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.
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 his Department is taking to ensure good practice by agents working for HS2's property acquisition team.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Department expects any agent contracted to HS2 Ltd to maintain high professional standards. As members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), HS2 Ltd’s suppliers must adhere to the RICS rules of conduct and any RICS professional statements relevant to the advice they provide. HS2 Ltd continuously monitors supplier performance through regular case review meetings and supplier relationship management meetings.
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 plans to publish a response to the noise camera trials carried out by his Department between October 2022 and February 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Roadside trials of noise camera technology commenced on 18 October 2022 and finished on 1 February 2023. As set out in the Government’s recent Plan for Drivers, the Department intends to publish the findings of the trial shortly and issue guidance to local authorities setting out minimum requirements and best practice for the use of noise cameras.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's consultation on Pavement parking: options for change, which closed on 22 November 2020, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the consultation.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Pavement parking is a complex issue. We want to take the right step for communities and ensure that local authorities have appropriate and effective tools at their disposal. We are working through the options and the possible legislative opportunities for delivering them and as soon as those matters are certain we will publish our formal response.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the conclusion of the Independent Complaints Assessors on the impact of his Department's policy on personalised number plates in their Annual Report 2020-21, published on 25 December 2021, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of amending the Retention and Sale of Registration Marks Regulations 2015 to allow more flexibility for customers wishing to retain personalised licence plates.
Answered by Richard Holden
The law allows customers to purchase the right to display a personalised registration number on their vehicle and requires the right to that registration number to be renewed before it expires. Entitlement to registration numbers under this scheme lasts for ten years. Reminders are sent to customers in advance of expiry. If an application is not made to extend the entitlement, the right to display the personalised registration number is lost. There are no plans to change the current legal requirements in this area.
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 ensure that there is adequate monitoring and oversight of the construction of HS2.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Department for Transport monitors the construction of HS2 through formal mechanisms such as the HS2 Development Agreement, and a number of supporting forums which assess whether HS2 is being delivered to budget and schedule, and in accordance with the commitments which accompany both HS2 Acts.
The Department also deploys a team of independent Construction Inspectors to provide independent scrutiny of construction, as well as its impact on communities and residents.