Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were (1) killed, or (2) seriously injured, in road traffic accidents in England in the most recent year for which statistics are available; and what the comparable figures were for (1) 5 years, and (2) 10 years, earlier.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Data on road collisions involving personal injury are reported to the Department by police forces in Great Britain via the STATS19 system. The latest year for which data is available is 2024.
The number of killed or seriously injured casualties in reported road traffic collisions in England are shown in the table:
Severity | 2014 | 2019 | 2024 |
Killed | 1,472 | 1,489 | 1,353 |
Serious | 28,197 | 24,773 | 26,697 |
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 9 December (HL12329), when they plan for Euston station to be equipped with full step-free access for passengers.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Work is continuing with delivery partners to develop affordable, integrated plans for Euston Station, which will include the new HS2 terminus, along with upgrades to the existing Network Rail and London Underground stations and local transport facilities. The development of these plans will include provision of step free access for passengers. The Department will set out more details in due course as the plans for Euston Station are progressed.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many mainline railway stations in London currently have full step-free access for passengers, and what plans they have to guarantee step free access in those stations.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Based on data from a 2023 national accessibility stations audit, there are 138 mainline railway stations in London that currently provide full step-free access for passengers. This is out of a total of 335 mainline stations within the Greater London Authority area.
The Department continues to work closely with Network Rail, train operators and local authorities to improve step-free access at stations in London. For example, a major upgrade to deliver step free access at Hither Green station is forecast to open to passengers in 2027.
Where step-free access is not available, train operators are required to provide alternative transport at no additional cost to the passenger.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the Welsh economy of the delay to the work on the Oxford to Milton Keynes passenger service.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Major infrastructure work for the first phase of East West Rail has been delivered, and the Department for Transport is working with industry partners to start passenger services as quickly as possible. The UK government continues to fund, deliver and manage rail infrastructure enhancements across both England and Wales to support growth and connectivity in both countries.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, or plan to take, to control the ownership and use of drones and to minimise their use for illegal purposes.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This Government is delivering the following reforms in the Unmanned Aircraft (Amendment) Regulations 2025.
(a) From 1 January 2026, all drones weighing 100g or more with a camera must be registered.
(b) From 1 January 2026, drones weighing 250g or more must have geo-awareness requirements. Then, from 1st January 2028, Geo-awareness requirements will apply to all drones weighing 100g or more with a camera.
(c) From 1 January 2026, drones weighing 250g or more must have remote identification (RID) requirements. Then, from 1st January 2028, RID will apply to drones weighing 100g or more with a camera.
These reforms will improve traceability because they will enforce the registration of a RID “digital numberplate” that can be linked to a registered operator. Geo-awareness and RID will help law enforcement to target the actively non-compliant drones that have switched off RID and are ignoring geo-awareness alerts of airspace restrictions, therefore reducing the volume of incidents and length of investigation for suspicious drone activity.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Welsh Government about the construction of a third road bridge across the Menai Strait.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There have been no recent discussions between His Majesty's Government (HMG) and Welsh Government regarding a possible third road bridge across the Menai strait. HMG, through the Union Connectivity Development Fund, provided some financial support to Transport for Wales to undertake a study of the resilience of the existing Menai crossings.
The maintenance and improvement of the road network in Wales is a matter devolved to the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect the Rail Accident Investigation Board to publish its final report on the collision between passenger trains near Talerddig on 21 October 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) currently expects to publish its final report on the collision between passenger trains near Talerddig on 21 October 2024 during Spring 2026.
RAIB published an interim report on the Talerddig collision on 30 April 2025, which is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Swansea Council regarding the proposal to establish a car ferry between Swansea and south-west England; and what ports in England are being considered for such a project.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has had no discussions with Swansea Council regarding the proposal to establish a car ferry between Swansea and south-west England.
The provision of maritime transport services is predominantly left to the commercial market, meaning the Department does not, as a matter of course, get involved in discussions around options for new routes or services. The establishment of the above-mentioned car ferry service is therefore a matter for the relevant local authorities, based on their transport priorities and budgets.