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  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when an appropriate assessment, as defined in Article 6 of the EU Habitats Directive, was undertaken for the South-West London Waterbodies Special Protection Area.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    A habitats regulations screening assessment was prepared in June 2012 which concluded that the impact of construction and operation of HS2 would have a negligible impact on gadwall and shoveler ducks in the Colne Valley Lakes and therefore no likely significant effect on the Southwest London Waterbodies SPA/Ramsar site. The details were reported in the main Environmental Statement published in November 2013.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment on projects which have received funding under the Connecting Europe Facility initiative.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Projects seeking funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) should show that they comply with EU Environmental Policy. The Department will undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment, where it is required to do so, in line with its legal obligations.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what total amount has been received by (a) his Department and (b) HS2 Ltd under the Connecting Europe Facility 2015 Multi-Annual Work Programme; and what estimate he has made of the amount that will be received under that programme by each body in the next three years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport was awarded Connecting Europe Facility funding for the following projects in 2015:

    • South-Wales railway electrification study (Network Rail). €4.1 million
    • Arc Atlantique Corridor Phase II. A UK led ITS traffic management deployment project involving Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Netherlands. The UK partners (Highways England, Transport Scotland, Department for Regional Development Northern Ireland, and the Welsh Government share amounts to around €9 million).
    • European ITS Platform – Italian project coordinating standards for deployment of ITS traffic management systems across Europe. The UK partners (Highways England, Transport Scotland, Department for Regional Development Northern Ireland, and the Welsh Government) amounts to around €0.5 million)
    • High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) €39.2 million

    It is not possible to estimate how much additional funding may be available in the next three years. Funding for projects is awarded through a competitive bidding process with projects having to meet specific criteria set by the European Commission. The second call for funding closed in February 2016 and the results will be announced later this year.

  • Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the Dartford Crossing has closed in the last 12 months; and what the cause of each closure was.

    Andrew Jones

    The Dartford Crossing consists of two bored tunnels and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

    There has been only one planned closure in the last 12 months where the crossing has been fully closed i.e. both the bridge and the tunnels. This was for overnight works on 15 August 2015 for the removal and installation of new gantries for the Dartcharge project.

    There have also been 81 occasions when either the bridge or one of the tunnel bores have been closed for planned construction or maintenance works. These works were carried out overnight when traffic flows are such that they can be accommodated by the remaining open elements of the crossing. The 81 occasions comprise 4 bridge closures, 42 west bore closures and 35 east bore closures.

    There have been 9 unplanned bridge closures; twice for high wind and 7 for broken down vehicles, collisions and police-led incidents.

    There have been 5 unplanned closures of the west tunnel; 4 traffic incidents and once to repair a road defect.

    There have been 12 unplanned closures of the east tunnel; 10 times for traffic incidents (4 broken down vehicles, 5 collisions and one diesel spill) and twice for road repairs.

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the level of the Government’s accumulated deficit at the end of the concession period for the Severn Bridges.

    Andrew Jones

    The accumulated deficit is estimated to be £63m at the end of the concession.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for the capacity of the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure safety at airshows of the findings of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report on the 2015 Shoreham Airshow crash relating to the recommendations of the AAIB’s report on the 2007 Shoreham Airshow crash which were not implemented.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has recently consulted the air display community on amendments to its charging scheme for air displays. The revised charges will fund an additional four people to implement actions the CAA has already identified as part of its ongoing review of airshow safety for the 2016 air display season.

    The majority of recommendations in the AAIB’s latest bulletin cover areas where the CAA has already taken action as part of its review, and these actions will further enhance the safety of UK civil air displays.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to take steps to introduce more standardised taxi licensing regulations between authorities in close geographical proximity.

    Andrew Jones

    Local licensing authorities are empowered to set standards for taxi and private hire vehicle services that best meet the needs of their local area. In doing so, the safety of the travelling public must always be the first priority.

    Whilst the Department issues Best Practice Guidance to assist local authorities set standards, the Government does not at this time plan to introduce standardised licensing criteria.

    Nevertheless, it is prudent for local authorities to consider the standards of neighbouring authorities, and consult those authorities, when setting standards.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what safeguards are in place to ensure that private hire vehicle operators remain responsible for journeys sub-contracted to other licensed operators across licensing authority boundaries.

    Andrew Jones

    Whilst private hire vehicle operators have the freedom to subcontract bookings, the operator that originally accepted a sub-contracted booking remains ultimately responsible for that booking.

    Both the initial operator who accepts the booking and the operator who fulfils the booking by providing a driver and vehicle are under a duty to keep records of the booking. The relevant enforcement authorities are able to check those records.

    All bookings, including those subcontracted, have to be fulfilled by operators, drivers and vehicles all of whom have been licensed by their local authority.

  • Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average length of a (a) delay and (b) tailback caused by the closure of the Dartford Crossing; and what effect a new crossing would have on those averages.

    Andrew Jones

    Typically there are in excess of 300 incidents per year resulting in partial or full closures of the Dartford Crossing. On average each incident takes approximately 27 minutes to deal with, often requiring a lane closure for safety. During this time queues build rapidly towards junctions 29 and 3 of the M25 and take a further 3 to 5 hours for the road condition to return to normal.

    Highways England are continuing to explore ways of reducing incidents and improving clear up times. In the longer term, with a new crossing, there would be increased capacity to cross the river so the effect of any incident would be less extreme. If one of the tunnels were to close today, the northbound capacity of the crossing would reduce by 50%. With the new Lower Thames Crossing in place at either Dartford or Gravesend, a closure of one of the tunnels at the Dartford Crossing would still leave more capacity than exists today without an incident, so recovery times would be much improved.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Civil Aviation Authority has taken in response to the findings of the Air Accident Investigation Branch report into the Shoreham Airshow disaster of August 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has not yet published its final report. The majority of recommendations in the AAIB’s latest bulletin cover areas where the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has already taken action as part of its ongoing review of air display safety, which it established immediately after the Shoreham accident.

    The CAA is now reviewing the AAIB’s bulletin in detail and will consider all of its recommendations carefully, alongside its ongoing air show review which is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.