Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of access to green spaces on the equality of access to sport.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus. That’s why we have made sure that people can exercise throughout the national restrictions.
We know that high quality multi-use local green spaces can play a key role as sporting venues and as alternative settings for sport and healthy activity. Last month Sport England published its new strategy Uniting the Movement which sets out their 10 year vision to transform lives and communities through sport and physical activity. A key part of the strategy is creating and protecting the local places and spaces that make it easier for people to be active including encouraging walking and cycling.
Last year, Public Health England published Improving Access to Greenspace. The report highlights the strong evidence that regular physical activity supports both individual and community outcomes such as increasing educational attainment, improving self-esteem and reducing social isolation and that greenspace can support higher levels of physical activity.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to increase opportunities for cycling in the countryside; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus. That’s why we have made sure that people can exercise throughout the national and local tiered restrictions including cycling.
Last month Sport England published its new strategy Uniting the Movement which sets out their 10 year vision to transform lives and communities through sport and physical activity. A key part of the strategy is creating and protecting the places and spaces that make it easier for people to be active including encouraging walking and cycling.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the levels of (1) personal, and (2) commercial, vehicle transportation on the roads following the COVID-19 pandemic; and if so, (a) to what level they plan to, and (b) how they intend to, reduce such activity.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In response to lockdown measures implemented by the Government, demand for all modes of transport, including road usage, has fallen. My Department regularly publishes statistics on this subject, which are available on the gov.uk website (“Transport use during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic”).
Transport will play a key role in recovery from Covid-19, and there is opportunity to build upon some of the behavioural changes which have been evident, such as an increase in active travel. In addition, my Department remains committed to the achievement of longer-term strategic objectives, publishing three Priority Outcomes as part of Spending Review 2020. One of our Priority Outcomes is to tackle climate change and improve air quality through the decarbonisation of transport. Cars and vans alone accounted for a fifth of the UK’s total domestic greenhouse gas emissions in 2018.
We are continuing to assess what needs to be done to decarbonise our transport system, of which road transport represents one of the highest emitting elements. Road transport will continue to play a key role in allowing people and goods to move efficiently around the country, but to support the Government’s aim to build back better we have already announced significant measures relating to road transport. These include:
Further details of these plans for decarbonising cars and freight will form part of Department’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan, to be published later this year. The plan will set out in detail what Government, business and society will need to do to put us on a pathway to achieving carbon budgets and net-zero emissions by 2050.
We are also seeking to develop measures to encourage changes in the way we travel following the end of Covid restrictions, such as through increasing levels of walking and cycling and ensuring a reliable and safe public transport network. This includes:
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to provide covid-19 funding support for (a) light rail, (b) buses and (c) active travel.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
On 8 August, the Government announced funding at up to £27.3 million per week to support the bus sector, through the Coronavirus Bus Service Support Grant (CBSSG) Restart scheme, until a time when the funding is no longer needed. On 22 October, the Government also announced funding of up to £35.4 million for light rail services over the 12 weeks from 27 October, and a further indicative allocation of up to £32.4 million for the 11 weeks thereafter, subject to a Government review of funding requirements.
This latest round of funding – key to ensuring these vital services can continue running safely– means total support during the pandemic for bus and tram services will reach at least £900 million.
