Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on plans for a new Swansea Parkway train station.
Answered by Huw Merriman
We are working with Transport for Wales, Welsh Government and local authorities to develop plans for better connectivity within South West Wales, including new station provision. The Government has established a Wales Rail Board with the Welsh Government, to develop a strategic programme and prioritisation for the future progression of rail schemes in Wales.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) National Rail, (b) the Welsh Government and (c) Transport for Wales on the provision of relief lines between Newport and Cardiff Central to facilitate the addition of services and stations in (i) St.Mellows and (ii) other areas.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Upgrading the south Wales relief lines has been identified as a high priority by the Wales Rail Board comprising my department, Welsh Government and Transport for Wales and I recently authorised Network Rail to undertake further development work. Progression of the proposed Cardiff Parkway station at St Mellons is subject to the outcome of a Welsh Government planning decision.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish data providing a breakdown of the number of rail journey cancellations in England and Wales for each year between 2010 and 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Statistics on the number of trains part and fully cancelled are published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) - Table 3123 - Trains planned and cancellations by operator and cause
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has he made on decarbonising rail freight.
Answered by Huw Merriman
We are committed to working with industry and the private sector to decarbonise the rail network. We are working with the Great British Railways Transition Team to provide costed options for Government to consider in terms of deliverability and affordability, including options for rail freight.
Electrification is important in our decarbonisation programme. Since 2010, over 1,200 miles of electrification has been delivered in Great Britain, including almost 800 miles in England and Wales since 2016.
The Government is undertaking a number of initiatives to grow rail freight, recognising the environmental benefits it delivers, including setting a long-term rail freight growth target, which will be announced later this year.
We encourage and incentivise modal shift from road to rail by allocating £20m per year to the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme. In 2022/23, the scheme removed the need for around 900,000 HGV journeys, saving almost 40,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average level of overcrowding is on each rail service.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Department collects and publishes crowding related data for selected midweek services arriving or departing from major English and Welsh cities during a 12 week period in autumn. Full details of the cities and stations for which there were crowded services are presented in the most recent publication and in the associated 2022 Data Tables, here:
Rail passenger numbers and crowding on weekdays in major cities in England and Wales: 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The service-level passenger load information collected by the Department is considered commercially sensitive by the operators who own the data and therefore the information is held by the Department under a duty of confidentiality.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to safeguard (a) digital signal systems and (b) other digital critical infrastructure on the rail network from (i) cyber attacks and (ii) failures which risk safety.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Department for Transport takes transport security seriously. We work closely with industry to identify and mitigate security and safety risks. The Secretary of State for Transport has a regulatory role as competent authority under the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 and is therefore responsible for ensuring cyber security standards are met by Operators of Essential Services across the rail network in England, Wales and Scotland.
DfT encourages industry to follow guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre to ensure digital systems and infrastructure are resilient to cyber-attacks and safety failures.
Network Rail, Great Britain's mainline railway infrastructure manager, are charged with the management of signalling and other systems that are critical to the safe and efficient delivery of the rail service. Network Rail have a fully embedded security management system that provides the systems, processes, resources and policies to effectively counter cyber threats, focusing on prevention and protection of systems accompanied with a strong monitoring and response capability. In addition to compliance with the NIS regulations, Network Rail adopt best practice from international standards such as ISO27011 [information security management systems] and IEC 62443 [cyber security for industrial automation and control systems] and were part of the drafting group for the forthcoming IEC 63452 "Cyber Security for Railway Applications" standard, recognising their leading role in railway cyber security.
Digital critical infrastructure on the railway, including digital signalling systems (ETCS), are failsafe by design. Digital signalling offers many additional safety benefits over and above conventional coloured light signalling systems.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when he plans to announce upgrades to the South Wales mainline railway.
Answered by David T C Davies
In February 2023, the UK Government announced £2.7 million funding for a study to improve transport connectivity by developing options for new stations and services on the South Wales Main Line, including the development of 5 brand new stations between Cardiff and Severn Tunnel.
In addition, a proposed upgrade to the South Wales relief lines is being progressed to a full business case by Network Rail for consideration by the Department for Transport.
The UK Government has committed over £390 million to rail improvements in Wales in recent years.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister in his Department last made an official visit to Cardiff Central constituency.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I both live in Wales and serve Welsh constituencies. We have a consistent presence in Wales as we conduct many visits, events and meetings in Wales on a regular basis.
Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ website and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office priorities are published in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales Annual Report and Accounts.
The UK Government has provided extensive support to Cardiff Central. A typical household in Wales has received almost £2000 in UK Government support to help with the cost of living. This includes around 218,000 payments delivered in Cardiff Central through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic around 14,000 jobs were supported through the furlough scheme, around £22 million was claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and around £102 million was given to businesses through government-backed business loans. The UK Government has also provided a £22.2 million boost for the media cymru project in Cardiff Central - creating 2,000 new jobs and adding £236 million to the Welsh economy.
