Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to address the backlog of driving tests when covid-19 lockdown restrictions are lifted; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using experienced driving instructors as temporary examiners in that context.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is committed to reducing the backlog of driving tests as quickly as possible. It has measures in place to increase the number of driving tests available, once it is safe for tests to resume. These include offering overtime and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to carry out tests (warrant card holders) to do so, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays). A recruitment campaign is also underway to increase the overall number of driving examiners available for testing.
The Road Traffic Act 1988 only allows a full driving licence to be issued if the person has passed the test of competence to drive. The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) 1999 regulations requires driving test examiners to meet certain criteria and pass an initial qualification and examination before being authorised by the Secretary of State to conduct practical driving tests. The regulations also specifically prohibit an examiner from simultaneously being an active approved driving instructor (ADI).
Although ADIs are well qualified and proficient in driving and instruction, they are not experienced assessors and this is evidenced by the current practical test pass rate of 47%. Driving examiners undertake rigorous and continuing training throughout their career. They also test many types of learners and are regularly evaluated to ensure they conduct tests in a fair and consistent manner.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it a requirement for carriers to (a) notify passengers of the need to complete passenger locator forms prior to arrival in the UK, (b) make such forms available to passengers and (c) provide other information on quarantine requirements during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Public Health Information for Passengers Travelling to England) Regulations 2020 were laid on 8 June 2020. These regulations require carriers to ensure that passengers who arrive at a port on a relevant service are provided with information about coronavirus, and related duties and public health guidance.
Guidance for these regulations can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-requirements-to-provide-public-health-information-to-passengers-travelling-to-england
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who will be responsible for ensuring passengers arriving in the UK have had a negative test for covid-19 prior to departure; and what training and guidance has been provided to enable those checks to operate effectively and accurately.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Pre-Departure Testing and Operator Liability) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 require transport operators to ensure that all passengers aged 11 and over travelling from outside the Common Travel Area to England have proof of a negative test result before permitting them to board. They will need to check the test result notification of each passenger ahead of boarding.
Guidance for operators has been circulated which sets out the requirements in detail.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of (a) pre-departure testing (b) testing after arrival on the length of quarantine required for international travellers entering the UK during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government is actively working on the practicalities of using testing to release people from self-isolation earlier than 14 days. The Global Travel Taskforce is working at pace to consider how testing, technology and innovation can drive a recovery for international travel and tourism, without adding to infection risk or infringing on our overall NHS test capacity.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the covid-19 outbreak, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the two year period, from date of completion of part 1, in which a candidate can complete parts 2 and 3 of the Approved Driving Instructor certification.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The two-year validity period of the approved driving instructor (ADI) qualification process is set in legislation and the Government has decided not to lay further legislation to extend it. This is to ensure a potential driving instructor’s road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date to help them prepare for their remaining qualifying tests and deliver effective instruction once they have joined the ADI register.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications to change a vehicle description to a motor home the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received in each of the last three years; and how many of those applications have been granted.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
In the last three years the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received 49,901 applications to change a vehicle description to motor caravan. From these applications 32,199 were granted.
For those applications where the body type is unable to be changed to “motor caravan”, vehicle keepers are still able to use the vehicle for this purpose, provided any alterations made to the vehicle do not compromise its safety.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what was the cost was of (a) electricity and (b) natural gas used by (i) his Department, (ii) the Office of Rail and Road, (iii) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, (iv) the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, (v) the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, (vi) the Vehicle Certification Agency, (vii) the British Transport Police Authority, (viii) Directly Operated Railways Limited, (ix) High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, (x) the Civil Aviation Authority, (xi) London and Continental Railways Limited, (xii) the Air Accident Investigation Branch, (xiii) Highways England, (xiv) the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, (xv) Network Rail and (xvi) the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The information is provided in the table below.
