Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 1 December (HL12185), whether the consortium appointed by Network Rail to deliver infrastructure works to the west of Leeds as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme has made payments to crane hire companies to cover the cost of police escorts in connection with the movements of cranes and vehicles; and, if so, how much has been spent since October 2024 by their largest supplier of crane or lifting services, and for how many movements.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The cost for police to escort abnormal loads to Transpennine Route Upgrade worksites, when required, is included within crane hire companies’ costs to the consortium. The Department does not hold information on the breakdown of crane suppliers’ costs or the number of movements they undertake.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the tax-free overnight allowance for HGV drivers and when was it last uprated in line with inflation.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The agreed industry scale rate for lorry drivers’ overnight subsistence allowance is currently £34.90, or 75% of this figure (£26.20) where the driver uses a sleeper cab. These are the maximum amounts that can be paid free of Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions under the agreed industry scale rate.
There is no commitment to uplifting agreed industry scale rates in line with inflation. In order to seek an increase in the rate, haulage operators would need to provide evidence to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that drivers are incurring expenses that exceed the current benchmark rate.
Alternatively, employers can reimburse drivers for their actual travel costs incurred when staying away from home rather than pay the set benchmark scale rate.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 1 December (HL12185), whether Network Rail’s Transpennine Route Upgrade programme is largely funded by central and local government.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
I can confirm that the TransPennine Route Upgrade programme is wholly funded by central government.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 1 December (HL12185), whether they will publish the livery, if any, of the vehicles funded by the consortium, and whether that livery was specially designed for escorting abnormal loads or suitable for general policing duties.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The vehicles funded by the West Alliance as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme are Volvo XC90s. The vehicles have standard police livery, and in addition of ‘Abnormal Load Escort’ on the rear side windows. The vehicles are only used for abnormal load escorts and not general roads policing duties. Transfer of funds took place on 26 March 2025 and 20 June 2025, amounting to £175,000.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 1 December (HL12185), whether they will publish the make and model of all of the vehicles funded in whole or in part by the consortium.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The vehicles funded by the West Alliance as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme are Volvo XC90s. The vehicles have standard police livery, and in addition of ‘Abnormal Load Escort’ on the rear side windows. The vehicles are only used for abnormal load escorts and not general roads policing duties. Transfer of funds took place on 26 March 2025 and 20 June 2025, amounting to £175,000.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 1 December (HL12185), whether they will publish the date and amount of all relevant transfers of funds from the consortium to West Yorkshire Police.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The vehicles funded by the West Alliance as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme are Volvo XC90s. The vehicles have standard police livery, and in addition of ‘Abnormal Load Escort’ on the rear side windows. The vehicles are only used for abnormal load escorts and not general roads policing duties. Transfer of funds took place on 26 March 2025 and 20 June 2025, amounting to £175,000.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 1 December (HL12185), how many light vehicles, excluding those used for covert purposes, are operated by West Yorkshire Police.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of vehicles that are operated by West Yorkshire Police.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Department for Transport has directly, indirectly, or through agents or sub-contractors partially or wholly funded the supply of any cars or light vehicles for West Yorkshire Police in connection with or via the Transpennine Route Upgrade project.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The consortium appointed by Network Rail to deliver infrastructure works to the west of Leeds as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme, has transferred funds to West Yorkshire Police, for the provision of vehicles to help maintain the delivery schedule of abnormal loads to programme work sites.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have directly, indirectly, or through agents or sub-contractors partially or wholly funded the supply of any cars or light vehicles for West Yorkshire Police in connection with or via the Transpennine Route Upgrade project.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The consortium appointed by Network Rail to deliver infrastructure works to the west of Leeds as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme, has transferred funds to West Yorkshire Police, for the provision of vehicles to help maintain the delivery schedule of abnormal loads to programme work sites.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many abnormal load movement notifications were received by National Highways Yorkshire and North East in each of the past five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
For the years that information is available, the figures are:
2022 – 71,849
2023 – 115,931
2024 – 156,591
2025 to end October – 149,619