The Government has made a commitment, set out in the Prime Minister’s Cycling and Walking Plan launched in July, to invest an unprecedented £2 billion in active travel over the remainder of this Parliament. £250 million of this is being made available in the current financial year
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what their current advice is on the use of public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Our current advice on the use of public transport is available in our guidance on gov.uk. We advise people to help control coronavirus and travel safely by walking and cycling, if they can. Where this is not possible, they should use public transport or drive. We also advise passengers to observe social contact rules, wash or sanitise their hands regularly, maintain social distancing and avoid the busiest routes and times.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent comparative assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of the use of private transport prior to the start of the covid-19 outbreak and during the covid-19 outbreak; what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for those trends; and whether he plans to take steps to encourage people to reduce their use of private transport.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
To monitor the use of the transport system during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department for Transport provides statistics on transport use by mode, published every Wednesday. Data on usage of the different transport modes is available on GOV.UK. We’re creating a Transport Decarbonisation Plan for publication later this year setting out a pathway to decarbonisation which will consider measures to accelerate modal shift to public and active transport. We have already invested £2 billion to rejuvenate cycling and walking across the UK – the largest investment ever made in this area.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in cycling and walking rates as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions have eased.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Cycle usage in England on Monday 24 August was 116% of the equivalent day in the first week of March. Daily data is highly variable and linked to the weather, with days of poorer weather showing lower usage. Currently it is not possible to produce a reliable estimate of walking activity during the period.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the practicality of social distancing for secondary school pupils travelling to and from school, in particular in rural areas; and what assessment they have made of the findings in the analysis by the Education Policy Institute Getting pupils back into school: the unresolved problem of transport, published on 3 July.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We recognise that ensuring there is sufficient, appropriate transport for all children to return to school safely is a very significant challenge, including in rural areas. We are working closely with the Department for Transport to achieve this and to ensure local authorities have robust plans in place for the autumn term.
Our guidance published on 2 July outlines steps which schools and local authorities should take:
The advice for passengers on public transport to adopt a social distance of two metres, or a ‘one metre plus’ approach where this is not possible, does not apply on dedicated school transport. This is because pupils on dedicated school transport services do not mix with the general public on those journeys.
As school transport is arranged by local authorities for a planned number of children, demand for services can be managed in a way which is not possible on public transport. This predictability, which public transport does not afford, will allow for planning so that protective measures can be put in place. For example, in some circumstances, it may be possible for children to sit with other children from their school bubble on school transport. We know this won’t always be possible and where that is case, other measures such as the use of hand sanitiser upon boarding and/or disembarking, additional cleaning of vehicles, organised queuing and boarding will be more important. We will publish additional guidance for dedicated school transport shortly.
In many areas, pupils normally make extensive use of the wider public transport system, particularly public buses. We expect that public transport capacity will continue to be constrained in the autumn term. Its use, particularly in peak times, should be kept to an absolute minimum so that the capacity is available for those that have no alternative method of travel. Schools should encourage parents, staff and pupils to walk or cycle to school if at all possible. The government has announced a £2 billion package to promote cycling and walking, including to support pop-up bicycle lanes and widened pavements. For some families, driving children to school will also be an option. Those using public transport should refer to the Department for Transport’s safer travel guidance for passengers, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to enable two people from different households to share a car following the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will put in place plans for disabled people who rely on other people to drive them.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Our priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been to keep people safe by minimising the risk of transmission. This is why we continue to recommend that people should consider walking, cycling or using their own vehicle rather than sharing a vehicle with people from other households or support bubbles.
We appreciate that this will not be an option for everyone and recognise the importance of car sharing for people with disabilities. Our Safer Travel Guidance for Passengers outlines clear steps that people should attempt to follow if they have to travel in the same vehicle with people outside their household or support bubble (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers).
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to local authorities about carrying out consultations with local communities ahead of the implementation of travel schemes funded from their emergency active travel fund for local authorities due to the COVID-19 pandemic announced by the Secretary of State on 23 May, in view of the eight week deadline for the implementation of such schemes; and what steps they are taking to ensure that the use of Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders by local authorities in such schemes does not bypass local democratic accountability.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
To help authorities deliver at pace, new emergency legislation came into force on 23 May 2020 to help speed up the Emergency Traffic Order process in cases where measures are being introduced to deal with the effects of coronavirus. The main change is to how orders are advertised, which can now be done via digital means. It is for the Traffic Authority to decide which type of Order to use to introduce changes and to comply with the relevant regulations. Orders can be Emergency, Permanent, Temporary or Experimental.
The Department has reminded local authorities of the need to consult businesses and other stakeholders before introducing road space reallocation measures in their proforma for Tranche 1 of the Emergency Active Travel Fund. It is for local authorities, to take decisions at the local level, on where and how to consult wider local communities.