Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the timetable for the High Speed Rail Bill to complete compulsory purchase orders.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The duration of powers for the compulsory acquisition of property was determined by Parliament to be five years for both Phase One (London – West Midlands) and Phase 2a (West Midlands – Crewe) of HS2. In light of lessons learned on Phase One in particular, the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill proposes that the equivalent powers should be of eight years’ duration for the Phase 2b Western Leg.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential economic benefits of the extension of the Metrolink tram system into Stockport town centre.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Light rail is a devolved matter in England and it is for local authorities to develop proposals for potential new schemes, including cost estimates and appraisals of economic benefits.
Local authorities are best placed to assess place-based transport challenges and opportunities, and prioritise schemes accordingly while being accountable to the public.
The Department for Transport is providing £1.07 billion to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) between 2022/23 and 2026/27 through Greater Manchester’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. This includes funding for transformational local transport projects prioritised by GMCA.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost of the proposed extension of the Metrolink tram system into Stockport town centre.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Light rail is a devolved matter in England and it is for local authorities to develop proposals for potential new schemes, including cost estimates and appraisals of economic benefits.
Local authorities are best placed to assess place-based transport challenges and opportunities, and prioritise schemes accordingly while being accountable to the public.
The Department for Transport is providing £1.07 billion to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) between 2022/23 and 2026/27 through Greater Manchester’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. This includes funding for transformational local transport projects prioritised by GMCA.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to (1) local authorities, (2) passenger transport authorities, and (3) Metro Mayors, to develop new light rail and trams to improve transport services.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Light rail is largely devolved. It is one of the most expensive mass transit interventions local authorities can make and a range of modal options should be assessed when looking to address the needs of local transport users effectively and efficiently. Typically light rail is suited to only the most densely populated transport corridors.
The City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) for eligible Mayoral Combined Authorities, in England, outside London, is the principal funding stream through which plans for new mass transit systems and enhancements to existing systems can be developed. CRSTS funding is worth £5.7 billion in the 5-year period between 2022/23 to 2026/27. CRSTS provides local leaders with a simple, integrated, and long-term funding model which allows them to address local need. West Yorkshire Combined Authority, for instance, has allocated £200m of HMG funding to develop a new mass transit system for the region.
The Transport for London settlement of 30 August 2022 provides just under £1.2 billion of upfront funding for transport in London, supporting almost £3.6 billion worth of projects, including light rail.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to launch additional rounds of recovery funding through the Local Transport Fund.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government has provided over £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding for the bus and light rail services in England outside London since March 2020, including through the Local Transport Fund. On 17 May, the Government announced a long-term approach to support and improve bus services with an additional £300 million from July 2023 until April 2025.
£160 million of this funding will be provided to Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) through a Bus Service Improvement Plan plus (BSIP+) mechanism focused on improving bus services in local areas, whilst allowing local authorities to make local decisions on protecting services. The remaining £140 million will be provided to operators through a Bus Service Operators Grant plus (BSOG+) mechanism to help protect vital bus routes.
The Department has no plans to provide additional funding through the Local Transport Fund which will close on 30 June as previously announced. For English light rail systems outside London, recovery funding ended on 4 October 2022.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
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 increasing the number of public transport services operating between Greater Manchester and Bolton.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Regarding train services, this was reviewed as part of the work of the Manchester Taskforce, which concluded that increasing the train lengths to meet capacity was the priority, rather than adding more services, as this would provide an improvement in operational performance. This was implemented as part of the timetable change in December 2022. The successful implementation of this timetable, which has significantly reduced delays within Manchester, is the first phase in the Manchester Taskforce programme. Last month this government announced a further £72m infrastructure package around Manchester Victoria to make train journeys for passengers more reliable in Greater Manchester. In addition, Network Rail are also electrifying the route between Wigan North-Western station and Lostock Junction near Bolton in a £78 million upgrade. Electrifying the route will complement the electrified line between Preston, Bolton and Manchester which was completed in 2019, and the project provides train operators with more operational flexibility to deploy trains to the Wigan and Bolton areas.
With regard to local transport services, the Government has invested over £3.5 billion in buses and light rail since March 2020, including our recently announced package of up to £300 million to protect and improve bus services long-term. The Government believes that Local Transport Authorities, working closely with operators, are best placed to determine the shape and structure of their local transport network to deliver high quality services for passengers.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
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 - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
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.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to switch public spending from buses with rubber tyres to lightweight trams in urban areas to reduce the toxic effects from particulates generated by rubber wheels.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department has no current plans to reallocate funding for buses to light rail, including tramways. Light rail is largely devolved and it is for local authorities to determine if light rail interventions are appropriate and proportionate, and to identify funding.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether converting bus routes to trams in urban areas with low-cost vehicles fuelled by biomethane has a role in achieving the UK's commitment to the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Mass transit, including light rail and bus rapid transit, is largely devolved in England outside London. It is for local authorities to determine whether mass transit interventions are appropriate and proportionate, including with respect to technology, fuel choice and local decarbonisation ambitions.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the number of tourists stranded in Machu Picchu region of Peru following the blocking of roads and suspension of train services during protests against the overthrow and arrest of President Castillo.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to closely monitor recent political developments, public protests, and the potential impact of the ongoing political situation on British Nationals in Peru. Protests have caused disruption to air, road and rail transport, including travel to and from Machu Picchu. In December we were aware of a number of British Nationals, as well as tourists from other countries, who were unable to leave Machu Picchu for a period of time. Staff from the British Embassy Lima assisted the three British Nationals who requested help in December and are available to assist British Nationals who request help in light of ongoing disruption to travel in Peru.