The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22808, what Network Rail maintenance, renewal or enhancement works that were planned to be carried out under blockade the 2015-16 Christmas and New Year period were deferred.
Claire Perry
Detailed information of this kind is an operational matter for Network Rail.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what savings his Department has made from ending the paper vehicle tax disc.
Andrew Jones
In the first six months following the abolition of the tax disc between 1 October 2014 and 31 March 2015, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency saved £4.2m. The savings for financial year 2015/16 are not yet available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much vehicle owners have been fined for failing to pay for their vehicle tax since October 2014.
Andrew Jones
The table below shows the amount of revenue collected in fines and penalties for failure to pay vehicle excise duty since October 2014:
|
1 October 2014 – 31 March 2015 |
|
|
Late Licensing Penalties |
£3.9m |
|
Out of Court Settlements |
£4.6m |
|
Wheelclamping fees |
£3.6m |
The figures for 1 April 2015 to 31 December 2015 are interim figures and have not yet been audited so are not shown.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions vehicle owners have been fined for failing to pay for their vehicle tax since October 2014.
Andrew Jones
Since October 2014, 916,558 fines and penalties have been issued to keepers of vehicles that have been identified as being unlicensed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what savings have been made as a result of the seven-year contract awarded to the Post Office by the DVLA on 1 April 2013 in each financial year.
Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency saved £18.5m in 2013-14 and £17.0m in 2014-15 as a result of its contract with Post Office Ltd.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has recently made of the effectiveness of taxi and private hire vehicle regulations relating to passenger safety.
Andrew Jones
At the request of the Department for Transport, the Law Commission has undertaken a comprehensive review of taxi and private hire regulation in England and Wales. The Department instructions included requiring the review to focus on passenger safety.
The Government is currently considering all the recommendations in the Law Commission’s report and will formally respond to the Law Commission and announce its intentions once this scrutiny is completed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to address the congestion and air quality impacts of increases in numbers of private hire vehicles.
Andrew Jones
Licensing private hire vehicles and local traffic management are matters for local authorities. In London responsibility rests with the Mayor and Transport for London.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Freer on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the price of airline tickets of the falling price of oil.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The recent drop in crude oil price would not have the same effect in aviation as it does in, for example, petrol stations. It is common practice in aviation industry to purchase aviation fuel in advance by entering into long-term hedging contracts, which are designed to provide stability to the industry from short-term price fluctuations.
Should the current trend in the cost of oil prove long-term, it is likely to have an effect on ticket prices in the future in a highly competitive industry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with train operating companies on improving the claim process for compensation for delays; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry
We urge passengers to claim the compensation they are entitled to. When delays occur, we expect operators to make sure their passengers are informed about how to apply for compensation.
We are committed to improving compensation for delayed rail passengers. As the Chancellor stated in his Autumn Statement, we are committed to reducing the time threshold for which passengers can claim from 30 minutes to 15 minutes.
We welcome the trial by c2c of automatic compensation to be introduced on the c2c franchise for registered customers if their train is delayed by more than 2 minutes. We welcome the introduction of automatic compensation on Advance tickets bought online, currently available on Virgin Trains West Coast and to be introduced as part of the Northern and TPE franchises and we encourage operators to make sure passengers across the country benefit from schemes like this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on improved responsiveness for emergency repairs; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry
I have regular discussions with senior Network Rail and rail industry colleagues about the need to improve performance across the network, which includes improving the recovery time from incidents. I have been paying particular attention to performance on the Govia Thameslink Railway network, and response times are being reviewed with the operator and Network Rail colleagues in order to improve response times when possible.