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  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with UK airlines on passing reductions in fuel costs on to passengers.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government has regular discussions with the industry on a range of issues, and will continue to press for a fair deal for the travelling public.

    The airline industry is intensely competitive and there is no evidence of any market failure that would prevent cost savings being passed onto customers.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Network Rail staff are seconded to which train operating companies; and what the value is of those staff contracts.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail does not hold this information centrally. To retrieve the information from Network Rail would involve disproportionate cost.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the South East flexible ticketing programme to commence.

    Claire Perry

    The South East Flexible Ticketing programme is already under way. c2c and Govia Thameslink Railway already offer annual season tickets on smartcards. Abellio Greater Anglia, South West Trains and Southeastern will launch their products this year. Together, these five train operators cover 73% of the annual season ticket market.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s guidance is on shipping flags it considers unsafe or dangerous to sail under; and how often that guidance is updated.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department does not issue its own guidance. The selection of a shipping register (flag State) is a commercial decision for ship owners.

    However, owners can take account of the assessment of a flag State’s performance. The flag’s performance is published in the annual Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) report on Port State Control. These reports can be found on the Paris MoU website at

    https://www.parismou.org/publications-category/annual-reports.

    “

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the powers local councils hold to prevent littering on roads.

    Andrew Jones

    The responsibility for clearing highway litter and sweeping carriageways is governed by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Each individual highway authority is responsible for clearing litter on the roads for which they are responsible. In the case of some all-purpose trunk roads, the responsibility for clearing litter falls to the local district councils.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve major transport links between England and Wales.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government has the most ambitious programme of rail upgrades since Victorian times. It will introduce a new fleet of Intercity Express trains, cut journey times, increase the number of seats, and provide a more reliable service for commuters and people in England and Wales. Electrifying the Great Western Main Line from London to Swansea is a UK Government commitment which we will deliver to Cardiff within Control Period 5 and to Swansea as early as possible in Control Period 6.

    In addition the Government is providing £10.4m, in support of the Liverpool City Region Growth Deal, to fund the reinstatement of the Halton Curve which will enable passenger services from North Wales and West Cheshire to directly access Liverpool City Centre and Liverpool John Lennon airport for the first time in decades. The Halton Curve rail link will provide large economic benefits to the Liverpool city region and surrounding areas including North Wales.

    We are working closely with the Welsh Government on the development of the next Rail Investment Strategy to ensure that relevant English and Welsh priorities for rail investment in Control Period 6 are reflected.

    On the strategic road network, Highways England’s Pinch Point Scheme at the junction of the A55 and A483 trunk roads between Chester and Wrexham was completed in June 2015.This addresses significant traffic congestion problems at this junction near the border with Wales and related road safety problems, especially during peak periods, and will help to stimulate economic growth.

    The Government’s first ever Road Investment Strategy has committed £15.2 billion investment for the strategic road network in England from 2015 to 2021. The next iteration of route strategies will inform investment decisions for the next Road Investment Strategy and Highways England will engage with stakeholders to identify future investment priorities.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many appeals on practical driving tests were (a) heard by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and (b) found (i) in favour of and (ii) against the appellant in each year since 2009-10.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has a complaints procedure, which is published on GOV.UK.

    Current law does not allow the test result to be overturned; the examiner’s decision is final.

    Complainants have the right to appeal if they think the examiner did not carry out their practical test in line with regulations.

    If the complainant lives in England and Wales, they have six months after the test date to appeal to the Magistrates court about the way the test was conducted. The Magistrates court can look at whether the test was carried out in accordance with regulations; however, it cannot change the result of the test. Should the Magistrates court find that the test was not conducted in line with regulations, it may offer a compensation payment or free retest.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a cap on the number of private hire vehicles operating in London.

    Andrew Jones

    This Government does not intend to amend primary legislation to allow the number of private hire vehicles licensed in London or elsewhere to be restricted.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints about practical driving tests heard by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (a) were made by (i) men and (ii) women and (b) were found (i) in favour of and (ii) against the complainant; and how many such complaints were subsequently taken to the Independent Complaints Assessor in each year since 2009-10.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not record information about the sex of any complainant. Nor does it retain information about complaints made before 2011-12 about practical driving tests or cases referred to the ICA. Information it does hold is as follows:

    2011-12 1,080 complaints received – 42 upheld, 938 not upheld, 100 no outcome recorded

    2012-13 1,108 complaints received – 40 upheld, 1002 not upheld, 66 no outcome recorded

    2013-14 1,260 complaints received – 37 upheld, 1013 not upheld, 210 no outcome recorded

    2014-15 1,401 complaints received – 27 upheld, 1158 not upheld, 216 no outcome recorded

    2015- 16 1,351 complaints received – 37 upheld, 1174 not upheld, 140 no outcome recorded

    Complaints referred to the ICA

    2011-12 – 3 cases

    2012-13 – 9 cases

    2013-14 – 10 cases

    2015-16 – 4 cases

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the potential damage to housing and infrastructure and loss of life that would result from an aircraft crashing on approach or arrival at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    For people living and working near airports, safety is best achieved by ensuring the safe operation of aircraft in flight.However, in areas of greater risk, we seek to control the number of people at risk through the Public Safety Zone (PSZ) system.Public Safety Zones are areas of land at the ends of the runways at the busiest airports, within which development is restricted in order to control the number of people on the ground at risk of death or injury in the event of an aircraft accident on take-off or landing. The implementation of Public Safety Zone policy at civil airports is based on modelling work carried out using appropriate aircraft accident data to determine the level of risk to people on the ground around airports.