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 16 December 2024 to Question 19468 on Special Escort Group, on what statutory basis the police are able to (a) stop and direct traffic and (b) exceed speed limits in non-emergency situations.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Powers for police to stop and direct traffic are set out in sections 35, 37 and 163 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
The exemption for speed is set out in section 87(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The exemption to speed does not require there to be an emergency to apply; the relevant requirements are that:
The vehicle is being used for police purposes, and
Compliance with the speed limit would be likely to hinder the purpose to which the vehicle is being put at the relevant time.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has for the replacement of the overhead lines on the C2C train route.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The renewal of overhead lines on the c2c route will require significant investment. Network Rail is making plans to secure the funding in future control periods.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help tackle pavement parking.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2020, the Department undertook a public consultation on options for changing the way pavement parking is managed outside London. Our plan is to publish a formal response to the consultation, summarising the views received and announcing the Government’s next steps for pavement parking policy. The formal consultation response will be available to view at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his the Prime Minister’s comments on BBC Newscast on 12 October 2024, when did the Government's view on P&O change.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has been working at pace to fulfil the commitments we made in opposition to improve workers’ rights at sea. The Employment Rights Bill includes a measure to close a loophole by ensuring that the UK Government is notified of intended redundancies irrespective of a vessel’s flag state.
We will also, via amendment during the bill’s passage, introduce powers to allow the UK to strengthen workers’ rights at sea and implement international conventions relating to seafarer employment. We have now laid regulations to implement the Seafarers’ Wages Act so that from next month the National Minimum Wage equivalent will be paid.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the plug-in grant for vans.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The plug-in van grant has been in place since 2012 to help reduce up-front purchase costs, supporting almost 90,000 zero emission vans and heavy goods vehicles across the UK. Plug-in vehicle grants will continue for vans, trucks, motorcycles, taxis and wheelchair accessible vehicles until at least the end of the current financial year.
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 publish advice for local transport authorities on best practice for on-street charging.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To support best practice in local charging infrastructure strategy and delivery, including on-street, the Government has funded local authority electric vehicle (EV) officers and a dedicated EV infrastructure training course. These officers receive expert advice and guidance through a central support body and can access extensive information via a regularly updated online EV knowledge repository. The Government will continue to publish further guidance for local authorities on EV charging as required.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of buses operating in London that were made in the UK.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold information on the number or proportion of buses operating in London that were made in the UK.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the potential (a) cost of and (b) return per pound spent on each scheme in the (i) Strategic Road Network and (ii) Major Road Network and Large Local Major Programmes (A) that is at (1) planning and (2) construction stage and (B) the cancellation of which was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in her statement on Spending inheritance on 29 July 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The total estimated cost of committed schemes in the Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) at planning stage (excluding Lower Thames Crossing) is £8.5 billion, and for schemes under construction the total is £4.1 billion. The total estimated cost of the schemes in the Major Road Network (MRN) and Large Local Major (LLM) Programmes at planning stage is £6.2 billion and for schemes under construction the total is £1.2 billion. The value for money of the enhancement schemes in the second RIS programme (RIS2), including those already completed, is estimated to be “medium”. Based on an average of the available data, the indicative value for money of the MRN/LLM programme is estimated to be “high”.
For the RIS schemes cancelled in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement the details are as follows:
Scheme | Estimated capital cost | Value for Money |
A303 Stonehenge | £2349m | Low |
A27 Arundel | £630m | Low |
A27 Worthing and Lancing | £26m | n/a |
Value for Money information for A27 Worthing and Lancing is unavailable as the precise scope of the scheme had not yet been determined.
No schemes in the MRN/LLM programme were cancelled in the Chancellor’s statement.
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.