Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the building of a tram or light rail system in Derby.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Local transport, including light rail, is largely devolved. It is for local transport authorities to determine whether a light rail or tram scheme represents an appropriate intervention to address any local mass transit challenge or opportunity.
The Chancellor announced the £15.6 billion Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements for 9 eligible mayoral strategic authorities on 4 June 2025. As part of this announcement East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA), which includes Derby, was allocated £2 billion in local transport funding through to 2031/32. This investment aims to drive economic growth and improve access to opportunities in the region. While the Government sets the overarching objectives for the programme, TCR is devolved and Mayors have discretion over how to allocate these funds to meet local transport priorities, including mass transit.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Kingston upon Hull will be connected to Bradford and Leeds with a new rail service as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail project.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Our plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) commit to regular onward services east of Leeds to Hull. Specific NPR service patterns will be confirmed in due course as the programme develops.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the building of a tram or light rail system in Coventry.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Local transport, including light rail, is largely devolved. It is for local transport authorities to determine whether a light rail or tram scheme represents an appropriate intervention to address any local mass transit challenge or opportunity.
The Chancellor announced the £15.6 billion Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements for 9 eligible mayoral strategic authorities on 4 June 2025. As part of this announcement West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which includes Coventry, was allocated £2.4 billion in local transport funding through to 2031/32. This investment aims to drive economic growth and improve access to opportunities in the region. While the Government sets the overarching objectives for the programme, TCR is devolved and Mayors have discretion over how to allocate these funds to meet local transport priorities, including mass transit.
WMCA has previously allocated £5m from its devolved City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) to progress a mass transit route options study in Coventry.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many public bus journeys were taken in England in each year from 2010 until the most recent year for which records are available.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Department publishes annual National Statistics on bus passenger journeys in England in the annual bus statistics release.
Bus passenger journeys in England for the year ending March 2010 up to the year ending March 2023 are provided in the table below.
Passenger Journeys, millions | |
Year ending March | England |
2010 | 4,613 |
2011 | 4,618 |
2012 | 4,640 |
2013 | 4,570 |
2014 | 4,672 |
2015 | 4,627 |
2016 | 4,511 |
2017 | 4,439 |
2018 | 4,347 |
2019 | 4,311 |
2020 | 4,073 |
2021 | 1,580 |
2022 | 2,835 |
2023 | 3,383 |
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time a business waits for the payment of an invoice from the Department for Transport.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
For the 23-24 Financial Year thus far, the average time a business waits for the payment of a valid invoice from the Department for Transport is 3.41 working days.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of (1) rural bus services in England, and (2) the effectiveness of the Bus Services Act 2017 in improving services.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Government's approach to improving bus services in England, including those in rural areas, is set out in the National Bus Strategy. We have announced more than £4.5 billion of funding for buses in England outside of London since 2020,
including:
o The recently announced £1 billion of funding redirected from HS2 to deliver better buses across the North and the Midlands as part of Network North;
o Over £1 billion allocated in 2022 to help LTAs deliver their BSIPs;
o £300 million in ongoing funding to support and improve services until April 2025;
o Nearly £600 million to cap single bus fares at £2 from 1 January 2023 until the end of 2024; and
o £2 billion between March 2020 and June 2023 to prevent reductions to bus services following the pandemic.
The Bus Services Act 2017 was accompanied by a suite of regulations to provide Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) outside London with powers to improve local bus services. These included enhanced partnerships (EPs) between bus operators and LTAs, and automatic franchising powers to all Mayoral Combined Authorities. 73 LTAs now have an EP in place and Greater Manchester expect to have a fully franchised bus network by March 2025.
The Bus Services Act 2017 also focused on introducing the Bus Open Data Service (BODS). The BODS was launched in 2020, and requires all bus operators of local services in England to open up high-quality, accurate and up-to-date bus service information including timetables, fares, tickets & vehicle location information.
