Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how lessons from serious and fatal road traffic collisions are incorporated into national road safety policy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is a key priority. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government is working hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
The Road Safety Strategy published on 7th January sets out the Department’s intention to establish a data-led road safety investigation branch to learn lessons from road incidents, by taking a strategic, thematic approach, focusing on patterns of collisions, injury trends, and systemic safety issues. It will adopt a test-and-learn approach, using real-world evidence to inform targeted safety interventions, data-driven policies, and proactive prevention and enforcement strategies.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding was allocated to Greater Manchester under national road safety funding schemes in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There have been no allocations to Greater Manchester under national road safety funding schemes in each of the last three years. Local authorities are responsible for prioritising road safety measures within their existing transport and highways budgets.
The Government remains committed to improving road safety and the condition of local roads. While there is no ring‑fenced road safety funding, Greater Manchester will benefit from wider transport and highways investment, including £15,572,000 in highways maintenance incentive funding in 2026/27 and a £2.47 billion Transport for City Regions settlement for 2027–32 to support local transport priorities, which may include road safety initiatives.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level the risk of road traffic collisions involving young drivers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Young drivers account for only 6% of driving licence holders but were involved in 24% of fatal and serious collisions in 2024.
This is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. This includes consulting on a Minimum Learning Period before learner drivers can take their test. This would allow learners more time to gain essential experience, for example in different weather conditions, before driving independently and reduce the risk to themselves and other drivers.
We are also consulting on a lower drink drive limit for newly qualified drivers with the intention of reducing collisions amongst this group.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions ships' captains were given a direction under the Marine Safety Act 2003 between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2024; and if she will list the (a) date, (b) ship and (c) nature of each direction.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Safety directions are issued under Schedule 3A of the Merchant Shipping Act (MSA) 1995 (as amended); Schedule 1 of the Marine Safety Act 2003 was inserted as Schedule 3A of the MSA 1995 (as amended).
In the period in question, ships’ masters were directed under Schedule 3A powers on four occasions:
On 16 March 2013, the master, owners and insurers of the general cargo vessel Danio were directed to notify their plans or intentions, including the appointment of competent salvors, following the grounding of the vessel.
On 3 February 2017, the master and owners of the bulk carrier V Due were directed to remove their ship from the port of Liverpool to take the undamaged cargo on board the ship for discharge to another port. The ship had previously been directed into the port of Liverpool after a cargo combustion fire on board and damaged cargo was subsequently discharged in the port.
On 19 July 2018, the master, owners and insurers of general cargo vessel Priscilla were directed to appoint competent salvors following the grounding of the vessel.
On 23 December 2018, the master and owners of the bulk carrier Kuzma Minin were directed to move the ship from an anchorage position to a casualty mooring buoy in Falmouth harbour. The ship had previously run aground and was then refloated in port controlled waters.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending Northern Ireland’s rules for new drivers to all new drivers across the UK.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign.
We are considering other measures to address this problem and protect young drivers, as part of our upcoming strategy for road safety - the first in over a decade.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with the Rail Delivery Group on the provision of baby changing facilities across the rail network.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Department is in regular dialogue with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on measures that can be taken to make rail travel more accessible for those with young children. Earlier this year, we worked with the RDG to encourage operators to publish family-friendly travel information on their websites, to increase awareness of provisions already in place. In July 2023 the Rail Safety and Standards Board published an updated version of the Key Train Requirements document which includes further measures for operators to consider, which would help make rail travel more family-friendly,
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with the Rail Delivery Group on the potential merits of expanding the provision for set down and pick up areas for wheelchair and blue badge holders at railway stations across the network.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Train operating companies are responsible for managing station car parks and we expect them to take into consideration the needs of their passengers and the views of local partners. Operators are also expected to set out how assistance will be provided around the station, including when connecting from the train to the car park, as part of their Accessible Travel Policy.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with the Rail Delivery Group on the provision of public wifi across the rail network.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The department has regular discussions with the Rail Delivery Group on a range of issues including the passenger experience.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2023 to Question 177749 on Travel: Greater Manchester, what estimate he has of the percentage of households that own a car in Bolton South East constituency.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
According to Census data, 72% of households in Bolton South East constituency in 2021 had access to one or more cars or vans.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate his Department has made of the level of (a) car ownership, (b) bus usage (iii) light rail usage, (d) train usage and (e) active travel usage in (i) Bolton South East constituency, (ii) the borough of Bolton and (iii) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The information requested regarding (a) car ownership, (b) bus usage (c) light rail usage, (d) train usage and (e) active travel usage in (i) Bolton South East constituency, (ii) the borough of Bolton and (iii) Greater Manchester is given below, where available. In several cases, data are not available specifically for Bolton South East constituency or the Borough of Bolton.
A) Car ownership
According to the Department’s vehicle statistics, there were 1,393,157 registered cars as at end-September 2022 in Greater Manchester, 127,329 in Bolton Borough and 42,868 in Bolton South East Constituency.
B) Bus usage
According to the Department’s annual bus statistics, in the financial year 2021/22 there were 121.0 million local bus journeys taken in Greater Manchester. Data for (i) Bolton South East constituency and (ii) the borough of Bolton are not available
C) Light rail usage
According to the Department’s light rail statistics, in the financial year 2021/22 there were 26.0 million journeys taken on Manchester Metrolink. Data for (i) Bolton South East constituency and (ii) the borough of Bolton are not available
D) Train usage
According to Office of Rail and Road statistics in 2021/22 there were 39.2 million passenger rail journeys within the North West that started or ended in Greater Manchester. There were also 13.9 million journeys that started or ended in Greater Manchester that ended or started from regions other than the North West. Data for (i) Bolton South East constituency and (ii) the borough of Bolton are not available
E) Active travel usage
According to the Department’s annual walking and cycling statistics, between November 2020 and November 2021, 61.4% of adults walked or cycled at least once a week in Bolton (Local authority) and 66.6% of adults walked or cycled at least once a week in Greater Manchester. Data for (i) Bolton South East constituency are not available
F) Personal travel patterns in Greater Manchester
Additionally, information from the Department’s National Travel Survey shows that, on average each year between 2010 and 2019 there were 244 walking trips per person, 11 pedal cycle trips per person, 81 bus trips per person, 12 surface rail trips per person and 11 light rail trips per person by residents of Greater Manchester. 76% of adults in Greater Manchester had access to a car in 2021. National Travel Survey data is not available at constituency or borough level.