Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the methodology that led to the Government's decision to keep Turkey on its red list for international covid-19 travel restrictions, as announced on 5 August 2021.
Answered by Robert Courts
The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:
A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.
The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the methodology that led to the Government's decision to keep the Philippines on the red list for international covid-19 travel restrictions, as announced on 5 August 2021.
Answered by Robert Courts
The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:
A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.
The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the methodology that led to the Government's decision to keep Guyana on its red list for international covid-19 travel restrictions, as announced on 5 August 2021.
Answered by Robert Courts
The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:
A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.
The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the methodology that led to the Government's decision to keep Bangladesh on its red list for international covid-19 travel restrictions, as announced on 5 August 2021.
Answered by Robert Courts
The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:
A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.
The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the methodology that led to the Government's decision to keep Pakistan on its red list for international covid-19 travel restrictions, as announced on 5 August 2021.
Answered by Robert Courts
The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:
A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.
The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to subsidise the cost of PCR testing for people leaving and entering the UK.
Answered by Robert Courts
We are working with the travel industry and private testing providers to see how we can further reduce costs for the British public while ensuring travel is as safe as possible. We are considering a range of options including cheaper tests being used when passengers return home. The price of tests has reduced significantly in recent weeks, with providers offering testing packages for green arrivals starting at £20.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with bus companies on reducing the cost of bus tickets in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Department for Transport is in regular contact with bus operators; through our engagement we are exploring operators’ plans to work with Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) to deliver the commitments in the National Bus Strategy. The Strategy sets out that within cities and towns, we want low flat fares (or maximum fares and daily price caps) to be standard practice.
Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), which we expect Local Transport Authorities to produce by the end of October, will need to set out ambitious visions for travel by bus, meeting the goals and expectations in the strategy. BSIPs will influence the share of the £3 billion transformation funding that each authority receives, and we will expect to see fares policy as an integral part of the plans.
In addition, the Department’s bus open data service, which will create a single source of information on bus fares in England, provides an opportunity for bus operators to simplify fares structures and potentially move towards flat fares.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to better integrate the bus and train services in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail and the National Bus Strategy set out that bus and rail services should be better integrated with each other. Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), which we expect local transport authorities to produce by the end of October, will need to set out ambitious visions for travel by bus, meeting the goals and expectations in the National Bus Strategy.
BSIPs will influence the share of the £3 billion transformation funding that each authority receives, and we will expect to see proposals for modal integration as part of each plan, including how bus and rail operators can increasingly align their services, timetables and network planning.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to visit Leagrave Station to discuss with relevant stakeholders step-free accessibility for passengers.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
With the lifting of restrictions, I am keen to visit stations where improvements have been delivered or stations that are potential candidates.
Around 75% of rail journeys are now through step-free stations, compared with only 50% in 2005, and I am committed to further improving accessibility across the network.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of (a) Thameslink and (b) East Midlands Railway on the use of coaches with Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations exemption certificates as part of rail replacement contracts in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
No specific conversations have taken place on this with either Thameslink or East Midlands Railway. We remain disappointed that fully accessible services cannot always be provided for rail replacement. As Rail Minister, I have set clear expectations on the train operating companies to source and use PSVAR compliant vehicles wherever possible in the first instance, and only use a non-compliant vehicle that has been granted a special authorisation when all other compliant options have been exhausted.