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  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will implement a nationwide campaign asking people to make space for wheelchairs in wheelchair areas of buses.

    Andrew Jones

    Under the Passenger Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) all compliant buses must include a designated space for wheelchair users. Rules concerning the use of this facility are currently the subject of a case at the Supreme Court and it would be inappropriate for Government to intervene until it has been resolved.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will introduce financial incentives for bus and coach companies to bring forward capital investment in Passenger Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations-compliant vehicles ahead of the deadline for compliance of January 2017.

    Andrew Jones

    By January 2017 all buses designed to carry over twenty-two passengers on local or scheduled services must comply with the Passenger Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR). Bus operators have had a long time to prepare for these new duties, and around 89% of vehicles are already compliant compared to just 59% in 2009/10. We have no plans to introduce financial incentives ahead of the deadline.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to increase UK Ship Register fees in the next financial year.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is discussing potential increases in its fees, including the UK Ship Register fees, with other government departments ahead of a consultation exercise with the shipping industry and other stakeholders.

  • Chris Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Chris Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Green on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2015 to Question 16383, what assessment his Department has made of the levels of traffic flow and congestion within Horwich arising from the decision not to construct Junction 7 on the M61.

    Andrew Jones

    As Horwich lies within the Metropolitan Borough Council of Bolton, it is for Bolton Council, as the traffic authority for the area, working with TfGM, to consider the traffic flows within Horwich. The decision not to build Junction 7 was taken in the 1960s, but Highways England will re-assess the pressures on and needs of the M61 along with all other parts of the strategic road network in the course of its future development of route strategies. When the next round of Highways England’s Route Strategies commences early in 2016, there will be an opportunity to make the case for the creation of a Junction 7.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of Vauxhall Zafiras which have caught fire in the last six months; and what discussions his Department has had with Vauxhall on the number of other such cars catching fire in a similar way.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) currently holds 45 reports, since January 2015, of fires on Vauxhall Zafira on its database.It holds 10 reports where owners of Vauxhall Zafiras have raised concerns regarding the issue but have not actually suffered a vehicle fire. DVSA is working with the manufacturer to investigate this serious safety issue and is aware that they hold additional reports of fires on the Zafira model; however, DVSA is not aware of how many. DVSA is not currently aware of any defect trends regarding vehicle fires on any other model of Vauxhall’s or any other make of vehicle.

  • Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what each of the flag registers of vessels owned by company groups that qualified for inclusion in the tonnage scheme in 2014-15 was; and how many vessels in that scheme were registered under each of those flags.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The ships which company groups anticipated would be included in the tonnage tax at the beginning of the 2014-15 training commitment year were under the following flags: United Kingdom, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Marshall Islands, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Singapore. The identity of tonnage tax groups is tax confidential, and that confidentiality could be compromised by giving a detailed breakdown by flag of the numbers of vessels entered in tonnage tax. I am therefore unable to disclose the numbers of vessels registered under each flag.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to driver illness in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Claire Perry

    Figures for driver attributed cancellations the whole of the TSGN franchise in the last four periods are below. This data represents the first four periods since Southern Railway joined Govia Thameslink Railway at the end of July. This data does not differentiate between cancellations due to driver shortage and operational issues.

    Rail Period 1605 26/7-22/8

    Rail Period 1606 23/8-19/9

    Rail Period 1607 20/9-17/10

    Rail Period 1608 18/10-14/11

    Full cancellations

    1093

    1331

    723

    706

    Part cancellations

    458

    410

    406

    411

    Total

    1551

    1741

    1129

    1117

    The Department does not hold information on cancellations due to sickness.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to driver shortage in the most recent four time periods for which figures are available.

    Claire Perry

    Figures for driver attributed cancellations the whole of the TSGN franchise in the last four periods are below. This data represents the first four periods since Southern Railway joined Govia Thameslink Railway at the end of July. This data does not differentiate between cancellations due to driver shortage and operational issues.

    Rail Period 1605 26/7-22/8

    Rail Period 1606 23/8-19/9

    Rail Period 1607 20/9-17/10

    Rail Period 1608 18/10-14/11

    Full cancellations

    1093

    1331

    723

    706

    Part cancellations

    458

    410

    406

    411

    Total

    1551

    1741

    1129

    1117

    The Department does not hold information on cancellations due to sickness.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to driver shortage in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Claire Perry

    Figures for driver attributed cancellations the whole of the TSGN franchise in the last four periods are below. This data represents the first four periods since Southern Railway joined Govia Thameslink Railway at the end of July. This data does not differentiate between cancellations due to driver shortage and operational issues.

    Rail Period 1605 26/7-22/8

    Rail Period 1606 23/8-19/9

    Rail Period 1607 20/9-17/10

    Rail Period 1608 18/10-14/11

    Full cancellations

    1093

    1331

    723

    706

    Part cancellations

    458

    410

    406

    411

    Total

    1551

    1741

    1129

    1117

    The Department does not hold information on cancellations due to sickness.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions Ministers have had with Govia Thameslink on improving the punctuality and reliability of that company’s train service in the last six months.

    Claire Perry

    I am chairing a monthly meeting involving Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Southeastern and Transport Focus to monitor and co-ordinate improvements in both performance and passenger experience in the South East. This work builds upon the Joint Improvement Plan that was developed in the Spring. This Group is absolutely committed to see improvement and, crucially, to make sure that rail customers see the benefits of these improvements.

    GTR failed to meet their benchmark for cancellations set out in their Franchise Agreement and in the view of the Secretary of State they are also likely to exceed their delay minutes benchmark in the near future. In order to address their poor performance and hold them to account we issued them with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR have submitted their plan and once the measures are agreed by the Secretary of State they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement. Officials regularly monitor GTR’s performance and this will include the delivery of the measures and performance improvements agreed through the Remedial Plan. Non-compliance may result in further enforcement action in line with the Franchise Agreement should the need arise.

    Network Rail’s performance is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road, who have recently agreed a £4.1m package of improvements to be delivered by Network Rail on the Southern part of GTR franchise area in order to address performance issues.