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Written Question
Roads: Chesterfield
Tuesday 30th May 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the Chesterfield and Staveley Regeneration Route.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Department has received an Outline Business Case (OBC) from Derbyshire County Council (DCC) in January 2023 for this scheme. Following an initial review by Department for Transport officials, a number of clarification questions have been raised with DCC. Once the Department receives their response, the assessment of the scheme, as required for all Major Road Network / Large Local Majors programme schemes at this stage of development, will be completed.


Written Question
Bus Services: Finance
Wednesday 15th February 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to extend Bus Recovery Grant funding beyond March 31 2023.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government has made available nearly £2 billion since March 2020, through emergency and recovery grants, to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the bus sector. This support is currently in place until the end of March 2023. The Department is actively considering its support for the bus sector from April 2023 and will set out further details shortly.


Written Question
High Speed 2 Line: East Midlands
Tuesday 8th November 2022

Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to commence the study to decide how HS2 East will connect between East Midlands Parkway and Leeds.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

We intend to publish the terms of reference for the HS2 to Leeds Study after the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.


Written Question
Rapid Transit Systems and Trams: Fares
Wednesday 2nd November 2022

Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the viability of (a) light rail and (b) tram services of permitting those services to operate in the same concessionary fare system as buses.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age to ensure that no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone.

Funding for this is provided through the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Settlement Funding Assessment: a Grant that supports a wide range of activities to ensure that each local transport authority receives the funding that they need. This funding is not ringfenced to enable local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely align with local needs and circumstances. There are currently no further plans to directly extend the concessionary fares for buses to light rail or tram systems.

In addition, local authorities have the powers to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to ENCTS, through local resources such as Council Tax.

All Travel Concession Authorities that have light rail or tram systems in England, including Nottingham City Council, choose to fund travel on their systems as a discretionary concession.


Written Question
Trams: Finance
Wednesday 2nd November 2022

Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to extend recent support to maintain the viability of bus routes to also support local tram networks.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government has provided over £2 billion in emergency and recovery grants to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the bus and light rail sector and continues to discuss with the sector what further support might be appropriate.

Pandemic-related funding for English Light Rail systems outside London ended on 4 October 2022. This funding had represented exceptional subsidy for light rail systems as their operation and financial sustainability are largely devolved.

The Local Transport Fund, which provided funding until October 2022, helped local authorities with Light Rail systems to adjust to post-pandemic travel patterns.

Furthermore, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme will help reduce the financial pressure on light rail systems caused by higher energy prices this winter. This support is expected to be worth millions of pounds to the sector.

The Department continues to engage with key stakeholders in the Light Rail sector to understand the financial pressures on systems, including regarding energy prices.



Written Question
Transport: Finance
Monday 31st October 2022

Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to reintroduce funding for small transport projects, similar to the previous Pinch Points Fund that was announced prior to the pandemic but not completed.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

In 2020 the government announced a £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund (LUF) to invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities, including local transport schemes across the UK. LUF superseded previous local growth funding streams in England and any local authority, including local highway authorities, Combined Authorities, and those in the Devolved nations, may bid into the fund.

In Round 1 of LUF, in October 2021, bids to the value of £1.69 billion were successful. The next round of grants are due to be awarded in autumn 2022. Further information on the Government’s plans for public spending will be set out in due course.


Written Question
Railways: Midlands
Monday 4th July 2022

Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will release Outline Business Case funding to enable Network Rail and Midlands Connect to progress the Coventry-Leicester-Nottingham rail improvement scheme.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Although unable to discuss individual projects at this time, the Government is now focusing our investment on rail infrastructure in the Midlands and the North. This will help deliver on the Government’s ambition to grow and level up the economy and provide equality of opportunity.

We remain committed to publishing the RNEP update, which has been delayed by the need to take account of the impacts of the pandemic and the Spending Review. We want to provide as much clarity and certainty as possible on rail enhancements and will set out our plans shortly.


Written Question
Railways: Midlands
Monday 4th July 2022

Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reinstating a rail link between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham on (a) economic opportunities and (b) levelling up in those areas.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Midlands Connect produced an SOBC in May 2021 for this scheme, which examines the impacts of the proposed scheme on these areas.

We remain committed to publishing the Rail Network Enhancements Programme update, which has been delayed by the need to take account of the impacts of the pandemic and the Spending Review.


Written Question
Railways
Tuesday 28th June 2022

Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing a rail link between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham on (a) the ability to build housing, (b) levelling up and (c) recovery from covid-19 in those cities.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Midlands Connect produced an SOBC in May 2021 for this scheme, which examines the impacts of the proposed scheme on these areas.

We remain committed to publishing the Rail Network Enhancements Programme update, which has been delayed by the need to take account of the impacts of the pandemic and the Spending Review.


Written Question
Railways
Tuesday 28th June 2022

Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with council leaders on the creation of a direct rail link between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham.

Answered by Wendy Morton

I met with the CEO of Warwick District Council yesterday to discuss their priorities for rail infrastructure in the region, and welcome their continued efforts to provide informed insight into local transport needs.