Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to make a new assessment of the value for money of the Transpennine Rail upgrade in response to potential estimated revisions to the take-up of public transport as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
We are undertaking analysis in support of the next business case for the TransPennine Route Upgrade which we expect to complete later this year. This will consider different post-COVID-19 demand scenarios.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of qualified LGV drivers claiming jobseeker’s allowance.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The number of LGV drivers claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in February 2021 was 80, down 11 per cent from a year ago. The number of qualified LGV drivers claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance has historically been low, reflecting the ongoing LGV driver shortages in the logistics industry.
Departmental officials are working with colleagues at the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus to ensure that qualified LGV drivers are able to move back into work as soon as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have newly passed an LGV driver practical test in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The number of LGV driver practical test passes in each of the last five years are:
2015/16 | 39,000 |
2016/17 | 44,346 |
2017/18 | 40,808 |
2018/19 | 43,065 |
2019/20 | 41,434 |
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency publishes the statistics for all driving tests on Gov.uk
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the proportion of people holding driving qualifications who are (a) women and (b) from each Census 2021 ethnicity group.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency does not hold this data.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have newly qualified as forklift operators in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government does not record the numbers of newly qualified forklift operators.
The training for materials handling equipment, including forklift trucks, is an option within the Supply Chain Warehouse Operative apprenticeship but is not required to complete the apprenticeship. There have been 5,093 Supply Chain Warehouse Operative apprenticeship starts in the last five years.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have newly qualified as LGV drivers in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Prior to the pandemic more than 40,000 drivers passed their LGV test each year over the last four years. The restrictions put in place to fight the pandemic has affected the ability for new drivers to take their LGV driving test.
LGV driver training and testing is due re-start on 12 April as the current restrictions are lifted. When tests resume DVSA plan to conduct 2,800 to 3,000 tests per week.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of people newly qualifying as LGV drivers.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Prior to the pandemic more than 40,000 drivers passed their LGV test each year over the last four years. The restrictions put in place to fight the pandemic has affected the ability for new drivers to take their LGV driving test.
LGV driver training and testing is due re-start on 12 April as the current restrictions are lifted. When tests resume DVSA plan to conduct 2,800 to 3,000 tests per week.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of newly qualified forklift operators.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government does not record the numbers of newly qualified forklift operators.
The training for materials handling equipment, including forklift trucks, is an option within the Supply Chain Warehouse Operative apprenticeship but is not required to complete the apprenticeship. There have been 5,093 Supply Chain Warehouse Operative apprenticeship starts in the last five years.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have (a) applied for a Driving Goods Vehicles apprenticeship, (b) started a Driving Goods Vehicles apprenticeship and (c) successfully completed a Driving Goods Vehicles apprenticeship in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
There have been 4,889 starts for the Large Goods Vehicle Driver apprenticeship standard in the five years to October 2020.
We are working with the industry to develop a suite of apprenticeships which will enable the logistics sector to make the most of the Apprenticeship Levy funding available.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in (a) the number of applications for Driving Goods Vehicles apprenticeships, (b) the number of starts for Driving Goods Vehicles apprenticeships and (c) the number of successful completions of Driving Goods Vehicles apprenticeships.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
There have been 4,889 starts for the Large Goods Vehicle Driver apprenticeship standard in the five years to October 2020.
We are working with the industry to develop a suite of apprenticeships which will enable the logistics sector to make the most of the Apprenticeship Levy funding available.