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.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to revise section 19 of the Transport Act 1985 to require those driving school minibuses to hold a professional driving qualification or equivalent.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Transport Act 1985 permit system was designed to recognise the value of not-for profit organisations that provide services for community, social and charitable benefit including schools and the wider education sector.
Whilst there are no immediate plans to alter the section 19 and section 22 permit system, ensuring the arrangements work well and are safe is something that is regularly under consideration.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what volume of freight entered Britain from (1) Northern Ireland, and (2) the Republic of Ireland, in (a) the most recent year for which figures are available, (b) 2020, and (c) 2015; and what proportion of each of those figures was goods for onward transport to countries within the European Union.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport publishes Port Freight Statistics annually where the statistics are broken down by route. They show that in 2023 (latest data available), Great Britain imported 19.2m tonnes of goods from Northern Ireland through its maritime ports, and Great Britain imported 6.8m tonnes goods from the Republic of Ireland through its maritime ports.
The maritime freight from Northern Ireland to Great Britain and, from Republic of Ireland to Great Britain for 2020 and 2015 can be seen in table 1.
Table 1: Maritime freight from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to Great Britain in the years 2015, 2020 and 2023. (Source: Department for Transport)
Year | Northern Ireland – Great Britain (million tonnes) | Republic of Ireland – Great Britain (million tonnes) |
2015 | 15.4 | 7.2 |
2020 | 17.7 | 7.8 |
2023 | 19.2 | 6.8 |
For the time series back to 2000, please see the Department for Transport’s published tables, PORT0707 for Northern Ireland - Great Britain and PORT0499 for Republic of Ireland - Great Britain.
The Department for Transport (DfT) also publishes road freight statistics, which provides information about the domestic and international activity of British-registered and Northern Ireland-registered heavy good vehicles (HGVs). This excludes activity by foreign-registered HGVs and light good vehicles. This is collected by DfT road freight haulage surveys. Due to a methodology change in the data collection, domestic road freight statistics data before and after 2021 should not be compared.
For 2023 (latest figures), 2.2 million tonnes of goods were lifted by UK-registered vehicles between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and 0.5 million tonnes of goods were lifted by UK-registered vehicles between Great Britain and the Republican of Ireland. This is published in the domestic road freight statistics table RFS0130 and RFS0131. Please note, this refers to the volume lifted from and to, not just entering Great Britain.
The Department for Transport has not included aviation freight because these volumes are significantly lower than maritime and road freight (of the order of a few thousand tonnes).
The Department for Transport does not hold information on the proportion of the goods that were subsequently moved onwards to countries within the European Union.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what figures relating to (1) train service cancellations, and (2) the punctuality of arrival at final destinations, they require the major UK train service operators to provide; and how are these figures used to evaluate the performance of those operators.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Most operators currently have a National Rail Contract, which sets quantifiable performance targets for operators to earn a performance-based fee. There are six measures including train service cancellations and the punctuality at each station call. A proportion of the total fee is available for each of the six different measures designed to incentivise on-time operations and fewer cancellations.
Performance targets are intended to be stretching, balance a range of outcomes, and represent value for the taxpayer. These targets are set as part of a commercial contract and are subject to negotiation.
Work is currently underway on setting out new performance targets for train operators in public ownership.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the most recent figure for the number of people killed annually in road traffic accidents in England per million of the resident population; and how this compares with the rate of deaths in road traffic accidents in each of the other parts of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Data on road injury collisions are reported by police using the STATS19 system. In STATS19, a fatality is defined as a death that occurred within 30 days of the collision. The rates of fatalities in road collisions in 2023 per million population for different parts of the United Kingdom are shown in the table below.
Region | Fatality rate per million population (2023) |
United Kingdom | 24.8 |
Great Britain | 24.5 |
England | 23.7 |
Wales | 31.9 |
Scotland | 27.9 |
Northern Ireland | 37.0 |
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the railway stations in London are fully wheelchair accessible; and what plans they have to increase that number.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There are currently 137 railway stations with step free access between the entrance/ exit and platforms in Greater London (this excludes those operated by Transport for London). Since April 2024, the Access for All programme has delivered step free access at 25 stations across Britain, with Newtown station in Powys being one of the most recent. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons Network Rail has learned from the railway accident near Llanbrynmair on the Shrewsbury to Machynlleth line in October 2024; and how those lessons will be heeded throughout the railway network.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), the independent body responsible for investigating rail accidents in the UK, launched an investigation into the fatal accident at Talerddig, near Llanbrynmair in Powys, on 22 October 2024, the day after the accident. Once the investigation is complete, RAIB will publish an investigation report, which will highlight any recommendations or learning points.
Maintaining high safety levels on the railway remains a priority for this Government and we expect the relevant parts of the rail industry, including Network Rail, to act on any recommendations resulting from RAIB’s investigation.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government for what duration they estimate that services between London Paddington and Cardiff Central stations will be disrupted to facilitate the development of HS2; and from what date disruptions will begin.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The construction works at Old Oak Common are scheduled to take place in stages, with several planned possessions through to the early 2030’s, of which the most extensive will be over the Christmas periods. Network Rail’s current plans do not involve widespread weekend closures; while most of the construction work will take place during the Christmas period closures, it is expected only two of the four tracks will be available on the Great Western Mainline at times.
The Government is working with Network Rail, HS2 Ltd, Transport for London, and the train operating companies to minimise the impacts of disruption, synchronising the timing of works with other works planned on the route wherever possible and ensuring the continued operation of rail services.
During the All-Line Blocks where no trains will be able to go to London Paddington, a limited number of services will be diverted to London Euston (to continue to provide service access into Central London), and other trains will terminate at Reading or Ealing Broadway (where passengers can use London Underground services to continue their journey to Central London). As the minister responsible for the delivery of HS2 Phase 1, I understand that minor and preparatory works for Old Oak Common will proceed in parallel with routine maintenance on the line, while I expect that the significant possessions required to bring Old Oak Common into use will not happen for several years.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the out-turn cost of HS2 on the basis of their latest proposals for the completion of the project.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Our latest position on cost is noted in our December 2024 report to parliament. We are undertaking a full reset of the programme, led by the new CEO Mark Wild. Until that work is concluded we are unable to provide a robust assessment of outturn cost but will be reporting to parliament in due course.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the reduction of the general speed limit from 30 miles per hour to 20 miles per hour in built-up residential areas in England.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There has not been any consideration given to reducing the general speed limit from 30 miles per hour to 20 miles per hour in built-up residential areas in England.
It is for local authorities to decide where reduced speed limits will be effective on the roads they manage, and consultation and community support should be at the heart of the process.