Table – cost of electricity and natural gas used, 2015/16 – 2017/18 (some figures rounded)
Body | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | |||
(£) Fully built up (delivered) cost unless indicated otherwise. Inclusive of VAT unless indicated otherwise. | Electricity | Natural Gas | Electricity | Natural Gas | Electricity | Natural Gas |
DfT (Central Department) | 540,610 | 29,803 | 538,750 | 34,135 | 556,292 | 32,341 |
Office of Rail and Road (1) | 69,769.44 | Not available | 83,218.70 | Not available | 86,448.29 | Not available |
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency | 1,870,000 | 867,000 | 1,837,000 | 657,000 | 1,993,000 | 570,000 |
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (2) | 1,163,636 | 327,967 | 998,114 | 330,264 | 1,141,902 | 343,470 |
Maritime and Coastguard Agency (3) | 1,662,671.26 | 106,181.92 | 1,604,049.36 | 38,102.68 | 1,331,501.34 | 215,486.98 |
Vehicle Certification Agency (4) | 48,949.18 | 2,410.84 | 60,671.67 | 5,392.41 | 55,301.89 | 4,517.84 |
British Transport Police Authority and British Transport Police (5) | 1,037,961.64 | 75,405.27 | 1,181,823.37 | 77,636.17 | 1,168,793.97 | 57,351.93 |
Directly Operated Railways Limited | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
HS2 Ltd (6) | 310,012 | 46,671 | 473,075 | 26,330 | 321,793 | 41,828 |
Civil Aviation Authority | 397,564 | 45,370 | 365,735 | 51,556 | 350,663 | 50,613 |
London and Continental Railways Limited (7) | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
Air Accident Investigation Branch (8) | 20258.45 | 0 | 36,828.27 | 0 | 24,343.71 | 0 |
Highways England (9) | 27,000,000 | 100,000 | 28,500,000 | 150,000 | 30,600,000 | 290,000 |
Marine Accident Investigation Branch (10) | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
Network Rail | 412,000,000 | 1,959,000,000 | 417,000,000 | 2,078,000,000 | 437,000,000 | 2,169,000,000 |
Rail Accident Investigation Branch | 11,019.87 | 5,542.43 | 10,238.80 | 5,369.53 | 5,188.71 | 14,212.35 |
Notes:
(1) Only the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) Glasgow office uses natural gas. The landlord does not provide an individual usage figure as ORR is one of many tenants.
(2) Gas/electricity component cost only.
(3) Due to a supplier billing issue, a significant proportion of gas costs from 2016/17 were paid in 2017/18.
(4) Information to verify whether the costs for Vehicle Certification Agency sites are fully built up costs or component costs only is not readily available.
(5) The figures include costs for the British Transport Police Authority and the British Transport Police as separate figures are not readily available.
(6) Figures are for calendar year. Figures are net of VAT. Some of the properties utilised by HS2 Ltd do not (or did not) have separately identifiable costs as these are (or were) included in the utilities charge, service charge or licence fee, and consequently are not included in these totals.
(7) London and Continental Railway (LCR) occupies space at One Kemble Street under a Memorandum of Terms of Occupation (MOTO) from the Government Legal Department (GLD). As part of the MOTO arrangements GLD recovers a service charge from LCR. This includes electricity and gas, but the costs and quantum used are not identifiable on an individual basis.
(8) Electricity component cost only.
(9) Electricity figures include roads lighting and other infrastructure assets throughout the Strategic Road Network.
(10) The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is located in Spring Place, Southampton. This building is owned by the Department for Transport and managed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Utility supplies to the building are not separated out by organisation. Approximately 20% of the energy consumption for Spring Place is attributable to MAIB. The figure shown for MCA (which includes other buildings) therefore includes a proportion that could be attributed to MAIB.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the quantity was of (a) electricity and (b) natural gas used by (i) his Department, (ii) the Office of Rail and Road, (iii) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, (iv) the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, (v) the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, (vi) the Vehicle Certification Agency, (vii) the British Transport Police Authority, (viii) Directly Operated Railways Limited, (ix) High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, (x) the Civil Aviation Authority, (xi) London and Continental Railways Limited, (xii) the Air accident Investigation Branch, (xiii) Highways England, (xiv) the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, (xv) Network Rail and (xvi) the Rail Accident Investigation Branch in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The information is provided in the table below.
