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Written Question
Parking: Pedestrian Areas
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle pavement parking where alternatives are available; whether he has had discussions with city councils on the potential merits of prohibiting pavement parking where it is feasible; what assessment he has made of the minimum width of footway needed to be accessible for all disabled people; and whether he is taking steps to help reduce the potential impact of pavement parking on bus journey times.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is fully aware that pavement parking can pose problems for all pedestrians, particularly for people with sight or mobility impairments. Local authorities already have powers to restrict pavement parking. We have undertaken a consultation on additional options to help councils tackle pavement parking outside London and it received views on many issues including minimum footway clearances and public transport. We will publish our formal response in due course.

The Department has produced good practice guidance on designing accessible public realm, in Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure. This includes recommendations on minimum footway widths. Inclusive Mobility can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mobility-making-transport-accessible-for-passengers-and-pedestrians


Written Question
Driving Licences: Older People
Monday 3rd July 2023

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that when people aged over 70s renew their driving licences the new licences are dated from the expiry of the previous document.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) sends a renewal application form to all drivers who are aged 70 or over 90 days before the licence expires. This allows drivers adequate time to submit their renewal application to ensure continuous entitlement to drive. This means that when a new licence is issued before the expiry of the previous one, it will be valid from the date the new licence is issued.


Written Question
Driving Tests: Standards
Thursday 29th June 2023

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce waiting times for drivers to take practical tests and (b) license new driving test centres.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

People can book driving tests up to 6 months before they take their test.

As of 26 June 2023, there were 546,545 car practical driving tests booked, and 54,480 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.

Since April 2021, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has created over one million extra car test appointments by recruiting new examiners, conducting out-of-hours testing, such as on public holidays and weekends, asking all those qualified to conduct tests but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests and asking recently retired driving examiners to return. On average, this has created approximately 39,000 extra car test appointments each month.

The DVSA does not licence driving test centres.


Written Question
Motorway Service Areas: Electric Vehicles
Monday 17th October 2022

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the policy paper entitled Government vision for the rapid chargepoint network in England, published on 14 May 2020, what steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) extend as demand increases the target for open access chargepoints at motorway service areas in England.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Government is actively monitoring the provision of ultra rapid chargepoints on the strategic road network. We are working closely with a variety of stakeholders, including motorway service areas and chargepoint operators.

By the end of 2023, we aim to have at least six ultra-rapid, open access chargepoints at every motorway service area in England. By 2035, we expect around 6,000 ultra-rapid, open access, chargepoints across England’s motorways and major A roads. The £950 million Rapid Charging Fund will fund a portion of the cost of upgrading the electricity grid at key sites, ensuring that no part of the strategic road network is left behind.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Wednesday 28th September 2022

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to expand the network of charging points for electric vehicles at motorway service stations.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The biggest barrier to expanding the network of electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints at Motorway Service Stations (MSAs) is the urgent need to improve local power connections to MSAs. Last year, the Government announced the £950 million Rapid Charging Fund (RCF) to help motorway and major A road service area operators prepare the network for an increase in EV uptake by improving the power connection capacity to MSAs in England. The timing and process for the delivery of this funding is currently being planned and will be confirmed in due course. In parallel, we will continue to work with industry to ensure they are able to keep the availability of EV chargepoints at MSAs to accommodate future EV uptake.

Charge anxiety has been identified as a main concern from prospective electric vehicle drivers. A visible and functional long-distance charging network is vital for mass EV adoption. Over 99% of Motorway Service Areas (MSAs) in England have charging available, with 365 open access, rapid chargers across the MSA network.

By the end of 2023, we aim to have at least six ultra-rapid, open access chargepoints at every MSA in England, with some larger sites having 10 to 12. Delivery of this goal is being led by the private sector, with support from DfT, Ofgem and National Highways.


Written Question
Avanti West Coast: Standards
Tuesday 20th September 2022

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) enforce compliance of Avanti West Coast with the Train Service Requirement in its franchise agreement.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Department continues to monitor Avanti’s performance on an ongoing basis.

The Department will follow all due legal and contractual processes in determining what action to take.


Written Question
Bus Services: Concessions
Friday 22nd July 2022

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to implement free nationwide bus travel for people aged under 22 in the context of the introduction of free bus travel for people of that age by the devolved Administration in Scotland from the start of 2022.

Answered by Karl McCartney

Under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), the Government supports council spending of around £1 billion a year to offer free bus travel to those who have reached State Pension Age and those with eligible disabilities.

Concessionary travel legislation gives local authorities the flexibility to offer further local travel concessions such as free or discounted travel to young people. Bus operators can also offer discounted travel for young people. In 2020/21 operators in 80% of the travel concession authority areas in England, outside London, offered some form of discounted travel for young people.


Written Question
Parking: Pedestrian Areas
Friday 23rd July 2021

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the result of the Government's consultation on pavement parking is planned to be published.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Department received over 15,000 responses to the consultation. We are carefully considering the consultation findings and the results will inform our policy decisions. We will be publishing a response when we have completed this work, which is a priority.


Written Question
Travel: Coronavirus
Monday 18th January 2021

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure commuters are adhering to the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown restrictions and avoiding non-essential travel.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

Everyone must stay at home and only leave their home and travel for limited reasons permitted in law, for example, a medical appointment or work that cannot be done from home. You must also not travel at all if you are experiencing coronavirus symptoms, self-isolating or sharing a household or support bubble with somebody with symptoms.

To manage the new restrictions, the police are stepping up their visibility and will continue to engage with the public. On the railway network, additional British Transport Police officers have been deployed to ensure those who need to take essential journeys can travel safely.

Where people are not complying with the rules to stay at home unless for one of the reasons set out in the regulations, the police will explain and encourage them to follow the rules and issue a direction or a fixed penalty notice of £200 for the first offence, if needed.

Where passengers do need to use the public transport network for a permitted reason, our safer travel guidance sets out the steps they should take, including wearing a face covering unless exempt and maintaining social distancing.


Written Question
Travel: Coronavirus
Monday 11th January 2021

Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to monitor and ensure people travelling to and from Tier 4 covid-19 lockdown areas have legitimate travel exemptions when travelling (a) on public transport and (b) in their cars.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Tier 4 rules, which were in place from 2 December to 4 January were clear that people must stay at home unless for an exempted purpose, such as education, work or accessing amenities that remain open. This means that people living within Tier 4 areas should not be travelling unless for those reasons.

The police have the powers to direct people to return home and to issue a fixed penalty notice, if they have left home without a valid exemption as set out in the regulations. The breach is leaving home, by any means including walking or cycling, rather than specifically travelling by either public transport or by car. Therefore, the Department does not hold data for breaches of these regulations where police have enforced the measures upon car drivers or those travelling on public transport.

The same applies to the national lockdown rules announced on 4 January 2020, which came into force on 6 January 2020.