Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficiency savings that could be achieved from a DVLA database of registered non-GB driving licences which could be accessed by employers.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not hold details of all non-GB driving licence holders and there are no plans for such a database to be created.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they next plan to meet the Chief Executive of the Go-Ahead Group in order to discuss its Southeastern rail franchise and (1) health and safety, (2) passenger satisfaction, and (3) responsiveness to customer complaints.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Senior officials will continue to meet with the Chief Executive of the Go-Ahead group on a regular basis to discuss the performances of the franchises. The next meeting is on 21st March.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings they have had in the last three years with the Chief Executive of the Go-Ahead Group about its operation of its Southeastern rail franchise in respect of (1) health and safety, (2) passenger satisfaction, and (3) responsiveness to customer complaints.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Senior officials meet with the Chief Executive of the Go-Ahead group on a quarterly basis to discuss the operation of all franchises under their control. Meetings discuss the overall performance of the franchises operated. Health and Safety for the industry is overseen by the Office of Rail and Road.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received in the last three years about the Go-Ahead Group and its operation of the Southeastern rail franchise in respect of (1) health and safety, (2) passenger satisfaction, and (3) responsiveness to customer complaints.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
With regard to health and safety, there has been some 20 representations from Honourable Members from the other place received by the Department for Transport, and one representation from a Noble Lord. Two Noble Lords representations and regular communication with Transport Focus have been received with regard to Passenger satisfaction and some half dozen representations with regard to customer complaints. However, most customer complaints are resolved by Transport Focus and London TravelWatch as the official independent watchdogs for rail passengers.
In the same time period, there has been approximately 120 concerns raised directly by members of the public to the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible advantages and disadvantages of licensing bicyclists.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We consider that the costs of a formal testing and licensing system for cyclists would significantly outweigh the benefits cycling has to the country’s economy, health and environment. Evidence suggests that increased cycling could create significant savings for the NHS, less pollution and congestion, and a happier and healthier population. It is likely that a licensing system will discourage many existing and potential cyclists, leading to a dramatic fall in the numbers of people cycling.
Around 80% of adult cyclists also hold driving licenses, meaning that the majority of cyclists on the road have already been tested on operating safely in different road and traffic conditions. Furthermore, the safety case for a testing/licensing system is not as strong as that for drivers since, by contrast with motorised vehicles, bicycles involved in collisions on the highway are highly unlikely to cause serious injury to other road users.
Cyclists as well as all road users must obey the Highway Code, and the Government has provided funding for training schemes such as Bikeability which provides practical training and teaches the Highway Code to the next generation of cyclists. The Bikeability programme currently trains approximately 50% of primary schoolchildren in England and more than 1.5million children have received training since the programme’s inception.
The recent Spending Review committed £300m to cycling investment between 2015-16 and 2020-21, this includes delivering in full the £114 million Cycle Ambition City scheme, with construction of segregated cycle lanes including 115 kilometres in Birmingham and 56 kilometres in Manchester.