. Does the Minister think it is a good idea for car manufacturers to build cars with features such as heated seats, performance modes or key fobs that can be activated only by payment of a subscription or a tacked-on fee? Are there any plans to regulate these increasing pay-to-use features?

[Mr Holden]

Commercial matters around car manufacture and delivery are up to the individual manufacturers. What we have seen in the UK recently is the Government putting in £100 million to help to support Nissan and the next generation of electric vehicles being delivered up in Sunderland.

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will know that strike action on our railways will lead to more congestion on our roads. In Essex, that means more congestion on the A12 and A120. Will he kindly commit to meeting me and the leader of Essex County Council to discuss those two road schemes?

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[Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con)]

May I thank the Government for all that they are doing to improve connectivity at Darlington, including the £135 million invested in Bank Top station? However, my constituents in places such as Harrowgate Hill and Whinfield still suffer from congestion and emissions on the roads. Can my hon. Friend guide me on what more I can do to ensure that we ease this gridlock by delivering a northern link road?

[Mr Holden]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question; he and I have worked closely together on many local transport issues. National Highways and Tees Valley Combined Authority have worked closely on developing proposals for the Darlington northern link road, connecting the A66 and junction 59 of the A1. The work to date will form part of a body of evidence informing the investment plans for RIS3—the third road investment strategy—for future roads between 2025 and 2030.

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab)]

People expect the Government to be trying to help resolve these rail strikes, not block a resolution. How can the Transport Secretary claim that it is not his role to get involved when the Government are handing over tens of millions of pounds a day in indemnity payments to rail companies to back them up during this strike?

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[Mr Speaker]

Chi, that is just too long.

[Mr Holden]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question; I will certainly meet her. I know how important bus services are, and I will also be meeting, hopefully in the near future, local authorities across the north-east so that we can hopefully deliver that £163 million for them as well.

[Elliot Colburn (Carshalton and Wallington) (Con)]

Two thirds of Londoners have said no to the Mayor of London expanding the ultra low emission zone to the whole of Greater London. Will my right hon. Friend join me and Conservative MP colleagues to tell the Mayor of London that it is not for the poorest Londoners to foot the bill for his financial failures?

[Mr Holden]

As I said earlier, how to respond to the consultation and proceed is a matter for the Mayor to consider. I know that my hon. Friend has had a massive campaign on this issue, with over 5,000 people getting in touch with him about ULEZ. If hon. Members really want to see this policy changed, the best thing they can do is replace the Mayor of London at the next election.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

Some 73% of guide dog owners have been refused access to taxis, shops and restaurants in the past year. What is the Minister and his Department doing to improve access and ensure that guide dog owners such as my constituent Robert, and his guide dog Winnie, can get out and about with confidence?