Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in coach passenger volumes in England.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government recognises the importance of promoting the return of passengers to public transport following the pandemic and is engaging regularly with the bus and coach sector to assess how it can best support the sector’s recovery from the pandemic.
Data for the week commencing 13th June suggests that bus passenger volumes in Great Britain outside London were at around 80% of levels seen in the third week of January 2020 (the pre-Covid reference week).
Passenger volumes for buses in London were also at around 80% of pre-Covid levels. Both of these figures have been relatively stable over the last 6 months, but have increased since the equivalent period in 2021, when passenger volumes were around 60-65% of pre-Covid levels. The full data series going back to March 2020 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-use-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.
The Department does not routinely collect data on coach passenger volumes but the Department's National Travel Survey contains information about trends in public transport usage. This includes trends in bus use in London, other local bus use outside London, and non-local bus usage (a proxy for coach usage). The latest data from the survey can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-travel-survey-statistics.
The Government provided around £2bn to support the bus sector during the pandemic. The Government is committed to delivering improvements to bus services around the country and is meeting its commitments set out in the National Bus Strategy, one of which includes supporting the sector to proactively promote the use of buses.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in bus passenger volumes in England.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government recognises the importance of promoting the return of passengers to public transport following the pandemic and is engaging regularly with the bus and coach sector to assess how it can best support the sector’s recovery from the pandemic.
Data for the week commencing 13th June suggests that bus passenger volumes in Great Britain outside London were at around 80% of levels seen in the third week of January 2020 (the pre-Covid reference week).
Passenger volumes for buses in London were also at around 80% of pre-Covid levels. Both of these figures have been relatively stable over the last 6 months, but have increased since the equivalent period in 2021, when passenger volumes were around 60-65% of pre-Covid levels. The full data series going back to March 2020 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-use-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.
The Department does not routinely collect data on coach passenger volumes but the Department's National Travel Survey contains information about trends in public transport usage. This includes trends in bus use in London, other local bus use outside London, and non-local bus usage (a proxy for coach usage). The latest data from the survey can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-travel-survey-statistics.
The Government provided around £2bn to support the bus sector during the pandemic. The Government is committed to delivering improvements to bus services around the country and is meeting its commitments set out in the National Bus Strategy, one of which includes supporting the sector to proactively promote the use of buses.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide a summary of current legislation relating to the use of e-scooters on public highways in the UK.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
As motor vehicles having fewer than 4 wheels and weighing less than 410 kg unladen, e-scooters are classed as motorcycles as defined in Section 185 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and, because of their low speed, within the subclass of moped. This means that e-scooters have to abide by the same road traffic legislation as mopeds and motorcycles.
The Electric Scooter Trials and Traffic Signs (Coronavirus) Regulations and General Directions 2020 (SI 2020/663) were introduced to allow the e-scooter trials to take place. The regulations remove or relax requirements for rental e-scooters being used in a permitted trial area, in a way which is proportionate to the vehicle type, to enable trials to take place on public roads.
The Traffic Signs (Coronavirus) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/75) further refined the application of the TSRGD to e-scooters being used in a trial to clarify where e-scooters are permitted for use within defined trial areas.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of funding the training of air traffic controllers to prevent redundancy during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Supporting the aviation workforce is a key priority for the Department, especially for highly skilled and highly trained roles such as air traffic controllers. During the pandemic, the government provided a range of commercial support measures to the aviation sector, including the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme, which provided critical support to workers across the aviation sector.
In addition, my department considered a range of measures to support skills retention, a key element for the sector’s recovery plan following the pandemic. That’s why in February 2021 the Department for Transport launched the Aviation Skills Retention Platform (ASRP) which allows former and current aviation sector workers who are currently out of work to register their skills, so they can be notified of relevant job vacancies, advice and upskilling opportunities.
In addition, in November 2021, the DfT launched the early-careers aspect of the ASRP, Talent View Aviation (TVA), to support early career skills development for people entering the aviation sector ranging from work experience, free training courses, and entry level roles.. Furthermore, we continue to deliver our skills outreach programme, Reach for the Sky, works with industry and educators to raise the profile of the roles available in the aviation sector, to inspire the next generation into aviation.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that the DVLA (a) clears the backlog of driving licence applications and (b) expedites the time taken for applicants to receive their renewed licences.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The Government understands the impact that delays in processing paper applications can have on the daily lives of individuals and the DVLA is working hard to reduce waiting times. The DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham to reduce backlogs and provide future resilience. These measures are having a positive impact.
