Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when local authorities will be invited to bid for Active Travel Fund 4.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department plans to launch Active Travel Fund 4 once future budgets are confirmed through the Departmental business planning process, following the Autumn Statement of 17 November.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Inclusive Transport Strategy, updated on 3 November 2022, what progress his Department has made on (a) creating a standard for accessible bus stations and stops and (b) in developing a toolkit to assist local authorities in improving the accessibility of bus stations and stops.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department has initiated the research procurement process that will enable us to understand the impact of bus station and stop design on disabled people and other users. This will inform future work on a potential accessible design standard and local authority toolkit.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with representatives of Eurostar on the re-opening of Eurostar stations at (a) Ebbsfleet, and (b) Ashford.
Answered by Kevin Foster
My officials and predecessors have engaged with Eurostar directly on this matter, as well as Eurostar’s recovery more generally since 2020, and continue to do so. The Government wants to see the reinstatement of services at Ebbsfleet and Ashford as soon as reasonably possible and when it is commercially viable for the company to do so.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has recently had discussions with the French Government on the operation of Eurostar.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government engages very regularly with French counterparts to discuss a range of issues related to the Channel Tunnel and international rail services, including Eurostar; and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many bids were made as part of the Accelerating Existing Proposals category within the Restoring Your Railway Fund; and if he will publish a list of those bids.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The £500m Restoring Your Railway Fund is supporting over 45 promising schemes with the potential to level up areas and reconnect communities. We reopened the Dartmoor Line in November 2021. On 18 June 2022 we announced £15m of further development funding for nine schemes and published a Programme Update with an overview of all schemes, including Advanced Proposals and those which were part of the announcement.