Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of introducing a national prohibition on pavement parking, except in areas explicitly designated by local authorities.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government fully understands the serious problems that vehicles parked on the pavement, and other obstacles on the pavement, can cause for pedestrians, especially for people with mobility or sight impairment. The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible.
In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking, and it is up to them to decide where to restrict pavement parking and what enforcement is appropriate. Recent reforms that the Department has implemented to the process by which Traffic Regulation Orders are made will make it easier for them to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what work they are carrying out with disabled people and street design experts to update and implement inclusive pavement design standards.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Local authorities are responsible for managing their roads, including pavements, to meet Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010. It is for them to ensure they are designed and maintained in a way that takes account of the needs of everyone.
The Department has produced a range of good practice guidance to help them in this, including in Inclusive Mobility, and regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders including various disability groups.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the accessibility needs of blind and partially sighted people are embedded in the Integrated National Transport Strategy for England.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Integrated National Transport Strategy will be published later this year and puts people and the journeys they make at the heart of how we plan, build and operate transport, reflecting transport’s key role in unlocking access to opportunities. Accessibility will be a priority area of the Strategy and it will aim to support disabled people, including those who are blind and partially sighted, to travel more confidently and independently across the transport network with fewer barriers.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they will make of the environmental impact of additional flights if Heathrow Airport is expanded, and whether they will publish that assessment.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The government supports expansion at Heathrow Airport and has received proposals for a third runway at Heathrow. Once proposals have been reviewed, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which provides the basis for decision-making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow. This will include expectations on environmental impacts of an expanded Heathrow, including the likes of carbon, noise and air pollution.
The Planning Act 2008 requires that before amending the ANPS, the Secretary of State must carry out an Appraisal of Sustainability of the policy, which will be published alongside any amended ANPS.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria will be used in deciding whether to agree to the proposals for the expansion of Heathrow Airport, and whether they will publish those criteria.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is currently assessing proposals for the delivery of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. On 30 June 2025, the Secretary of State for Transport published a letter online to potential promoters outlining the criteria against which any proposals would be considered, including stating how schemes must contribute to economic growth and be delivered in line with our legal, environmental and climate commitments.
The assessment of the proposals is being carried out to support the review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow Airport. It will be for scheme promoters to decide when to submit any Development Consent Order (DCO) application for a third runway scheme depending on the outcome of the ANPS review. The Secretary of State will decide whether to grant consent for the DCO, in accordance with the Planning Act 2008.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to set national targets for early and accurate dementia diagnosis, and to publish annual data on regional variations and performance.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of a timely diagnosis, and remain committed to increasing diagnosis rates and ensuring people can access any licensed and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-recommended treatment, and support they need.
We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%. NHS England continues to monitor the monthly dementia diagnosis rate and analyse trends at national, regional and integrated care board level.
Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the recently published 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.
We will also deliver the first ever Modern Service framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prioritise access to electricity grids for port electrification, including in relation to onshore power supply for ferries and cruise ships.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department is working closely with Ofgem, the National Energy System Operator, and network companies on fundamental reforms to the connections process. This is expected to release up to 500GW of capacity from the queue enabling quicker connections for many demand projects. This may include acceleration of shore power projects where capacity is released in port locations.
As announced in the Industrial Strategy, my department is also developing measures to accelerate the connection of strategic demand projects in a wide range of sectors, including through a new Connections Accelerator Service, to be launched this year.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what fees the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency charge for providing information for the collection of parking charge notices, and how much they received from those fees in the past financial year.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The law allows the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to release vehicle keeper information where the requester can demonstrate reasonable cause to receive it. The fee payable by private sector organisations for this information is £2.50 per enquiry. The law also allows the DVLA to set fees to cover the full costs of the driver licensing and vehicle registration services it delivers as a whole. This means that some services attract a fee while others are provided free of charge if it is beneficial to do so. The DVLA regularly reviews all its statutory fees to ensure that they remain set at appropriate levels.
In the financial year 2024-25 the total revenue from vehicle keeper data was £37.5m. The DVLA is unable to break this down into just private parking enforcement companies so this figure also includes revenue from requests received from other companies and organisations.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made to ensure that every platform has level boarding at the new Old Oak Common station.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Old Oak Common station provides full street to platform step-free access, with HS2 platforms designed to offer full level boarding. Platforms serving the Elizabeth Line and conventional rail services have been designed to accommodate different kinds of rolling stock that have different boarding heights. Therefore, the national standard platform height of 915mm has been used in their design. The government recognises that there are potential benefits for passengers using the Elizabeth Line if full level boarding could be provided at Old Oak Common for these services. The Department has instructed further work from HS2 Ltd to understand the technical feasibility and to mitigate any potential operational impacts of providing level boarding for the Elizabeth Line. All the evidence to enable a final decision on this matter is expected by the end of this year.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support ports wishing to offer onshore power connections to cruise line customers.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
On 25 March, the government published the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy and a call for evidence on Net Zero Ports. This call for evidence focused on potential options to reduce emissions from vessels at berth and the future energy demand at ports, including the provision of shore power to customers, including cruise operators. We are considering the responses to the call for evidence.
In addition, research and development into the future fuels and technologies necessary to decarbonise the sector have been supported through the UK SHORE R&D programme, including projects such as Portsmouth’s shore power installation. This project will go live later this year, backed by nearly £20m of government funding, and will allow visiting cruise ships to connect.
The Government working closely with Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator on fundamental reforms to the connections process that will release up to 500GW of capacity from the connections queue. This may enable quicker provision of shore power where capacity is released in port locations.