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 environmental merits of creating a direct rail link between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Midlands Connect produced an SOBC in May 2021 which provides a high-level summary of the environmental implications of this scheme.
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.
We want to provide as much clarity and certainty as possible on rail enhancements and will set out our plans shortly.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to include a Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham connectivity project in the forthcoming Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Although unable to discuss individual projects at this time the Government is focusing our investment on rail infrastructure in the Midlands and the North.
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 providing funding for concessionary fares, as provided to Nottingham's bus service, to the tram service in that city.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
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’ Revenue Support Grant: 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.
This means that local authorities can use this funding to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to buses. Nottingham City Council has already chosen to extend this to their tram system.
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 providing funding for concessionary fares, as provided to Nottingham's bus service, to the tram service in that city.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
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’ Revenue Support Grant: 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.
This means that local authorities can use this funding to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to buses. Nottingham City Council has already chosen to extend this to their tram system.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to provide funding for tram concessions in Nottingham, similar to the funding provided to bus concessions in that city.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
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’ Revenue Support Grant: 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.
This means that local authorities can use this funding to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to buses. Nottingham City Council has already chosen to extend this to their tram system.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that East Midlands Railways is able to access the additional rolling stock set out in the franchise agreement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The additional rolling stock for regional and local services cannot be released from its present operator until that operator introduces its fleet of new trains. Officials are in regular contact with East Midlands Railway and the other train operators involved with this in order to ensure that the changes take place as quickly as possible, whilst not putting the provision of existing services at risk.
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 reinstating HGV licences for drivers who have recently retired to help support key industries experiencing driver shortages.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government takes road safety very seriously and the UK has some of the safest roads in the world. It is important that drivers with Category C and C+E entitlement on their driving licences fully meet the requirements for those returning to HGV driving. This includes a driver medical and renewing their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC).
A joint DfT/industry letter will be sent to HGV licence holders this week to encourage those who have left the profession to return.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using existing cameras on the Highway network to enforce littering laws and in issue fines.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We want to see a road network free from litter, and we agree that there is more we can all do to keep the Strategic Road Network (SRN), the motorways and principal A-roads managed by National Highways (formerly Highways England), clear of litter. National Highways continuously seeks to improve the operational effectiveness of litter picking and influencing littering behaviour through communication campaigns and raising awareness of the increased possibility of being caught littering and fixed penalty notices.
National Highways is keen to use technology to help ensure our strategic roads are part of a modern network that supports a modern country. It is in ongoing discussions with technology companies and Litter Authorities about how technology and other enforcement tools can help reduce littering at the source. Footage from cameras can already be used as evidence of roadside littering and it is for the Local Authority to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to enforce fixed penalty notices or prosecute. National Highways is working to improve the evidence it provides to Local Authorities to assist them in prosecution.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether applications made to the Pinch Points Fund will be automatically resubmitted to the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund announced at the 2020 Spending Review will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities, including investing in local transport schemes across the UK.
The Fund will supersede existing local growth funding streams in England including the Local Pinch Points Fund. Projects previously submitted to the Local Pinch Points Fund will not be automatically resubmitted into the Levelling Up Fund.
Department officials have written to local authorities asking them whether they would like any Local Pinch Points Fund Expression(s) of Interest submitted to the DfT to be considered for funding through the Levelling Up Fund in 2021/22 and local authorities in England are encouraged to consider prioritising these projects for the first round of the Fund. These will be subject to the same assessment process as set out in the technical guidance published on the UK Government website on 26 March.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding he has allocated to repair roads in Mansfield constituency in the last year for which information is available.
Answered by George Freeman
Department for Transport funding for local highway maintenance is allocated by formula to local highway authorities at the upper tier, to county councils or unitary authorities, so it is not available by Parliamentary constituency.
In 2019/20 the Department is allocating £18.423 million to Nottinghamshire County Council for local highway maintenance. Of this, £12.006 million is the Highways Maintenance Block Needs Element, £2.501 million is Highways
Maintenance Block Incentive Element and £3.916 million is Integrated Transport Block funding. In addition, the Department allocated £0.859 million through the Pothole Action Fund and Flood Resilience Fund for 2019/20.