The backlog of vehicle paper applications has already been eliminated. Straightforward vocational driving licence applications and renewals are being processed within five working days with no backlog. The DVLA is on track to return to normal turnaround times on all paper driving licence applications by the end of May. Most straightforward paper driving licence applications are now being processed in around five weeks. Information on processing times for key DVLA workstreams is published online here.
The more complex driving licence applications where the customer has a medical condition(s) that must be investigated will take longer to recover. This area was targeted for industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union last year and also DVLA cases were deprioritised by the NHS at a number of points during the pandemic. The large majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online here.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to transact with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The Government understands the impact that delays in processing paper applications can have on the daily lives of individuals and the DVLA is working hard to reduce waiting times. The DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham to reduce backlogs and provide future resilience. These measures are having a positive impact.
The backlog of vehicles paper applications has already been eliminated. Straightforward vocational driving licence applications and renewals are being processed within five working days with no backlog. The DVLA is on track to return to normal turnaround times on all paper driving licence applications by the end of May. Most straightforward paper driving licence applications are now being processed in around five weeks. Information on processing times for key DVLA workstreams is published online here.
The more complex driving licence applications where the customer has a medical condition(s) that must be investigated will take longer to recover. This area was targeted for industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union last year and also DVLA cases were deprioritised by the NHS at a number of points during the pandemic. The large majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online here.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote the return of public transport following the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government has provided nearly £2bn of support for local transport networks to date through emergency and recovery grants to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.
The Government has announced a further £183.9m in funding for local transport providers to continue supporting the sector following the Covid-19 pandemic from April until October 2022. A condition of this new funding will be that both Local Transport Authorities and operators work closely together to ensure that effective and financially sustainable networks which cater for the needs of the local public are implemented once recovery funding ends.
The Government has also started to see some substantial changes in passenger demand for rail travel and is working with the rail industry to develop a number of recovery initiatives, including a recent promotional national marketing campaign, focused on restoring passenger confidence and encouraging passengers to choose rail. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the DVLA is taking steps to prioritise applications from (a) ambulance drivers, (b) bus drivers and (c) taxi drivers who have outstanding licence applications.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is prioritising the processing of vocational licences, which includes applications for entitlement to drive buses and from ambulance drivers applying for categories C and C1. There are no delays in straightforward applications for vocational licences, including renewals, which are being processed within normal turnaround times of five working days.
For the majority of taxi drivers, a non-vocational, category B driving licence is required. The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the DVLA’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The DVLA is working hard to reduce waiting times for paper applications and has recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham. These measures are having a positive impact and customers should continue to see an improving picture in terms of waiting times for paper applications.
There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed. However, the large majority of applicants will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle all (a) backlogs and (b) delays at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to transact with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The Government understands the impact that delays in processing paper applications can have on the daily lives of individuals and the DVLA is working hard to reduce waiting times. The DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham to reduce backlogs and provide future resilience. These measures are having a positive impact and customers should continue to see an improving picture in terms of waiting times for paper applications.
The DVLA also prioritised vocational licence applications to support the Government’s response to the driver shortage, and there have been no delays in straightforward applications for vocational licences, including renewals, since November 2021. The applications are being processed within normal turnaround times of five working days.
There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed but the large majority of applicants will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to recover the emergency funding provided to P&O Ferries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was available to any employer providing they met the eligibility criteria.
Now that the scheme has closed, current decisions by employers to make employees redundant does not affect previous claims.
HMRC have a statutory duty in respect of customer confidentiality so cannot disclose information on individual customers or businesses as specified in the question.
The Transport Secretary has set out a series of measures to ensure UK ferry operators pay the minimum wage, including actions to prevent fire-and-rehire tactics and working with international partners to deliver national minimum wage corridors. The Transport Secretary has also written to the Insolvency Service asking them to consider whether the P&O Chief Executive should be disqualified as a director.