Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to support the transition to wheelchair accessible electric vehicle stock for taxi (a) firms and (b) drivers by the Net Zero target date of 2030.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government’s Plug in Taxi (PiTG) grant scheme supports taxi firms and drivers to transition to zero emission vehicles.
To be eligible for this grant, manufacturers must demonstrate that the vehicle has been approved as a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
The PiTG scheme offers a discount on the price of eligible taxis of up to a maximum of £7,500 or £3,000, depending on the vehicle’s range, emissions and design.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has taken steps to ensure that sufficient wheelchair-accessible electrical vehicle stock is available after 2030.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone can transition to zero emission vehicles. Government grants are available to support the transition to wheelchair-accessible electric vehicles and are designed to reduce the upfront purchase price and encourage growth in this market.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of electric vehicle charging points.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Today, the majority of electric vehicle charging happens at home. The Department expects this trend to continue. In addition, there is an extensive public charging network across the country, with over 37,600 available chargers. Government support and industry investment has seen the number of public chargepoints more than triple over the last four years. Last week, the Department for Transport announced an additional £56 million in public and industry funding for local chargepoints across the country.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has a Ministerial disability champion.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
I am the Department’s Ministerial Disability Champion.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the new train timetable on the reliability of rail services.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The December 2022 timetable was designed to improve performance through some of the busiest parts of the network, including Manchester, Birmingham and the south east. Since it was introduced, the network has faced considerable challenges, with poor weather (snow, ice, wind, heavy rain), sustained industrial action and a wide-ranging programme of engineering works. The full impact of the timetable on service performance will only become clearer when network disruption stabilises, towards the end of January.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of disabled people currently hold a driving licence.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Data from the National Travel Survey show that in 2020, 60% of disabled people aged 17 and over in England held a full car driving licence, compared with 83% of those with no disability. Data are not available on the number of disabled people who hold a driving licence, as the proportions above are derived from a sample and are therefore estimates rather than precise figures.
Updated figures will follow in the next release of the disability statistics publication.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will introduce mandatory training for taxi and minicab drivers to ensure that people with sight loss are not discriminated against when using those services.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has committed to introducing mandatory disability awareness training for taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers through new National Minimum Standards for licensing authorities when Parliamentary time allows.
The Government recently consulted on revised Best Practice Guidance for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authorities in England, which included a stronger recommendation that every driver is required to complete disability awareness training. The Government’s response to this consultation will be published in due course, along with the final version of the guidance.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the 9.30am start time for free public transport on disabled people's abilities to commute to their place of work or education; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing that restriction.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Under the terms of The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme a holder of a concessionary bus pass is able to travel between 09.30am and 11.00pm on weekdays and all day at weekends and on Bank Holidays.
The primary aim of the scheme is to ensure that no eligible disabled or older person in England is prevented from bus travel by cost alone. The provision of a free bus pass aims to provide these groups with greater freedom and independence in accessing a range of basic necessities.
Local authorities in England have the power to offer additional local concessions, such as extending the hours of the concession, and around three quarters of authorities already do so.
This area is kept under review. The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme costs around £1 billion annually so any changes, such as extending the concession to include morning peak travel times, would need to be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability. At present, there are no plans to extend the travel times for the concession given the current pressures on public finances.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of enabling people undergoing (a) surgery followed by chemotherapy or radiation, (b) chemotherapy followed by surgery and (c) chemotherapy and concurrent radiation for the purposes of cancer treatment to apply for a Blue Badge.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Blue Badge scheme is primarily about helping those with permanent mobility issues to access the goods and services they need. Applications are not dependent upon condition but are based on the need of the applicant to park closer to their destination.
The Department has previously issued local authorities with advice on how they could use their existing powers to provide temporary parking concessions locally within their areas for residents with temporary impairments.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of allowing people with a temporary disability to apply for a Blue Badge.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Blue Badge scheme is primarily about helping those with permanent mobility issues to access the goods and services they need. Applications are not dependent upon condition but are based on the need of the applicant to park closer to their destination.
The Department has previously issued local authorities with advice on how they could use their existing powers to provide temporary parking concessions locally within their areas for residents with temporary impairments.