The Bus Services Act 2017 also amended the Equality Act 2010 to enable the Government to introduce ‘Accessible Information Regulations’ as part of its commitment to creating an inclusive transport system. These regulations were introduced in 2023, which by Autumn 2026 will require the majority of local bus and coach services to incorporate audible and visible announcements as standard.
The Department is conducting a monitoring and evaluation exercise on the impact of the National Bus Strategy. The Bus Transformation Evaluation assesses the delivery and impact of Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) introduced by the 33 LTAs that received Phase 1 BSIP funding from the Department under the National Bus Strategy. A draft interim report is expected by summer 2024. In addition, the Department is also conducting monitoring and evaluation of the Inclusive Transport Strategy 2018, which includes an assessment of the impact of accessibility requirements introduced under the Bus Services Act 2017 to provide audible and visible information on buses. The Inclusive Transport Strategy: Evaluation Baseline Report was published in January 2022 and the final report is expected to be published later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of working conditions in the UK fishing fleet.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Government maintains a strong interest in the living and working conditions within the fishing industry. The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention (ILO 188) was implemented into UK law in 2018. The Government continues to monitor living and working conditions in the fishing industry through the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) survey and inspection programme for fishing vessels. The Government chairs a twice-yearly tripartite working group comprising of Government, fishing vessel owner representatives and fishers’ representatives to monitor living and working conditions and the implementation of ILO 188 in the UK.
It is now just over five years since the legislation to implement the standards of the ILO 188 Convention was made. The Government conducted a statutory review of the legislation in 2023 and the post implementation report will be published later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support new tram lines extensions or new tram lines in the East and West Midlands.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Responsibility for promoting new mass transit schemes, or extensions to existing networks, is devolved to local transport authorities (LTAs) in England. LTAs are best placed to bring forward new mass transit proposals, which could include light rail or tram technology, based on local transport challenges and opportunities.
Currently, the principal way LTAs can access Government funding for mass transit schemes which they wish to prioritise is through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) for eligible Mayoral Combined Authorities. West Midlands Combined Authority has been allocated a Settlement of £1.05 billion between 2022/23 and 2026/27.
In the East Midlands, Nottingham Express Transit is financed under a private finance initiative structure. The current contract, which was signed in 2011, expanded the tram network, doubling the previous size. The cost of this expansion will be met over the 23-year life of the contract, and the Department for Transport makes an annual contribution of £24.95 million per annum, alongside a contribution from Nottingham City Council to pay for this scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to (1) local authorities, (2) passenger transport authorities, and (3) Metro Mayors, to develop new light rail and trams to improve transport services.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Light rail is largely devolved. It is one of the most expensive mass transit interventions local authorities can make and a range of modal options should be assessed when looking to address the needs of local transport users effectively and efficiently. Typically light rail is suited to only the most densely populated transport corridors.
The City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) for eligible Mayoral Combined Authorities, in England, outside London, is the principal funding stream through which plans for new mass transit systems and enhancements to existing systems can be developed. CRSTS funding is worth £5.7 billion in the 5-year period between 2022/23 to 2026/27. CRSTS provides local leaders with a simple, integrated, and long-term funding model which allows them to address local need. West Yorkshire Combined Authority, for instance, has allocated £200m of HMG funding to develop a new mass transit system for the region.
The Transport for London settlement of 30 August 2022 provides just under £1.2 billion of upfront funding for transport in London, supporting almost £3.6 billion worth of projects, including light rail.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to take to deal with for hire bikes and scooters that are left in public areas such as pavements.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Rule 70 of The Highway Code advises, but does not require, people to park their cycle where it will not cause an obstruction or hazard to other road users. It is usually a requirement of hiring a cycle that users leave it in a place which does not obstruct the footway.
When parliamentary time allows, the Department intends to create a new licensing framework for rental micromobility operations, giving local transport authorities the additional powers they need to shape and manage both cycle and e-scooter rental schemes. This would include the ability to set rules about the management of rental cycles and e-scooters on the pavement.