Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Highways England on funding for infrastructure upgrades to existing road infrastructure related to the Lower Thames Crossing project.
Answered by George Freeman
Aside from the Lower Thames Crossing project, Highways England is making improvements to the A2 in north Kent at the Bean and Ebbsfleet junctions. This A2 scheme is due to start works in 2019/20 and open for traffic in 2022/23. These changes will support development and growth in the region.
Highways England is also working to forecast the impact of the Lower Thames Crossing on the wider network to inform decisions about which wider interventions may be needed and when. Any impacts on the Strategic Road Network and wider road network will be considered as part of the Lower Thames Crossing planning application (Development Consent Order). Highways England is continuing to work with Kent County Council and all other affected local highway authorities as it continues to develop the design of the Lower Thames Crossing.
Although these interventions would not be funded or developed through the Lower Thames Crossing project, the information will be available to enable future investment decisions to be made. For the Strategic Road Network, these will be considered as part of future Road Investment Strategy periods. On the local highway network, Highways England is working with local highway authorities to provide forecasts of potential impacts and it will work with them to help them consider appropriate mitigation measures.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on their progress in implementing the recommendations of the John Varley Vegetation Management Review.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Officials from my Department and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs have held a number of meetings with Network Rail to discuss implementation of the recommendations of John Varley’s Vegetation Management Review. John Varley is due to report to me shortly on the progress made so far by my Department and Network Rail in implementing his recommendations.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding he has allocated to repair roads in Chatham and Aylesford.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Local highway authorities are responsible for the maintenance of the local road network in their area. Chatham’s roads are the responsibility of Medway Council, as highway authority, and Aylesford’s roads are the responsibility of Kent County Council, as highway authority.
The funding provided by the Department for Transport for highway maintenance, including pothole repair, to Medway Council and Kent County Council since 2015 is shown in the table below. The table highlights the Department for Transport allocated Medway Council an additional £1.1m and Kent County Council an additional £12m funding in the 2018/19 financial year to support local highways maintenance services, including the repair of roads.
Year | Funding Stream | Funding £m Medway | Kent |
2015/16 | Highways Maintenance Block | 2.54 | 27.27 |
2016/17 | Highways Maintenance Block (including Incentive Element) | 2.47 | 26.38 |
2016/17 | Pothole Action Fund | 0.13 | 1.47 |
2017/18 | Highways Maintenance Block (including Incentive Element) | 2.45 | 26.35 |
2017/18 | Pothole Action Fund | 0.34 | 3.72 |
2017/18 | Flood Resilience Fund | 0.13 | 3.72 |
2018/19 | Highways Maintenance Block (including Incentive Element) | 2.47 | 25.55 |
2018/19 | Pothole Action Fund | 0.14 | 1.56 |
2018/19 | Budget £420 million | 1.12 | 12.09 |
2019/20 | Highways Maintenance Block (including Incentive Element) | 2.47 | 26.52 |
2019/20 | Pothole Action Fund | 0.07 | 0.79 |
2019/20 | Flood Resilience Fund | 0.07 | 0.79 |
Total |
| 14.40 | 156.21 |
The Department funds local highway maintenance in England, outside of London, through Highway Maintenance Block Funding (HMBF), worth about a £1 billion a year.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s timescale is for the installation on the M20 smart motorway of emergency refuge areas spaced at no more than 1 mile apart.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Government has always been clear that the benefits of smart motorways will not be delivered at the expense of safety, with Highways England setting a strict objective that each scheme should be at least as safe as a traditional motorway.
Operational evidence shows no consistent correlation between the number of vehicles stopping in live lane on smart motorways and the spacing of emergency areas – with a broadly comparable live lane breakdown rate even where emergency areas were three times further apart.
However, to help drivers feel more confident they can find a place to stop in an emergency, Highways England are reducing the maximum spacing of emergency areas on future smart motorway schemes from about every mile and a half (about 90 seconds at 60mph) to around every mile (about every minute at 60mph).
Highways England is committed to improving its emergency areas on the M20 by installing improved signage and conspicuous orange surfacing.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to award the next Southeastern franchise.
Answered by Andrew Jones
We expect to make the award for the next franchise this year. Officials at my Department are working to deliver the best possible outcome for passengers and taxpayers and they are focused on delivering a successful outcome for the competition. It is our aim to communicate any developments in relation to the franchise soon as possible.
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 potential growth in passengers on high-speed services from Snodland to London St Pancras in the next rail franchise period.
Answered by Andrew Jones
In developing the specification for train services and rolling stock capacity in the next franchise, the Department considered forecast changes in population and employment alongside other factors which influence rail demand such as fuel prices.
For the purpose of this analysis, the Department groups stations. Snodland forms part of the ‘West Kent’ group. Demand is considered on a flow basis – for example West Kent to London rather than for individual stations or services.
Forecast demand growth over the next franchise for the West Kent group is 0.55% per annum. In reality individual stations may grow higher or lower than this rate. In determining the specification for the new franchise the Department sought to cater for this demand across conventional and high speed services. The next franchisee must meet this specification no later than December 2022.
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 merits of including alcohol awareness training in the driving test assessment; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The Highway Code advises drivers not to drink any alcohol before driving; this advice applies to all drivers, regardless of experience. The driving theory test includes questions about the effects of alcohol on a person's ability to drive.
The Department for Transport believes a more effective route to public awareness of the negative effect of alcohol on drivers is through appropriate pre-test training. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency produces The National Standard for Driver Training that should form the basis of training that approved driving instructors give to their pupils; these include thorough guidance on the appropriate consumption of alcohol prior to driving.