Table – quantity of electricity and natural gas used, 2015/16 – 2017/18 (some figures rounded)
Body | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | |||
(KwH) | Electricity | Natural Gas | Electricity | Natural Gas | Electricity | Natural Gas |
DfT (Central Department) | 4,500,394 | 725,688 | 4,454,986 | 830,540 | 4,465,990 | 786,896 |
Office of Rail and Road (1) | 408,206 | Not available | 430,929 | Not available | 472,418 | Not available |
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency | 13,269,324 | 33,469,655 | 15,634,961 | 23,556,858 | 13,765,563 | 26,434,399 |
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | 9,565,659 | 8,556,748 | 7,804,111 | 8,967,871 | 7,769,203 | 9,877,482 |
Maritime and Coastguard Agency | 7,736,199 | 2,226,320 | 7,981,696 | 2,045,046 | 7,816,819 | 2,375,556 |
Vehicle Certification Agency | 345,856 | 93,961 | 248,558 | 113,515 | 196,866 | 108,280 |
British Transport Police Authority and British Transport Police (2) | 8,655,241 | 1,018,696 | 8,369,135 | 1,538,210 | 7,537,946 | 1,471,062 |
Directly Operated Railways Limited | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
HS2 Ltd (3) | 2,304,866 | 276,841 | 2,680,857 | 256,787 | 2,458,898 | 886,904 |
Civil Aviation Authority | 2,956,203 | 1,353,509 | 2,898,654 | 1,819,784 | 2,719,268 | 1,722,188 |
London and Continental Railways Limited (4) | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
Air Accident Investigation Branch | 234,430 | 0 | 438,437 | 0 | 328,829 | 0 |
Highways England (5) | 176,087,852 | 3,915,094 | 177,864,030 | 6,058,714 | 206,546,532 | 6,563,503 |
Marine Accident Investigation Branch (6) | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
Network Rail | 3,816,870,000 | 67,740,000 | 3,787,390,000 | 73,720,000 | 3,804,530,000 | 70,620,000 |
Rail Accident Investigation Branch | 87,816 | 158,833 | 90,081 | 170,486 | 91,628 | 169,826 |
Notes:
(1) Only ORR’s Glasgow office uses natural gas. The landlord does not provide an individual usage figure as ORR is one of many tenants.
(2) The figures include consumption by the British Transport Police Authority and the British Transport Police as separate figures are not readily available.
(3) These figures include estimates where direct meter readings were not available
(4) London and Continental Railway (LCR) occupies space at One Kemble Street under a Memorandum of Terms of Occupation (MOTO) from the Government Legal Department (GLD). As part of the MOTO arrangements GLD recovers a service charge from LCR. This includes electricity and gas, but the costs and quantum used are not identifiable on an individual basis.
(5) Electricity figures include roads lighting and other infrastructure assets throughout the Strategic Road Network.
(6) The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is located in Spring Place, Southampton. This building is owned by the Department for Transport and managed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Utility supplies to the building are not separated out by organisation. Approximately 20% of the energy consumption for Spring Place is attributable to MAIB. The figure shown for MCA (which includes other buildings) therefore includes a proportion that could be attributed to MAIB.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that air passengers can effectively and easily access compensation for long flight delays under EU Regulation 261/2004.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been designated by the Secretary of State for Transport as the National Enforcement Body (NEB) for Regulation (EC) 261/2004 regarding compensation, and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding, and of cancellation and long delay of flights. The CAA offers advice to passengers and is able to take enforcement action against airlines that are not fulfilling their obligations.
In addition, the Government and the CAA, have introduced an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme into the sector, which now covers more than 70% of passengers.
The provision of ADR services for consumer disputes stemming from contracts for aviation services is designed to benefit consumers and lead to quick, fair, low cost (if not free) and binding solutions to their problems. ADR means passengers can settle disputes without asking a court to decide on the issue.