Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
What support his Department is providing to enable repairs to be made to road network infrastructure.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Department for Transport is providing £6.2 billion to local highway authorities in England, outside London, from 2015 to 2021 to enable repairs to be made to all highway infrastructure assets maintainable at public expense. The funding includes a £296 million Pothole Action Fund. Highways England are also spending £400 million per annum for renewal of the road surfaces for which they are responsible.
Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to improve the enforcement of regulations against the discrimination of guide dogs and their owners by taxis and private hire vehicle operators.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Under the Equality Act 2010 it is illegal for the driver of a taxi or private hire vehicle to refuse to carry an assistance dog unless they hold a medical exemptions certificates issued by the local licensing authority. It is unacceptable that some drivers continue to discriminate in this way and I am determined that this practice must stop.
Guidance has previously been issued to licensing authorities to support their implementation of these legal protections, and we are currently reviewing Best Practice Guidance to strengthen the recommendations relating to taxi and PHV accessibility more generally.
I am clear that the local licensing authorities should play their part in eradicating such harmful discrimination.
Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many prosecutions there have been of transport operators for discriminating against guide dogs and their owners in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Jones
I understand the harm that the refusal of an assistance dog causes, not only to its owners ability to complete the journey that they set out to make but also to travel with confidence in the future.
We do not currently collect data on the outcome of assistance dog refusal incidents reported to local authorities, however my officials and I meet regularly with assistance dog owners and their representatives and I understand anecdotally that few refusals result in a successful prosecution.
I want to understand why this is, and will be reviewing the available evidence with a view to eradicating such unacceptable discrimination.
Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward an accessibility action plan to improve access to taxis and private hire vehicles for guide dogs and their owners.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department is committed to developing an Accessibility Action Plan (AAP) which will allow disabled people to access education, to get to work, see family and friends and to enjoy leisure activities.
The needs of assistance dog owners, including those who work with guide dogs, have informed the development of the actions which we intend to include in the AAP.
The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) has advised the Department on the broad content and scope of the AAP.
We aim to consult on the draft document by the end of the calendar year with the intention of publishing a final version by mid-2017.
Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to promote best practice amongst licensing authorities on the use of taxis and private hire vehicles by guide dog owners.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department has previously issued guidance to licensing authorities on the application of the law regarding the carriage of guide and assistance dogs in taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs), including their role in responding to allegations of non-compliance.
The Department is currently reviewing existing Best Practice Guidance on the licensing of taxis and PHVs, with a view to consulting stakeholders on a revised version in 2017. This will include strengthened recommendations relating to the training of drivers in disability awareness and equality.
Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2016 to Question 37198, how many of the leaflets entitled Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK have been returned to his Department; and what the postage cost to the Government has been of such returns.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister's response of 25th May 2016. This information is not collated centrally by the Department.
Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving test examiners have (a) left and (b) been recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in the last (i) one, (ii) two and (iii) five years.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Driving examiner starters have to pass a compulsory training course in order to become fully qualified examiners. If they do not pass this course they are then dismissed. Information on starters and leavers is shown in the table below:
| Starters | Leavers | Of the leavers, those who did not pass the course |
In the past financial year | 232 | 152 | 8 |
In the past two financial years | 389 | 288 | 28 |
In the past five financial years | 614 | 590 | 47 |
Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of progress on the planned dualing of the A45 between Stanwick and Thrapston.
Answered by Andrew Jones
When the first ever Road Investment Strategy was published in December 2014 we made a commitment to develop a scheme to dual the A45 between Stanwick and Thrapston.
The Government understands the importance of a fully dualled A45 between the A14 and the M1. We remain committed to removing this final bottleneck on the route yet are mindful of the environmental concerns locally.
We anticipate that the development of this scheme will begin shortly and will include public engagement. The scheme will be delivered as part of the second Road Investment Strategy which is due to begin in April 2020.
Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of progress on the planned improvements to the Chowns Mill roundabout.
Answered by Andrew Jones
We have completed a number of technical surveys and are carrying out preliminary design activities for the project. A public engagement event to seek views and opinions from local residents and businesses is planned for Autumn/Winter 2016. We anticipate that works will start in late 2019. At this very early stage of planning the project, we expect the construction phase to last around 18 months.
Asked by: Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many civil servants in his Department are members of trades unions; how much working hours facility time is claimed by each such civil servant; and what the cost of that facility time is to his Department.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
We do not hold records of how many civil servants within the Department for Transport are members of trades unions.
Paid facility time is not available to all union members, it is granted to accredited representatives for the purpose of carrying out trade union duties in accordance with the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to Civil Service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 at and is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time. Between January and December 2014, the total number of hours claimed by union representatives as paid facility time was 18,572. The cost to the department was £312,813 which is approximately 0.05% of the total paybill. Prior to the reforms initiated under the previous Government, the annual cost of facility time in the department in 2011-2012 was £1.2 million. Data before 2011 was not published.