Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many electric vehicle charge-points have been installed as part of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund as of 5 February 2024.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Pilot, launched in August 2022, and expanded further in February 2023, has provided funding to deliver 3,400 chargepoints and 1,000 gullies.
The full fund was launched in March 2023 and we announced five successful applications on February 5, 2024. Further successful applications will be announced in coming months.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many electric vehicle charge-points have been installed as part of the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant as of 5 February 2024.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant (EVCG) scheme provides support for those who own and live in a flat or rent any residential property (including shared ownership). Grants of up to £350 per chargepoint are available for eligible applicants to help with the costs of purchase and installation.
As of 1st July 2023, the EVCG has funded the installation of 3,433 domestic sockets since the scheme was launched in April 2022.
Previous domestic grant schemes funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme and Domestic Recharging Scheme) have delivered 380,555 domestic charging devices since 2013.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to help increase accessibility of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all electric vehicle drivers can easily find public chargepoints that they can use. The Government and industry have supported the installation of over 53,600 publicly available charging devices.
The Publicly Available Standard (PAS) 1899 provides specifications on designing and installing accessible chargepoints. It also considers chargepoints in the context of their wider built environment, to ensure that the needs of other road and pavement users are reflected.
The Government will continue to monitor progress to assess whether further intervention is required, including through a 24-month review into implementation of PAS 1899.
The Government is actively encouraging local authorities, and other relevant parties, to incorporate accessibility into their procurement models, including through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. This £381 million fund will support local authorities to work with industry to ensure that the transition to EVs takes place in every part of the country.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to invest in cycling infrastructure in the next five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is investing more than £3 billion into active travel up to 2025. This includes existing funding for active travel schemes delivered through funding streams such as the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) and National Highways to level up access to active travel across the country. The Department will invest at least £100 million of dedicated capital funding across the remainder of the Spending Review period up to 2024/25. Funding for 2025/26 onwards is subject to the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 number and proportion of buses in Kent and Medway that are able to provide audio-visual announcements; and whether he plans to provide funding to increase the number of buses equipped for such announcements.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
In 2021/22, 25% of buses in England outside of London were equipped to provide audio-visual information. We do not hold more granular information, such as statistics specific to Kent and Medway.
We plan to require the provision of audible and visible information on local bus and coach services across Great Britain and intend to introduce the Accessible Information Regulations.
We have allocated £3.55m to the Real Time Information Group, who will be supporting small operators with the upfront costs of the planned Regulations.
The 2021 National Bus Strategy requires all Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) outside London to produce Bus Service Improvement Plans. Our Guidance created to support LTAs with the development of these plans recommends that buses offer end to end accessibility, by for example, offering onboard accessible information.
We have also required buses funded through the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme to provide audible and visible information as standard.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he has made an assessment of the potential impact of e-scooter policies on people with sight loss and other disabilities.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Rental e-scooter trials were launched in July 2020 in 32 areas across England. The Department for Transport commissioned an independent evaluation of the e-scooter trials, covering data up to December 2021. The evaluation examines how and why rental e-scooters are used, and by whom, as well as safety, mode shift, environmental and wider social impacts.
From the key findings, the majority of residents saw the introduction of e-scooters in their area as positive. Some members of the public raised concerns about the behaviour displayed by riders, with pavement riding causing particular concern among pedestrians with mobility issues and blind or partially sighted individuals.
The findings have already been used to inform updates in guidance and regulation of the e-scooter trials and will continue to be used to inform future e-scooter policy. The Department will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders representing the needs of blind and visually impaired people, including through a public consultation, before any new arrangements come into force.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of electric vehicle charging points in (a) Chatham and Aylesford constituency, (b) Medway and (c) Kent.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The figures requested are in the attached table. Figures are accurate as of 1st January 2020.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timeframe is for the introduction of National Minimum Standards on disability awareness training for drivers of taxi and private hire vehicles.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We will continue to engage with the sector on our plans to reform the regulation of taxis and private hire vehicles, including the introduction of national minimum standards in licensing, and will bring forward further measures in due course.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support visually impaired people through reducing street furniture.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Department is working to address the problems street clutter can create for vulnerable pedestrians, in particular those with visual impairments.
Local authorities are responsible for managing their roads, including the provision of street furniture. The Department provides good practice guidance in 'Inclusive Mobility' on access to pedestrian and transport infrastructure. Section 3 relates to access to footways, footpaths and pedestrian areas. ‘Inclusive Mobility’ is available at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mobility
The Department is in the process of updating ‘Inclusive Mobility’, and has research underway to inform this. The research is due to conclude by the end of this year, and the updates to the guidance will follow at a later date.
The control of advertising, including the use of A-boards, is a matter for my colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the lower Thames crossing project on the (a) M2 Junction 3, (b) A229 and (c) road infrastructure in Chatham & Aylesford constituency.
Answered by George Freeman
The Lower Thames Crossing statutory consultation was carried out in 2018 and outlined the forecast traffic impacts on the wider road network as a result of the scheme. The traffic flows use a measure called the passenger car unit (PCU) and a car equates to 1 PCU. A heavy goods vehicle is 2.5 PCUs as it uses more road space than a car. The traffic modelling showed that:
On roads within the Chatham and Aylesford constituency; a range of impacts are forecast, including a reduction in traffic flows on the M20 and an increase on the M2. However, the majority of roads within the constituency are forecast to see a small change in flow of between -99 PCUs and +100 PCUs per hour in both peak periods.
Any impacts on the Strategic Road Network and wider road network will be considered during development of the Lower Thames Crossing project and in the context of long term investment planning in the Strategic Road Network. Highways England is continuing to work with Kent County Council and all other impacted local highway authorities as it continues to develop the design of the Lower Thames Crossing.
Following its 2018 statutory consultation, Highways England is considering all of the responses it received and any changes to the scheme will be assessed in an updated version of the traffic model, and presented as part of the Lower Thames Crossing planning application (Development Consent Order).