Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much reallocated HS2 funding has been given to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council for road resurfacing.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Over the period 2023/24 to 2033/34 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council will receive at least £18.9 million of reallocated HS2 funding for highways maintenance, including road resurfacing.
As I’ve previously set out, Network North will see every penny of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 reinvested in the North. Every penny of the £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg will be reinvested in the Midlands. The £6.5 billion saved through our rescoped approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country – and it is from this pot that this funding comes.
In line with the published allocations, the Department for Transport has paid £604,000 of this to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council this financial year; the Council will receive the same amount in 2024/25. Future allocations are a matter for the next Spending Review.
This information, as with all highway maintenance funding allocations, is published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to help ensure that the planned rail upgrades by Network Rail to Pokesdown for Boscombe Station in Bournemouth East are completed in 2024.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
I will shortly be meeting with officials and Network Rail to assess timescales which were previously communicated to Parliament. I will provide an update to the Rt Hon Member in writing thereafter.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of driving under the influence of (a) drugs and (b) alcohol offences in (i) the South West and (ii) Bournemouth.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department approaches drink and drug driving enforcement from a national perspective.
We have tough penalties in place, with our highly respected and effective ‘THINK!’ campaigns reminding people of the serious consequences driving under the influence of drink can have on themselves and others.
Enforcement of road traffic law and how available resources are deployed is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department is providing for road resurfacing in Bournemouth.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
During the current financial year the Department is providing Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council with £6,240,800 of capital funding for highway maintenance. This represents a funding increase of around 30% compared to the amount it was receiving in 2022/23.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to mitigate against the effects of cold weather on transport.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State for Transport can confirm that well-practised resilience plans have been put in place across the transport network in preparation for the winter period.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure the delivery of planned facilities improvements to Pokesdown station by Network Rail.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
DfT Officials are in regular contact with South Western Railway, Network Rail and the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, through all-party meetings and correspondence, to ensure that the facilities improvements at Pokesdown for Boscombe station are carried out. A total of £5.7m has been allocated by all parties to the project, which is currently in the design stage, with funding agreements to shortly be agreed.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department plans to provide to repair potholes on public highways in Bournemouth East constituency in the next 12 months.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Bournemouth East constituency is in the Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council local authority area.
The next twelve months straddle two financial years, and details for each financial year are set out in the table below. In total over these two financial years the Government is providing around £11.6 million to BCP Council towards the maintenance of the local highway network in their area.
Table 1: funding allocations for Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council
| Highways Maintenance Block (HMB) | Potholes Fund | Budget 2023 Uplift | Uplift arising from HS2 Euston savings | Total |
2023/24 | 2,659,000 | 2,127,000 | 850,800 | 604,000 | £6,240,800 |
2024/25 | 2,659,000 | 2,127,000 | n/a | 604,000 | £5,390,000 |
The funding increases announced in Budget 2023 and as part of the Network North programme mean that in 2023/24 BCP is receiving around 30% more than it was in 2022/23. Funding allocations can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the use of sustainable fuel in the aviation sector.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is introducing world leading measures to support the development, production, and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK. We have confirmed that a SAF mandate will be introduced in 2025, driving the demand for SAF by requiring at least 10% (around 1.5 billion litres) of jet fuel to be made from sustainable feedstocks by 2030. In November we supported Virgin Atlantic to deliver the world’s first 100% SAF transatlantic flight on a commercial aircraft, with up to £1 million of grant funding.
To secure SAF supply and meet our aim of having 5 plants under construction by 2025, we are kickstarting a domestic SAF industry by allocating over £135m for UK SAF production facilities through the Advanced Fuels Fund. To support investment in SAF we have also committed to implement a revenue certainty mechanism for SAF production.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to make electric vehicles accessible to consumers in (a) Bournemouth East constituency and (b) the South West.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department is supporting local authorities, such as Bournemouth, to install charging infrastructure through its £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund. Through LEVI, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have seen £1,447,000 of capital funding and £373,000 of capability funding.
Across the South West region, local authorities have been allocated £40,102,000 capital funding and £5,440,000 capability funding through the LEVI Fund. In addition, local authorities in the South West have received £2,364,787 through the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS).
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the maximum penalty charge available to local authorities outside London.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The issue of penalties to support activities such as parking enforcement is complex and identifying the right balance of deterrent and fairness is not straightforward. Changing the penalty levels would need to be evidence-led, requiring consultation and amendments to secondary legislation. To date, evidence around the effectiveness of current penalty levels has been largely anecdotal.
The Department is aware that sector representatives are undertaking research into this issue in relation to parking penalties, and we look forward to reviewing the findings in due course. We have no current plans to raise penalty charge levels.