To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Air Pollution: Greater Manchester
Thursday 27th October 2022

Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she takes to coordinate policies with Greater Manchester local authorities and the Combined Authority to reduce air pollution emanating from the motorway system across Greater Manchester.

Answered by Katherine Fletcher

National Highways is responsible for addressing air quality on the Strategic Road Network. National Highways works closely with Greater Manchester authorities, and other local authorities, to reduce pollution. Following consultation which ran for 10 weeks until 6 June 2022, the Government intends to designate National Highways as a ‘relevant public authority’. This change will require National Highways to collaborate with local authorities to improve air quality – becoming an ‘air quality partner’ where locally relevant. National Highways publishes regular reports which are available at the National Highways Air Quality Reports webpage, setting out the steps they are taking. Greater Manchester authorities have also engaged with National Highways in the development of their plans for the reduction of Nitrogen Dioxide pollution. The Government is currently reviewing Greater Manchester authorities’ proposal and will respond in due course.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Thursday 16th June 2022

Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what resources have been committed to the establishment of new electric vehicle charging points; what estimate he has made of the number of electric vehicle charging points that those resources will enable to be created; and if he will publish details of (a) expenditure and (b) the number of electric vehicle charging points by region.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Government has committed £2.5 billion since 2020 to support the transition to zero emission vehicles. Over £1.6 billion will be used to support charging infrastructure.

On 25 March 2022 the Government published the Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Infrastructure Strategy, setting out our vision and commitments to make EV charging cheaper and more convenient than refuelling at a petrol station. In the strategy, Government laid out that it expects at least ten times more public chargepoints to be installed across the UK by the end of the decade, bringing the number to around 300,000 by 2030.

The Department publishes data on the number of publicly available chargepoints monthly. In addition, on a quarterly basis, it also publishes data on chargepoints installed with support from grants offered by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles. This includes both the number of installations and the grant value awarded, broken down to regional and local authority level for the whole UK.


Written Question
Aircraft: Sanctions
Thursday 21st April 2022

Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of reports that aircraft belonging to sanctioned individuals have continued to use UK airfields.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Russia’s assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state. The UK government has shown there are massive consequences and a severe cost for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In coordination with our international allies and partners, we have developed and continue to expand an unprecedented package of sanctions.

Since 25 February Russian aircraft have been banned from entering UK airspace and landing in the UK.  This was strengthened on 8 March with the signing of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. It is now a criminal offence to breach the airspace ban and it has conferred powers on the Secretary of State to direct airport operators to detain Russian aircraft.

Since the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 came into effect, we have detained three aircraft, and have held a further two aircraft while thorough investigations are carried out. We continue to work with the aviation industry and other Government departments to rigorously investigate any aircraft that the Department becomes aware of that may be connected with Russia. We will not hesitate to impose further detentions on aircraft connected with sanctioned individuals.


Written Question
Driving Licences
Tuesday 26th October 2021

Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the DVLA on the backlog in reviewing driving licences.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.

However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union has led to delays for customers. The DVLA has been working with a significantly reduced number of staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements. The current increased demand for the DVLA’s services has also contributed to delays with paper applications.

The DVLA has introduced additional online services and recruited additional staff. The DVLA is urgently securing extra office space to house more staff to help reduce waiting times while providing future resilience and business continuity.

The DVLA understands the impact that delays can have on people’s everyday lives and is working as quickly as possible to process paper applications and return people’s documentation to them.


Written Question

Question Link

Wednesday 28th April 2021

Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the risk of transmission of covid-19 (a) on public transport and (b) in other crowded public spaces; what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of different types of facemasks in preventing such transmission; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 8 March 2021, to Question UIN 159378 regarding the risk of transmission of COVID-19 on public transport.

