Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount spend on railway flood defences and embankment maintenance by (1) South Western Railway, and (2) Great Western Railway, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government has not carried out any assessments as described in the Noble Lord’s questions. Train Operating Companies, including South Western Railway and Great Western Railway, are not responsible for managing or maintaining railway infrastructure and have not incurred any expenditure on flood defences or embankment maintenance.
Network Rail has robust plans in place to improve and maintain infrastructure. The Wales & Western Region will see a £2.6 billion asset renewals programme and £1.6 billion invested to maintain existing assets and the Southern Region will see an investment of over £3 billion in infrastructure during the current Control Period to 2029.
It is also addressing severe weather events through comprehensive weather resilience and climate change adaptation plans, focusing on safeguarding assets, embedding resilience into daily operations, and adapting to climate change impacts across both the Wales & Western and Southern routes.
An example is the extensive works being implemented at Chipping Sodbury on the Great Western Main Line to mitigate the impact of flooding from both surface water and groundwater. The work already completed has improved the level of resilience from closure due to rainfall. Network Rail is funding further work at this location during the current Control Period to 2029.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the resilience against flooding and landslips on embankments along the railway lines of (1) South Western Railway, and (2) Great Western Railway.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government has not carried out any assessments as described in the Noble Lord’s questions. Train Operating Companies, including South Western Railway and Great Western Railway, are not responsible for managing or maintaining railway infrastructure and have not incurred any expenditure on flood defences or embankment maintenance.
Network Rail has robust plans in place to improve and maintain infrastructure. The Wales & Western Region will see a £2.6 billion asset renewals programme and £1.6 billion invested to maintain existing assets and the Southern Region will see an investment of over £3 billion in infrastructure during the current Control Period to 2029.
It is also addressing severe weather events through comprehensive weather resilience and climate change adaptation plans, focusing on safeguarding assets, embedding resilience into daily operations, and adapting to climate change impacts across both the Wales & Western and Southern routes.
An example is the extensive works being implemented at Chipping Sodbury on the Great Western Main Line to mitigate the impact of flooding from both surface water and groundwater. The work already completed has improved the level of resilience from closure due to rainfall. Network Rail is funding further work at this location during the current Control Period to 2029.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether bikes with different forms of power assistance used by food delivery drivers on roads and pathways are required to carry front and rear lights.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 specify that cycles, must be fitted with a red rear reflector and amber pedal reflectors. The Highway Code, which incorporates the requirements of these Regulations, clarifies in Rule 60 that cycles must have white front and red rear lights lit when being ridden at night. These requirements apply to all cycles, as well as e-cycles which comply with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983, and are thereby applicable to all cyclists, including delivery riders.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will define the term "directing mind" in relation to Great British Railways.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Railways Bill will set out Great British Railway's statutory functions, as the directing mind for the railway. In general terms Great British Railways (GBR) will manage cross-network planning and operations for current and future customer needs. With oversight by the Secretary of State and where necessary Scottish Ministers, GBR will make informed trade-offs between different uses of the railway, which is as crucial for the efficiency of freight operations as it is for passenger services.
Passengers and taxpayers expect a consistent service across the rail network, and the majority support the move to a publicly owned-rail network, as outlined in a YouGov survey from 2024.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reliability of South Western Railway Sunday services between Yeovil and London Waterloo.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
South Western Railway Sunday services between Yeovil and London Waterloo have been challenging. Over the past 13 rail periods, 79.04% of services have departed within three minutes of their advertised departure time, with 96.73% departing within fifteen minutes. I am meeting South Western Railway on performance issues, as is being done with all Operators, later this month.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reintroduce double track railway lines on the Tisbury loop between Salisbury and Gillingham, Dorset.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Future rail infrastructure investment will be considered as part of the current Spending Review, which will be concluded in June 2025.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the service provided by South Western Railway between London and Yeovil.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There are currently no plans to review the service between London and Yeovil. South-Western Railway is in continued contact with the Department regarding its service provision, including on the West of England line on which Yeovil sits. When reviewing services, the Department needs to assess business cases and balance demand with value for the taxpayer in its considerations.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the adequacy of road and rail links between Cornwall and London.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This Government recognises that the people of Cornwall need reliable transport links with London and other parts of the country. That is why we have acted quickly to pass the Passenger Railways Services (Public Ownership) Bill, a key milestone towards the establishment of Great British Railways to bring our railways back under public ownership and deliver services to passengers that we can be proud of. We announced additional funding for roads in the Autumn statement. This provides Local Authorities with stable foundations before the Spending Review statement next year which will build on that provision and help us achieve our five key strategic transport priorities.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the attitudes of the residents of the Isles of Scilly on their transport links with Cornwall.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This Government wants everyone to have access to transport provision no matter where they live. That is why we value the opinions of people living on the Isles of Scilly and recognise the difficulties they face as an island community. My officials remain in regular contact with the Isles of Scilly Council and other Government departments to discuss and address these challenges.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the adequacy of sea and air links between the Isles of Scilly and mainland Cornwall.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
With regards to the lifeline ferry link for the Isles of Scilly, building work is now underway on the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group's new passenger and freight vessels. These new vessels will secure a resilient lifeline connection to and from mainland Cornwall for islanders and their economy going forward.
There are a number of air links between the Isles of Scilly and mainland Cornwall. Isles of Scilly Skybus operate a year-round fixed wing service from St Mary’s Airport to Lands’ End Airport as well as a summer service to Newquay Airport. Penzance Helicopters also operate a year-round service between the Isles of Scilly and Penzance Heliport.