Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 setting statutory limits on increases to car parking charges at stations in line with the cap on annual rail fare rises.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Car parking charges are not regulated and it is a commercial decision for the Train Operators. Local decision-makers have a better understanding of their passengers and will have a greater knowledge of other factors such as demand and the availability of other nearby car parking facilities.
The Code of Practice for Accessible Stations sets out guidance on Blue Badge provision and ensuring that parking payment facilities are accessible
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to maintain the current level of Bus Service Improvement Plan funding for Buckinghamshire after March 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Improving bus services is a key part of this Government’s growth mission. We are determined to deliver better services, grow passenger numbers and drive opportunity to under-served regions. The Government will empower local transport authorities and reform funding by giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding and allowing them to plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities. Local authorities are best placed to understand what is needed to improve and grow their bus networks by learning from their experiences and building on their successes, and we will announce our future bus funding plans in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on establishing an independent inquiry into HS2.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is currently reviewing the position it has inherited on HS2 and wider rail infrastructure and will set out more detailed plans in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the use of third party apps to assist in booking practical driving tests on waiting times for people not using those apps.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.
Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at driving test centres, include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.
As of 7 October 2024, there were 571,047 car practical driving tests booked, and 89,349 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.
A survey by DVSA suggests that only 10% of learner drivers use third parties to book their tests. Most either book appointments themselves or through their approved driving instructor (ADI).
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, The DVSA continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests. Such apps or bots are not approved by DVSA. They make it harder for candidates to get a test and can also result in people paying more for a test. DVSA will continue to take steps to block cancellation services from accessing the booking system, which is having a positive impact.
DVSA operates an online booking service (OBS) for instructors and trainers so that they can book and manage driving and riding tests for their pupils. DVSA has made changes to the OBS by stopping automatic online registrations to use the service, ensuring each company that registers employs an ADI and removing access for any companies not linked to driving instructors.
In January 2023, DVSA changed the terms and conditions for using the booking service to help prevent anyone from selling tests at profit. Since then, DVSA has issued 313 warnings, 766 suspensions, and closed 705 businesses for misuse of its booking service.
Following these changes, there has been a significant drop in traffic to these services because DVSA is successfully identifying and blocking apps or bots.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 amending the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme eligibility criteria to allow people to apply for a free bus pass at 60 years old.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six.
Local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations under the ENCTS and offer additional discretionary concessions, such as providing a concessionary bus pass from the age of 60.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for practical driving tests in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.
As of 9 September 2024, there were 556,774 car practical driving tests booked, and 91,059 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.
Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at driving test centres, include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.
The DVSA also continues to deploy examiners from areas with lower waiting times into those centres with longer waiting times. This is in addition to the DVSA recruiting additional examiners across the country into areas where waiting times are highest.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department holds information on the number of local authorities that have offered (a) loans and (b) grants to encourage the purchase of wheelchair accessible taxis and private hire vehicles.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Disabled people should be able to travel easily, confidently, and with dignity.
I know that in some areas it can be difficult for wheelchair users to obtain a suitable wheelchair accessible taxi or PHV when they need one. Best practice guidance, published in November 2023, recommends authorities assess the demand for wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) and take steps to ensure that there are sufficient available, as part of a “mixed fleet” of vehicles suitable for a range of passenger needs.
The Department is not aware of whether there are any loan or grant schemes run by Local Authorities to encourage the purchase of WAVs.
The government’s Plug-In Taxi Grant continues to provide up to £6,000 towards the cost of an eligible vehicle, which must be wheelchair accessible. We keep grants under the Scheme under review to ensure best value for the taxpayer.
As of 1 April 2023, 67% of authorities, including Buckinghamshire Council required all or part of their taxi fleet to be wheelchair accessible. Whilst the most recent annual taxi and PHV statistics survey included a new question on the nature of authority policies on WAVs, the responses are yet to be analysed.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on (a) schemes and (b) initiatives to fund wheelchair accessible taxis and private hire vehicles.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Disabled people should be able to travel easily, confidently, and with dignity.
I know that in some areas it can be difficult for wheelchair users to obtain a suitable wheelchair accessible taxi or PHV when they need one. Best practice guidance, published in November 2023, recommends authorities assess the demand for wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) and take steps to ensure that there are sufficient available, as part of a “mixed fleet” of vehicles suitable for a range of passenger needs.
The Department is not aware of whether there are any loan or grant schemes run by Local Authorities to encourage the purchase of WAVs.
The government’s Plug-In Taxi Grant continues to provide up to £6,000 towards the cost of an eligible vehicle, which must be wheelchair accessible. We keep grants under the Scheme under review to ensure best value for the taxpayer.
As of 1 April 2023, 67% of authorities, including Buckinghamshire Council required all or part of their taxi fleet to be wheelchair accessible. Whilst the most recent annual taxi and PHV statistics survey included a new question on the nature of authority policies on WAVs, the responses are yet to be analysed.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of wheelchair accessible taxis and private hire vehicles in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Disabled people should be able to travel easily, confidently, and with dignity.
I know that in some areas it can be difficult for wheelchair users to obtain a suitable wheelchair accessible taxi or PHV when they need one. Best practice guidance, published in November 2023, recommends authorities assess the demand for wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) and take steps to ensure that there are sufficient available, as part of a “mixed fleet” of vehicles suitable for a range of passenger needs.
The Department is not aware of whether there are any loan or grant schemes run by Local Authorities to encourage the purchase of WAVs.
The government’s Plug-In Taxi Grant continues to provide up to £6,000 towards the cost of an eligible vehicle, which must be wheelchair accessible. We keep grants under the Scheme under review to ensure best value for the taxpayer.
As of 1 April 2023, 67% of authorities, including Buckinghamshire Council required all or part of their taxi fleet to be wheelchair accessible. Whilst the most recent annual taxi and PHV statistics survey included a new question on the nature of authority policies on WAVs, the responses are yet to be analysed.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors on allegations in relation to agents working on behalf of HS2's property acquisition team.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Officials in the Department engaged on HS2-related land and property matters meet periodically with their counterparts in RICS to update each other and to discuss issues of mutual interest. The conduct of RICS members generally and the oversight of professional standards by RICS is one issue that has been discussed, although those discussions have not narrowed to consider specifically the conduct of RICS members employed by or otherwise contracted to HS2 Ltd. Neither the Department nor HS2 Ltd has received any notification of an investigation by RICS into HS2 Ltd or its suppliers. The Department and HS2 Ltd would always give RICS their full support in the event of any allegations being raised.