In addition, Cardiff City Council, the local authority for the Cardiff Central constituency, is receiving over £41 million from the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Cardiff is also receiving £50 million from the Levelling Up Fund for Cardiff Crossrail which will deliver a new rail line between Cardiff Bay and Cardiff Central Station. Cardiff Central also benefits from the £1.2 billion Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, including a £3 million investment in the Cyber Innovation Hub at Cardiff University.
This Government is investing in Wales like never before; over £790 million in four City and Regional Growth Deals covering the whole of Wales, £585 million for local authorities to invest through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including over £100 million for the Multiply adult numeracy programme, £330 million in capital investment through the Levelling Up Fund and £3.2 million to preserve community assets through the Community Ownership Fund. Wales will benefit from two Freeports backed by £52 million, the British Business Bank’s new £130m Regional Investment Fund, and from Project Gigabit which will enable hard to reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister from his Department last undertook an official visit to Brecon and Radnorshire constituency.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I both live in Wales and serve Welsh constituencies. We have a consistent presence in Wales as we conduct many visits, events and meetings in Wales on a regular basis.
Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ website and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office priorities are published in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales Annual Report and Accounts.
The UK Government has provided extensive support to Brecon and Radnorshire. A typical household in Wales has received almost £2000 in UK Government support to help with the cost of living. This includes around 199,000 payments delivered in Brecon and Radnorshire through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic around 9,000 jobs were supported through the furlough scheme, over £41 million was claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and over £65 million was given to businesses through government-backed business loans.
The UK Government has also supported innovation within Brecon and Radnorshire with over £1.1 million awarded by Innovate UK since April 2019. It has also provided £28 million towards the development of the Global Centre of Rail Excellence, a rail innovation facility which will benefit the south of the constituency. Brecon and Radnorshire has also received over £225,000 through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme to level up local sports facilities.
In addition, Powys, the local authority for the Brecon and Radnorshire constituency, is receiving over £27 million from the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Powys is also receiving almost £7 million from the Levelling Up Fund to deliver the Brecon and Radnorshire Strategic Town Centre Investment package. This is in addition to the £240,000 awarded to the Radnor Arms Hotel through the Community Ownership Fund. Brecon and Radnorshire will also benefit from the £110 million Mid Wales Growth Deal.
This Government is investing in Wales like never before; over £790 million in four City and Regional Growth Deals covering the whole of Wales, £585 million for local authorities to invest through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including over £100 million for the Multiply adult numeracy programme, £330 million in capital investment through the Levelling Up Fund and £3.2 million to preserve community assets through the Community Ownership Fund. Wales will benefit from two Freeports backed by £52 million, the British Business Bank’s new £130m Regional Investment Fund, and from Project Gigabit which will enable hard to reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister in his Department last made an official visit to Neath constituency.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I both live in Wales and serve Welsh constituencies. We have a consistent presence in Wales as we conduct many visits, events and meetings in Wales on a regular basis.
Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ website and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office priorities are published in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales Annual Report and Accounts.
The UK Government has provided extensive support to Neath. A typical household in Wales has received almost £2000 in UK Government support to help with the cost of living. This includes over 205,000 payments delivered in Neath through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic around 10,000 jobs were supported through the furlough scheme, around £21 million was claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and around £34 million was given to businesses through government-backed business loans
The UK Government has also supported innovation within Neath with around £66,000 awarded by Innovate UK since April 2019. The UK Government has also provided £28 million towards the development of the Global Centre of Rail Excellence, a rail innovation facility which will benefit Neath. £15 million in UK Government funding has also been awarded to a group of universities to establish a research and innovation centre at GCRE.
In addition, Neath Port Talbot, the local authority for the Neath constituency, is receiving over £34 million from the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Neath is also receiving over £17 million from the Levelling Up Fund to restore the historic estate in the Vale of Neath. The Neath constituency also benefits from the £235 million Swansea Bay City Deal, including £47.7 million invested in the Supporting Innovation and Low Carbon Growth (SILCG) programme.
This Government is investing in Wales like never before; over £790 million in four City and Regional Growth Deals covering the whole of Wales, £585 million for local authorities to invest through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including over £100 million for the Multiply adult numeracy programme, £330 million in capital investment through the Levelling Up Fund and £3.2 million to preserve community assets through the Community Ownership Fund. Wales will benefit from two Freeports backed by £52 million, the British Business Bank’s new £130m Regional Investment Fund, and from Project Gigabit which will enable hard to reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband.