Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with London Underground on fire safety regulations governing staffing levels and other procedures on those services.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Department has regular meetings with Transport for London (TfL) where many issues are discussed, including passenger safety. This particular issue has not been discussed at recent meetings, but the Department has no reason to doubt that TfL is adhering to fire safety regulations on its services.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with London Fire Brigade on fire safety regulations governing staffing levels and other procedures on London Underground.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
None. Fire safety regulations are a matter for Transport for London (TfL), who meet with the London Fire Brigade on a regular basis.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that rail companies improve their passenger safety procedures.
Answered by Claire Perry
Britain is known for having one of the safest railways in Europe for both passengers and for workers, but we cannot be complacent.
The Office of Rail and Road’s duty is to ensure that those responsible for keeping Britain's railways safe for passengers and providing a safe place for staff to work do so.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the merits of staffing (a) railway stations and (b) trains.
Answered by Claire Perry
The safety of passengers and rail users is paramount on the railway and the Department for Transport would never do anything to put passengers at risk.
We do regulate Ticket Office opening times through the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, but staffing levels beyond this are a matter for the operators as we believe that they are best placed to determine how to meet the needs of their passengers.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with London Underground (LU) on the effect on passenger safety of reducing staffing on LU.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Department’s Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Transport for London (TfL) where many issues are discussed, including TfL’s plans to change the way Underground stations are operated and staffed, and to improve the service they provide to customers. I am assured that the changes introduced by TfL will not have a detrimental impact on passenger safety.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect on passenger safety of reducing staffing at control rooms on London Underground.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The department is confident that the changes introduced by Transport for London will not have a detrimental impact on passenger safety on the London Underground.
Not every London Underground (LU) station has a Station Control Room, as they are not a safety or security requirement at all stations. In advance of making the recent changes, LU reviewed the requirement for a Control Room at each station to determine their necessity based on individual station and staff needs.
At some locations it was decided that there was no longer a requirement for a Control Room as there were better ways to provide Control Room functionality in the station. Moving station staff into customer facing areas increases their ability to identify suspicious behaviour and to report it.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect on passenger safety of reduced staff numbers on London Underground.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The safety of customers and staff is the top priority of Transport for London (TfL). TfL work as a team with London Underground (LU), the police, emergency services and my department, to prepare for, and deal with, incidents that threaten the security of the transport network. Station staff are supported by the LU Control Centre, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, working closely with the police, with access to CCTV cameras and other systems in order to manage and respond to incidents.
LU will continue to ensure there are sufficient staff in place to maintain each station’s security, congestion control and emergency plans.