Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to help ensure the adequacy of train driver numbers for the next (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 25 years.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is not responsible for the recruitment and retention of train drivers. The train operating companies, as employers, are responsible for ensuring there are adequate number of train drivers to suit their operational functions.
Train operators incentivise the continued recruitment of train drivers by offering salaries to qualified drivers that are well above UK average full-time earnings. To give some examples of train driver recruitment which is currently underway, Avanti West Coast (AWC) is undertaking unprecedented levels of annual recruitment, with plans underway to recruit approximately 70 trainee or qualified drivers in each year, over the next few years. Over 100 additional drivers have entered formal service since April 2022 in AWC. Further to recent recruitment drives, Northern Rail currently have 136 drivers in training.
Despite the industry presenting ASLEF with a reasonable two-year pay deal in return for necessary reforms, ASLEF’s leadership declined the offer. This pay rise would have taken some train driver salaries to c. £65000. We continue to encourage ASLEF to present the industry's fair proposal to its members, within the train operating companies, to allow them to have a say on their future.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to support the recruitment and retention of train drivers.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is not responsible for the recruitment and retention of train drivers. The train operating companies, as employers, are responsible for ensuring there are adequate number of train drivers to suit their operational functions.
Train operators incentivise the continued recruitment of train drivers by offering salaries to qualified drivers that are well above UK average full-time earnings. To give some examples of train driver recruitment which is currently underway, Avanti West Coast (AWC) is undertaking unprecedented levels of annual recruitment, with plans underway to recruit approximately 70 trainee or qualified drivers in each year, over the next few years. Over 100 additional drivers have entered formal service since April 2022 in AWC. Further to recent recruitment drives, Northern Rail currently have 136 drivers in training.
Despite the industry presenting ASLEF with a reasonable two-year pay deal in return for necessary reforms, ASLEF’s leadership declined the offer. This pay rise would have taken some train driver salaries to c. £65000. We continue to encourage ASLEF to present the industry's fair proposal to its members, within the train operating companies, to allow them to have a say on their future.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department will make an assessment of the disparities in pricing between (a) online retailers of train tickets and (b) station based ticket machines.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Ticket Vending Machines are typically used to purchase low price, short distance fares on the day of travel, rather than advanced fares. We are working closely with industry to improve the rail retailing offer and make it quicker and more convenient for passengers to buy tickets, including by rolling out pilots on simpler fares and pay-as-you-go technology.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps help to prevent road closures during periods in which roadworks are not taking place.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Works by utility companies are necessary to repair or maintain their apparatus, but they should be completed as soon as possible to minimise disruption to traffic. Highway authorities have a duty under section 59 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 to co-ordinate works taking place on their roads to manage their networks effectively and safely. The Government published updated guidance to them on this in April 2023.
Part of this coordination requires that undertakers, mostly utility companies, must give notice to the relevant highway authority in advance of non-emergency works and proposed traffic management. Any utility overstaying their agreed period in the highway is subject to overrun charges up to £10,000 per day subject to certain criteria.
We announced in the Plan for Drivers ( https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plan-for-drivers/the-plan-for-drivers) proposals to introduce weekend overrun charges, to close the loophole that means no charges can be imposed for works that overrun at the weekend, and an increase in the fines for utility companies pay for not complying with the law.
We are also supporting further roll out of lane rental, a charging regime highway authorities can use to help reduce congestion on the busiest roads at the busiest times. We look forward to seeing more schemes being developed this year.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress his department has made on the Post Implementation Review of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011; and whether that review has covered the matter of nationality-based pay discrimination against seafarers employed on UK-registered ships.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department plans to publish a Call for Evidence. It will cover the regulations under review including those relating specifically to seafarer pay on UK-Registered ships.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 4 September 2023 to Question 195612 on Railways: Fares, when he plans that contactless pay as you go ticketing will be operational at all rail stations in Spelthorne.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is working closely with Rail Delivery Group, Transport for London and train operators to ensure the launch of contactless PAYG to all stations in Spelthorne in Spring 2024.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to assist public sector organisations to support workers using their own cars for work.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle, including public sector workers. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (simplified motoring expenses). The AMAP rates are not mandatory, and employers can choose to pay more or less than the AMAP rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees, including public sector employers. In considering changes to the AMAP/simplified motoring expenses rates, the Government has to balance support for individuals with the responsible management of public finances, which fund our essential public services.
However, the Government recognises that transport is a major cost for individuals and families. At Spring Statement 2022 the Government announced a temporary 12-month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre. In order to continue supporting all motorists, it will extend the 5p fuel duty cut, which is worth £100 to the average driver over the next year.
Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review, and any changes will be announced at a future fiscal event.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to pages 89-90 of the Williams-Shapps plan for rail, if he will provide an update on the steps taken by his Department to strengthen the contribution of the railways to the nation’s green recovery.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As part of the Plan for Rail, we will invest to radically reform and improve passengers’ experience of fares, ticketing and retailing on the railways. We have delivered on these commitments, extending single-leg pricing on the LNER network from June, and committing to extending contactless pay as you go ticketing to 53 stations in the Southeast and working to agree pay as you go pilots in the North by the end of the year. Since 2021, we have sold over 850,000 new flexible season tickets to support commuters’ return to rail following the pandemic and will continue to protect passengers from cost of living pressures by not increasing next year’s rail fares by as much as the July RPI figure.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to (a) commute and (b) make other journeys by train.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department has taken a number of steps to encourage people to make journeys by train. We extended single-leg pricing on the LNER network in June, and will extend contactless pay as you go ticketing to 53 stations in the south east by the end of 2023.. In March 2023, we delivered the biggest Government intervention on rail fares in 25 years, by capping fares at 5.9 per cent, 6.4 percentage points below July 2022 RPI. In 2021, we introduced flexible season tickets and have sold over 850,000 since, supporting commuters’ return to rail following the pandemic.
We have announced that we will continue to protect passengers from cost of living pressures by not increasing next year’s rail fares by as much as the July RPI figure.
We are working with train operators as they continue to prepare for future timetable changes, to ensure their service offer provides capacity where it is most needed, whilst maintaining performance and protecting the public purse.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of FTE civil servants in her Department at pay band SCS2 are women.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There are 15.1 full time equivalent female civil servants at SCS pay band 2 in DfT, which is 37.2% of all FTE at SCS pay band 2.