Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle high levels of bus and coach driver vacancies in England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Whilst it is the responsibility of the sector to recruit and retain drivers, the Department for Transport regularly engages with industry to understand issues in recruiting and retaining bus and coach drivers, and how Government can help. Latest intelligence from the sector suggests that the shortage has reduced over the course of this year.
The Department for Transport and Confederation of Passenger Transport co-chaired a Bus and Coach Summit in November 2022. The summit brought together experts from industry, national and local government to look at issues facing driver recruitment and retention to bus and coach operators, and identified ideas and actions to help address these. Many of these are owned by industry, who as aforementioned, are responsible for recruiting drivers.
We are also ensuring there is sufficient access to Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) practical driving tests, whether through the bus and coach industry’s network of delegated examiners, or directly through Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency test centres.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of zero emission buses funded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme have been allocated per local transport authority, and per manufacturer.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The following table presents information on the number of zero emission buses funded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme by local transport authority. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change. Where available, information has been provided on the status of the buses and the name of the bus manufacturer has been included.
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | 30 | Volvo |
Kent County Council | 33 | 5 | 5 buses manufactured by Volvo. 28 - Irizar |
Leicester City Council | 116 | 116 | 110 – Wrightbus |
Warrington Borough Council | 105 | 105 | Volvo |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | 27 | 4 – Alexander Dennis Ltd |
Norfolk County Council | 70 | 70 | Wrightbus |
North Yorkshire County Council | 39 | 39 | 20 – EvoBus/Mercedes 19 – Alexander Dennis Ltd |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 62 | 62 | Wrightbus |
Blackpool Council | 90 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Nottingham City Council | 68 | 24 | 24 - Pelican/Yutong |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 170 | 170 | Volvo |
Hertfordshire County Council* | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
City of York Council | 53 | 53 | Wrightbus |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 136 | 72 | 57 – Wrightbus |
Oxfordshire County Council | 159 | 159 | 104 - Wrightbus |
| 1,309 | 932 |
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2023 to Question 193239 on Buses: Exhaust Emissions, whether the 4,233 zero-emission buses include buses which were (a) funded or (b) delivered before February 2020.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
None of the zero-emission buses outlined in my answer of the 13 July were funded, ordered or delivered prior to February 2020.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many zero emission buses had been allocated Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas funding as of 23 October 2023; and how many of these buses (a) have been ordered and (b) are on the road as of that date.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Since February 2020, an estimated 4,200 ZEBs have been funded across the UK.
The first round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme provided £270m funding to 16 local transport authorities in England outside London. The scheme will fund up to 1,309 zero emission buses, though this is subject to change as projects are progressed by local transport authorities. The second round of the scheme was launched in September, with £129m funding to be provided to schemes by March 2024.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government plans to release the revised guidance on franchising as set out in the National Bus Strategy for England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department is currently revising The Bus Services Act 2017 Franchising Scheme Guidance, originally published in November 2017. The revised guidance will provide simplified and updated advice on the franchising process for local bus services and is due to be published later this year.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to improve the way referrals are made by schools to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, in the context of Coroner Abigail Combes' prevention of future deaths report in September 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department is committed to improving the way referrals are made by schools to child and adolescent mental health services, through the work of mental health support teams, enhancing join up between schools and mental health services. There are now almost 400 mental health support teams in place across England, covering over three million children or around 35% of pupils in schools and colleges. We are aiming to increase this coverage to 50% by April 2025.
We are progressing work with NHS England and stakeholders to increase access to children and young people’s mental health services as outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan. The National Health Service is working towards implementing a new waiting time standard for children, young people and their families/carers presenting to community-based mental health services to start to receive care within four weeks from referral.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish a (a) response to the consultation on hub and spoke dispensing and (b) timetable for the implementation of secondary legislation.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We are finalising our response to the consultation and the timetable for bringing forward the implementing of the legislation and our aim is to publish this as soon as possible. The timetable for bringing forward the implementing legislation will be dependent on the availability of Parliamentary time across the four nations.
We are committed to pursuing legislative changes to level the playing field and enable all community pharmacies to make use of hub and spoke arrangements.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a disability certificate that includes details of a named accompanying person.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
While some disabled people may welcome a card or certificate that acts as a proof of disability, we are aware that some disabled people would not wish to carry a card or certificate which confirms their disability or impairment. Some people who may meet the criteria for the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability do not identify as disabled, although they may require reasonable adjustments, and introducing a certificate or card scheme could exclude these persons.
The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services, so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require. There is no need for a person to actively prove their disability to be protected by the Equality Act.
There are a number of optional schemes and cards in the UK that have been created to meet particular needs and which people may use if they wish. These include the Hidden Disability Sunflower Scheme which discreetly identifies where additional support may be needed and which is gaining widespread recognition, and Nimbus Disability’s Access Card which can help when communicating with a business about the types of support or reasonable adjustments that might be needed to access their services.
Naming an accompanying person could prove restrictive. A disabled person may have more than one accompanying person or may be accompanied by different people on different occasions.
There are therefore no plans to introduce a disability ID card or certificate at this time.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was for the Pensions Ombudsman to respond to enquiries in the latest period for which data is available; and if he will set a timetable for reducing those waiting times.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has seen a consistent increase in demand for its services in recent years and has worked to improve and streamline processes. In 2022/23 TPO resolved around 99% of its general enquiries within 28 days of being logged on TPO’s system, compared to a target of 90%. In the same year, TPO closed almost 70% of pension complaints within 12 months, against a target of 55%.
TPO recently experienced a cyber incident which temporarily impacted its ability to respond to enquiries and progress pension complaints. The organisation is currently assessing the effect on waiting times and developing plans to reduce these.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had discussions with the (a) European Union Aviation Safety Agency and (b) Civil Aviation Authority on potential reciprocal arrangements for pilot licences since 1 January 2023.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Since 1 January 2023, EASA licences are invalid for operations within the UK meaning any pilots wishing to operate within the UK or on any UK registered aircraft require a UK CAA issued licence. Conversely, any UK registered pilot who wishes to work for an airline operating by or in an EU country must apply for an EASA licence, which can be obtained through applying in any EASA competent authority.
The Department continues to work closely with the EU to find ways of working together to support a diverse industry, however, the Government is not seeking to reopen the withdrawal agreement and there are no plans at current to re-join EASA.