Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to (a) prevent and (b) collect litter and waste on the A23/M23.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Highways England is responsible for litter clearance on all sections of the M23. It carries out regular inspections to monitor the state of the network and to ensure that they are complying with Environmental Protection Act regulations.
Mid Sussex District Council is responsible for litter picking the A23 trunk road, with the exception of the section between Hooley to Central London which is the responsibility of Transport for London.
Regular meetings between Highways England and the council are held to establish the most appropriate ways to keep the road clear of litter. We are currently agreeing a new framework for working jointly to share traffic management nationally which should be in place in Mid-Sussex and the South East by early June.
Highways England has also set up a liaison group with Surrey County Council and other authorities to look at ways to prevent litter being discarded on our highways and roads.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure car manufacturers incorporate waste bins in the design of their cars.
Answered by Andrew Jones
There are no plans to legislate for car manufacturers to incorporate waste bins in the design of their cars. Most cars already have a variety of suitable storage facilities for drivers and passengers to store waste items.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who is responsible for litter clearance on the A1.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Highways England is responsible for litter clearance on all England’s motorways and a few selected A roads or trunk roads for specific operational reasons. Local authorities are responsible for litter on all local roads, including the vast majority A roads on the strategic road network.
Highways England is responsible for litter clearance on all sections of the A1(M). All sections of the A1 in England are cleared by the relevant local authorities, with the exception being of a short section of the A1 from the A1(M) junction 1 to the boundary between the Borough of Hertsmere and the London Borough of Barnet.
Litter clearance of the A1 within the Greater London Authority boundary is the responsibility of Transport for London or the relevant London Boroughs. Litter clearance of the A1 in Scotland is a matter for the devolved administration.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Highways Agency on litter clearance on roads.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Secretary of State discusses a range of issues in his regular meetings with the Chief Executive of Highways England. I also raised the issue of litter on roads with the Chief Executive at our most recent monthly meeting on 15 March 2016.
Highways England actively monitors local authorities to ensure standards are maintained, as it is a local responsibility to clear litter on most of the A roads on the strategic road network. On the motorways for which Highways England is responsible, more than 150,000 sacks of litter are collected every year; an average of 411 bags every day at a cost of £40 per sack.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria local authorities will be expected to meet in order to implement bus franchising in their areas; and whether their performance against the criteria will be subject to independent assessment.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Buses Bill will introduce new powers for local authorities to franchise their local bus services. The Bill is still being drafted and it is therefore too early to confirm the detail of the process that may be proposed through the Bill.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the effect of bus franchising on the vehicle manufacturing sector.
Answered by Andrew Jones
My Department has not yet entered into discussions with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the effect of bus franchising on the vehicle manufacturing sector. My officials have however discussed proposals with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to maintain a strong commercial bus market.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Buses play a vital role as the backbone of our public transport system and are key to a healthy growing economy. We want to see the bus industry thrive and are introducing a Buses Bill which will provide local authorities and bus operators with a wider, more effective range of tools to improve local bus services. The Bill will include arrangements to allow commercial bus operators to work more effectively in partnership with local government and other local stakeholders.
Furthermore, the Government decided that financial support for bus services provided through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) system – around £250m a year - should be protected as part of the 2015 spending round, preserving millions of bus passenger journeys. Around £200m of that is paid to individual bus operators, according to how much fuel they use in running their services. The remaining funding is paid to local authorities to help support bus services in their areas. DfT is reforming BSOG to make it more effective, and plans to publish details of changes to the system in early 2016. This should improve the grant’s effectiveness in supporting bus services, and provide better value to the taxpayer.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under which circumstances Southern Railway's franchise would be withdrawn.
Answered by Claire Perry
Schedule 10.2 of the TSGN Franchise Agreement (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/488198/tsgn-franchise-agreement.pdf p.506) specifies how this franchise can be terminated by the Department.