Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve rail services (a) on the Southport to Manchester line and (b) to and from the West Lancashire constituency; and if he will make an assessment of the effect of recent national timetable changes on commuter services in those areas.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department and Transport for the North each expressed concerns over the rate of recovery of performance and in particular the readiness of the industry for service re-introduction. This has led to the creation of a working group with representatives from Northern, TransPennine Express and Network Rail. That group is charged with identifying any initiatives that might assist with performance recovery and identifying any underlying structural weaknesses in the timetables in operation.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.14 of his Department's consultation on the use of section 19 and section 22 permits for road passenger transport in Great Britain, whether the West Lancashire Dial A Ride services will be considered as only occasional and therefore exempt under EU and UK regulations on PSV.
Answered by Jesse Norman
I refer the Honourable Member to my answer of 15 May UIN 142802.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's consultation on the use of section 19 and section 22 permits for road passenger transport in Great Britain, whether the West Lancashire Dial A Ride services will be considered as only as only for short distances and therefore exempt under EU and UK regulations on PSV.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There are wide variations between different community transport organisations and the work that they do. This Department cannot advise on whether or not a specific community transport organisation can continue to provide the services it currently operates in reliance on permits instead of an operating licence. I would encourage community transport providers who are unsure about their position to seek independent advice. The Community Transport Association’s Advice Service may be able to help. They are available on: 0345 130 6195, between 10:00 - 16:00, on Monday to Friday.
The Department’s consultation on how Regulation 1071/2009 applies to permits under the Transport Act 1985 has now closed and over 500 responses have been received. The Department will analyse the responses fully and provide a summary response before summer recess.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.20 of his Department's consultation on the use of section 19 and section 22 permits for road passenger transport in Great Britain, whether the West Lancashire Dial A Ride services will be considered as only incidental to a main, non-transport occupation and therefore exempt under EU and UK regulations on PSV.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There are wide variations between different community transport organisations and the work that they do. This Department cannot advise on whether or not a specific community transport organisation can continue to provide the services it currently operates in reliance on permits instead of an operating licence. I would encourage community transport providers who are unsure about their position to seek independent advice. The Community Transport Association’s Advice Service may be able to help. They are available on: 0345 130 6195, between 10:00 - 16:00, on Monday to Friday.
The Department’s consultation on how Regulation 1071/2009 applies to permits under the Transport Act 1985 has now closed and over 500 responses have been received. The Department will analyse the responses fully and provide a summary response before summer recess.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.14 of his Department's consultation on the use of section 19 and section 22 permits for road passenger transport in Great Britain, whether the West Lancashire Dial A Ride services will be considered as only operating in non-contestable markets and therefore exempt under EU and UK regulations on PSV.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There are wide variations between different community transport organisations and the work that they do. This Department cannot advise on whether or not a specific community transport organisation can continue to provide the services it currently operates in reliance on permits instead of an operating licence. I would encourage community transport providers who are unsure about their position to seek independent advice. The Community Transport Association’s Advice Service may be able to help. They are available on: 0345 130 6195, between 10:00 - 16:00, on Monday to Friday.
The Department’s consultation on how Regulation 1071/2009 applies to permits under the Transport Act 1985 has now closed and over 500 responses have been received. The Department will analyse the responses fully and provide a summary response before summer recess.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.14 of his Department's consultation on the use of section 19 and section 22 permits for road passenger transport in Great Britain, whether the West Lancashire Dial A Ride services will be considered to be substantially less than cost and therefore exempt under EU and UK regulations on PSV.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There are wide variations between different community transport organisations and the work that they do. This Department cannot advise on whether or not a specific community transport organisation can continue to provide the services it currently operates in reliance on permits instead of an operating licence. I would encourage community transport providers who are unsure about their position to seek independent advice. The Community Transport Association’s Advice Service may be able to help. They are available on: 0345 130 6195, between 10:00 - 16:00, on Monday to Friday.
The Department’s consultation on how Regulation 1071/2009 applies to permits under the Transport Act 1985 has now closed and over 500 responses have been received. The Department will analyse the responses fully and provide a summary response before summer recess.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding provision for the electrification of rail services operating through West Lancashire.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Electric services already operate in the West Lancashire constituency from Ormskirk towards Liverpool.
The Government recently set out plans to continue its record levels of investment in the railway across the country.
The Government is taking a new approach to the way it enhances the railway.
It is creating a rolling programme of investment, focused on outcomes that deliver real benefits to passengers, freight users and the economy.
Our new approach, which is designed to allow us to ensure that our portfolio of rail enhancements is subject to ongoing assessment, was set out in the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline published last month.
There are currently no projects for further electrification of lines in the West Lancashire constituency in the Government’s portfolio of enhancements.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to make an assessment of the effect on passenger services of Arriva Rail North closing the Southport, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport line.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
It is for the operator to provide such an assessment and they did so in September 2016. As a result Arriva Rail North have agreed two morning peak services will go to Piccadilly, and 2 back in the evening. We continue to work with Northern and the user group to look at ways of further improvement for future timetables.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide Members of Parliament with a direct line to contact the Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency provides a dedicated telephone line to Members of Parliament and is always happy to discuss issues with them directly.