Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the reliability of the C2C service from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Laindon and Basildon.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
c2c are an operationally high performing train operating company. From 1 January to 31 March 2024, c2c were the highest performing train operating company in terms of cancellations (1.5 per cent) and third highest for on-time punctuality (81.3 per cent). The Department, Network Rail and c2c are focused on both maintaining high performance, as well as delivering incremental improvements. To deliver incremental improvements, c2c are developing joint performance plans with Network Rail, which has greater emphasis on key parts of the route.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the reliability of the Greater Anglia service from Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria via Billericay.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the most recent rail industry period, 25 May to 21 June, the Public Performance Measure (PPM) across the Greater Anglia network was at 94.9 per cent. In relation to the Southend line the annual PPM was 96.4 per cent. Customers taking Greater Anglia services have recently benefitted from a complete fleet of new trains and Network Rail has carried out replacement of overhead lines along sections of the route. Greater Anglia and Network Rail continue to work closely together on maintaining and further improving performance levels.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using capital expenditure released by the cancellation of elements of HS2 project for (a) roads, (b) buses and(c) potholes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government is committed to ensuring that people have access to transport that enables them to travel to the destinations they want to reach and meets their needs. As my Right Honourable Friend the Chancellor has set out, the first step is undertaking an assessment of the spending inheritance from the previous Government. This includes examining the funding commitments made in the Network North Command Paper.
The assessment of spending inheritance will be set out before the summer recess.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to review future capital expenditure on the concrete roads programme.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2), National Highways committed to invest £400 million between 2020 and 2025 on the replacement and repair of England’s remaining concrete roads. The programme of replacing worn-out concrete roads is expected to continue into the 2030s. The scale of future investment in the concrete roads programme will be determined as part of the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) setting process for 2025-2030.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 459 on Bus Services: Concessions, what her Department's planned timetable is for concluding its urgent consideration on the future of public transport services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is urgently considering the most effective ways to ensure public transport services are reliable and affordable. We will conclude this as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 459 on Bus Services: Concessions, whether she plans to extend the Get around for £2 bus fare scheme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is urgently considering the most effective ways to ensure public transport services are reliable and affordable. We will conclude this as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 459 on Bus Services: Concessions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of ending the Get around for £2 bus fare scheme this year on levels of (a) national and (b) regional bus use, broken down by bus operator.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport published an interim report on the £2 fare cap in September 2023 setting out emerging trends in key outcomes from the first two months of the scheme. It is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-2-bus-fare-cap/2-bus-fare-cap-evaluation-interim-report-february-2023.
Bus patronage appears to be continuing to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic, and people making additional bus trips with the £2 bus fare cap in place are likely to be existing bus users and make a small number of additional trips.
DfT is considering the overall value for money of the £2 fare cap as part of our ongoing evaluation, which will continue over the coming months and provide richer conclusions on its effects and people’s attitudes.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to restrict the sale of cars to (a) registered UK companies and (b) individuals with driving licences.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has measures in place to ensure that keepers notify them when they buy and sell a vehicle. Based on the latest available data, more than 92 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable, based on the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of those remaining, the majority will be in the motor trade. There are no current plans to introduce new legislation to restrict the sale of vehicles.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for the expansion of contactless ticketing to (a) C2C and (b) Greater Anglia services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We have committed to expanding Pay As You Go (PAYG) contactless ticketing to a further 47 stations in the South East by the end of the year, with 6 stations on the Chiltern railways line having already gone live in June. This expansion will include the entire c2c network where passengers will benefit from a better ticketing offer. Further details of any wider expansion of PAYG will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate she has made of when each project funded through the most recent round of Safer Roads Funding will be completed.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The latest rounds of the Safer Roads Fund are rounds 3A and 3B. Round 3A was funded in April 2023 to the total of £47.5 million and was granted to 25 Local Authorities to improve 27 roads. Round 3B was funded in March 2024 to the total of £38.3 million and was granted to 14 Local Authorities to improve 17 roads.
As Round 3 is still newly funded, local authorities are in the design phase of their schemes. Estimated completion dates are submitted to the Department as part of the Local Authorities' application process with most of round 3 schemes stating 2-3 years from design stage to completion. This would predict between 2025 and 2026 for completion.
The Department estimates that groundworks on many of the schemes will begin soon and Department officials will remain in contact with the local authorities, offering support throughout the lifetime of their scheme.