The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Elmore on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to make alterations to the rail crossing in Pencoed.
Paul Maynard
Network Rail has responsibility for level crossings and operates at arm’s-length from the Department for Transport. Any alterations will be an operational decision for Network Rail and they are engaging with local stakeholders about options for this rail crossing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Elmore on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on the electrification of the railway line in South Wales.
Paul Maynard
Progress is being made on the Severn Tunnel autumn works which run from the 12 September until the 21 October. This will enable works to be carried out to electrify the tunnel which is the key link into South Wales.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide additional funding for battery and fuel cell electric vehicles research and development.
Mr John Hayes
The government allocated more than £600 million to support the uptake, development and manufacture of ultra low emission vehicles in the 2015 Spending Review. Our comprehensive package of support includes funding provision for research and development projects, and the scope of a new competition launched on 5 September 2016 includes battery and fuel cells.
Further details are available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-competition-low-emission-vehicle-systems-idp13.
The UK already provides one the most comprehensive support packages for ultra low emission vehicles anywhere in the world. We shall keep the funding requirements for the OLEV program under constant review.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on changes in the number of licensed private hire vehicles in England in the last 12 months; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of that change on (a) congestion and (b) consumer safety.
Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport’s taxi statistics provide information on the number of licensed taxis and private hire vehicles in England and Wales. Data are derived from the department’s survey of licensing authorities in England and Wales, which takes place every 2 years. The last survey was published in August 2015. It showed a total 166,100 private hire vehicles in England in March 2015, an increase of 11.8% since March 2013. The Department has not made a further assessment of any impacts of that change.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on introducing automatic compensation for rail users whose trains arrive late.
Paul Maynard
The majority of train operators now operate the Delay Repay scheme and we are continuing to roll this out to all train operators through refranchising and / or as opportunities arise.
It is important that claims can be made easily and that passengers are made aware of their rights. This can be supported by automated systems that notify passengers when they are eligible to claim and electronic claims forms.
Some train operators have introduced fully automatic Delay Repay compensation: Virgin Trains West Coast for Advance tickets purchased through the operator’s website or app for registered passengers, and by c2c for all passengers with a registered c2c Smartcard. This is feasible when the passenger has a ticket for a specific train purchased from the operator or a smartcard.
Northern, TransPennine Express and East Anglia are also planning to introduce fully automatic compensation for certain passengers who buy Advance or Season tickets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2016 to Question 41593, for what reason HS2 Ltd is supporting a two rather than three railhead option at Euston for the transportation of excavated and construction materials.
Andrew Jones
The decision to pursue a two railhead solution was based on a detailed consideration of the environmental, socio-economic and value for money benefits of that option as compared to the value for money disbenefits of the option that included a third railhead. HS2 will, however, continue to seek ways to mitigate the construction programme impacts and to respond to feedback, which will include exploring, during the detailed design phase, additional and/or alternative opportunities to move material by rail including, but not limited to, the third railhead option.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission an urgent review of safety on the A34.
Mr John Hayes
Highways England regularly reviews safety issues on all routes on the strategic road network and it currently has plans to install new technical measures on the A34, as one of the schemes in the Road Investment Strategy, to ease congestion and improve safety and incident management. The Department is not minded to carry out a further review at this time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what safety improvements are planned for the A34; and what the planned date of completion is for each such improvement.
Mr John Hayes
Highways England has a major scheme planned for the A34 to ease congestion, improve safety and incident management between the M4 junction at Chievely and the M40 junction at Wendlebury. Vehicle detection loops (in the road) will detect when traffic is building or slowing down to help operate traffic signals and activate electronic message signs. CCTV cameras and driver information systems will be installed at key locations along the A34 between the M4 and the M40. Highways England intends to start work by March 2020.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what safety improvements have been undertaken on the A34 in the last five years.
Mr John Hayes
In the last five years Highways England has carried out twelve specific safety schemes on the A34.
The Gore Hill HGV restriction scheme started as a trial in 2010 and was made permanent in September 2011 because of its success in reducing accidents.
Between 2011 and 2012, Highways England completed four safety schemes, namely the Botley Northbound Merge Improvements, Whitchurch Directional Signing, Winnal Layby Improvement, and the Oxford Resurfacing Scheme. The layby and directional signs needed bringing up to current standards to improve safety.
Between 2014 and 2015, Highways England completed seven safety schemes, namely Kingsworthy Layby Improvement, Whitchurch Direction Signs Upgrade, A34/M3 Junction 9 Deer Vehicle Collisions Mitigation, A34 Passively Safe Signs, A34 Roadworker Safety, A34/M40 Junction 9 Wendlebury (Phase 2), and Didcot Drainage Maintenance. The drainage maintenance scheme was necessary to reduce the risk of future flooding between the A4130 Milton Interchange and the A4185 Chilton junction.
Numerous Renewals, Structures and Technology schemes have been delivered on the A34 in the past five years and these schemes have had an inherent safety aspect inbuilt.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government Equalities Office has invited contact from the public for people working to support equality for men who deserve an honour.
Caroline Dinenage
The Government Equalities Office liaises with stakeholders to seek nominations for honours that fall within their remit. This includes men as well as women, equalities and LGB&T.