Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to publish the results of the consultation on Street works: fines and lane rental surplus funds.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport consulted earlier in 2024 on reforms to street works fines and the use of surplus lane rental funds. Publication of this response was delayed due to the general election. We plan to publish the response to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders on (a) autonomous delivery robots and (b) other emerging technologies in transport systems.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I have attended the Cenex Expo, focused on Net Zero and Connected Automated Mobility. At Cenex I attended a roundtable to discuss next steps for the CAM sector and how to ensure public understanding. I also participated in a demonstration of an Ohmio vehicle. I have also visited Wayve, a UK developer of self-driving technology.
As you will appreciate, the new Government is still in its early stages, and I am carefully considering next steps in this policy area and the stakeholders I should meet to inform those decisions.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on increasing the number of potholes that are repaired in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local road network. Havering Council is the local highway authority for the Romford constituency, and it is therefore responsible for the maintenance of its local road network. Havering Council has received £333,000 from this Department during 2024/25 to help it carry out its local highway maintenance responsibilities: it is up to the Council to decide how that funding is used. For England as a whole, the Government has a commitment to enable local highway authorities to fix up to a million more potholes a year.
Asked by: Mike Reader (Labour - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for determining whether to bring forward legislative proposals to make e-scooter rental trials permanent.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As you will appreciate, the new Government is still in its early stages, and I am carefully considering next steps for the e-scooter trials and what legislative changes may be required in future.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will introduce a road safety campaign to reinforce the importance of safe driving around horses and their riders.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government's flagship road safety campaign, THINK!, aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads.
The THINK! Campaign plays an important role in raising awareness of, and encouraging compliance with, new road safety legislation. This has recently included changes to The Highway Code, which were made on 29 January 2022 and aimed to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and horse riding.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps with Chiltern Railways to reinstate direct rail travel between London and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Chiltern’s current timetable offers a service between London and Stratford Upon Avon with one change.
Whilst noting that this is not a direct service, timetable decisions are for operators to make, balancing passenger demand, track availability, infrastructure constraints, and operational considerations. With these considerations in place, the operator has no current plans to offer a direct service from London Marylebone.
Asked by: Deirdre Costigan (Labour - Ealing Southall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of people choose cycling as a mode of transport for commuting to work in (a) England, (b) the borough of Ealing and (c) Ealing Southall constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department holds information on the proportion of people in employment using a bicycle as their usual mode to commute to work by region of residence.
In 2022, 3.6% of people in employment living in England used a bicycle as their usual mode to commute to work. For those in employment who live in one of the Outer London boroughs 3.1% of people used a bicycle as their usual mode to commute to work.
The department does not hold equivalent estimates for individual boroughs or constituencies.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what powers she has to (a) ensure the timely delivery of the M25/A3 works and (b) prevent unnecessary disruption from the works while they are under way.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways has public commitment dates for delivery in their Delivery Plan and they are held to account on these dates by the Highways Monitor, Office of Rail and Road. Additionally, through the Department’s established governance framework with National Highways, there is regular reporting and meetings with ministers and officials.
National Highways will continue to look at ways of minimising disruption as much as possible.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the plug-in grant for vans.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The plug-in van grant has been in place since 2012 to help reduce up-front purchase costs, supporting almost 90,000 zero emission vans and heavy goods vehicles across the UK. Plug-in vehicle grants will continue for vans, trucks, motorcycles, taxis and wheelchair accessible vehicles until at least the end of the current financial year.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reopening the Ramsgate Port to international (a) trade and (b) passenger transit on job creation in the local economy.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
New commercially viable freight-only or passenger-carrying services from ports have the potential to contribute positively to local, regional and national economies. The scale of impacts upon the economy and employment, upon other ports and upon congestion on the M20 and other roads, would depend on the nature, capacity and frequency of the service. Such a service could also contribute to national trade resilience overall.