In regard to what assessment has been made of the efficacy of different types of face masks, in 2020 Public Health England’s rapid evidence review reported that the published literature indicated that face coverings of varying materials are more effective than no covering, and multi-layered coverings more effective than single-layer. Further information is available here: https://phe.koha-ptfs.co.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opac-retrieve-file.pl?id=5f043ca658db1188ffae74827fa650d9

A second review published in January 2021 corroborated the findings of the first review and found consistent evidence that the use of face coverings in community settings reduced the spread of COVID-19: https://phe.koha-ptfs.co.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opac-retrieve-file.pl?id=d86880bf65bd6b18eae21aa3bdaf2a4b


Written Question
Bus Services: Social Distancing
Monday 8th March 2021

Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has issued to bus operators on the need to provide safe seating to ensure that people from different households do not sit next to each other on buses; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Department for Transport has issued safer transport guidance for operators, which aids transport operators to understand how to provide safer services for passengers. It outlines measures to assess and address the risks of COVID-19 on public transport.


Written Question
Train Operating Companies: Standards
Monday 18th March 2019

Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the penalties are for train operators that have not provided the level of service that they are contracted to deliver; what compensation is available to passengers of Northern Rail that have not met contractual obligations services; what steps he is taking to improve the provision of rail services in Rochdale; and whether he plans to withdraw the franchise of operators which have not fulfilled their contractual obligations.

Answered by Andrew Jones

Under the terms of the Franchise Agreement there is a performance regime which deals with poor performance in the areas of cancellations, delays and reduced capacity. Under the Delay Repay scheme, Northern passengers are entitled to compensation if a delay to their train journey means they are delayed in reaching their destination by 15mins or more. Delay Repay for those journeys delayed 15mins or more was announced by the Secretary of State later last year and introduced by Northern on 16 December 2018. As part of this, the Secretary of State has tasked Richard George, an independent industry expert, to assist with railway industry performance improvement in the region covered by TfN. The Secretary of State has no hesitation in enforcing that any of his rights under the Franchise Agreement for operators not fulfilling their contractual obligations.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Monday 18th June 2018

Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to Answer of 11 June 2018 to Question 150572 on Members: Correspondence, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Rochdale of 11 April 2018, reference number IW/0060, on the age of road vehicle tyres.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The guidance issued by the Department for Transport concerning the use of older tyres continues to be implemented into the maintenance regime of the bus and coach fleet. Official analysis suggests it has been effective. Out of 28,524 roadworthiness inspections conducted by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, the Agency found that approximately 0.23% of vehicles failed to meet the legal minimum requirements for tyres, and approximately 0.03% had tyres older than 10 years.

The Department for Transport has also discussed with a Traffic Commissioner and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency how to reinforce the advice provided to vehicle operators in relation to the age of tyres. Enhanced procedures are expected be in place shortly.

Separately, as previously announced to the House, a programme of research is underway that will report at the beginning of 2019. This research should provide a deeper understanding of the effect of age on the various materials used in tyre construction. The Government does not rule out further measures once this evidence is available.

A response to the Honourable Member’s letter had been held by officials in draft pending review of recent evidence, and I apologise for the delay. I have now written to the Honourable Gentleman separately setting out in more detail what the Department has done to address these issues.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Monday 11th June 2018

Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Rochdale dated 11 April 2018, reference number IW/0060, on the age of road vehicle tyres.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government has provided specific guidance to every operator of a public service vehicle on the importance of safety and to ensure that tyres are correctly maintained and their condition routinely monitored. They are also advised not to use tyres of 10-years of age or more on the steering axle of a bus or coach. This guidance has been reinforced during vehicle inspections by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

Ensuring compliance with the guidance is important and the Government made clear that it has not ruled out further measures.


Written Question
M60: Repairs and Maintenance
Monday 5th March 2018

Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the efficacy of the working practices relating to the smart motorway construction work on the westbound carriageway of the M60; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The M60 J8 to M62 J20 is a busy stretch of urban motorway and due to the complexities this scheme presented, it was became clear that creating long lengths of roadworks for the whole delivery of the scheme was not practical, and that phasing the works was a more appropriate approach. This assessment of working practices is currently being shared with future smart motorway projects.