Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the road network in England.
Answered by George Freeman
Through the first Road Investment Strategy, the Government has invested £17.6 billion in England’s Strategic Road Network since 2015. We intend to make £28.8 billion from the National Roads Fund available for our most strategically important roads over the next five years from 1 April 2020.
In addition, we are providing funding to local highway authorities to support maintenance of their roads, and have pledged £2 billion for the country’s largest ever pothole fixing programme.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will undertake a consultation of all the options for improving the Chichester section of the A27.
Answered by George Freeman
Highways England undertook a public consultation on the viable options for improving the Chichester section of the A27 in 2016. There are no current plans for another consultation on this subject.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to encourage the modernisation of train carriages.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department sets out its requirements for passenger satisfaction in each franchise agreement. The passengers’ traveling environment contributes to passengers’ satisfaction scores.
As part of the franchise competition process bidders are asked to submit proposals for initiatives to enhance rolling stock to deliver consistently high standards for passengers. This may be through refurbishment of existing rolling stock or the procurement of new trains.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the publication of the Government response to the consultation on the application of EU Regulation 1071/2009 and proposed exemptions for community transport providers operating for non-commercial purposes.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Almost 500 consultation responses were received about how EU Regulation 1071/2009 applies to Transport Act 1985 permits, and over 550 community transport operators, local authorities and passengers attended the consultation events across Great Britain.
The Department is still working to address all the legal and other issues raised by the Regulation and we intend to announce the Government’s response shortly.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has any plans to introduce permanent hydrogen refuelling stations on the south coast of England.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has no current plans to introduce permanent hydrogen refuelling stations (HRSs) in that area. The £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme will continue to support the development of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure via a competitive bidding process. Siting of stations is one of a number of criteria, and it is for the market to lead on developing strong bids for specific locations. In March this year the Government announced the winners of £8.8 million of funding, which will see the construction of additional hydrogen refuelling stations as well as upgrades to existing refuelling infrastructure.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has any plans to introduce permanent hydrogen refuelling stations on the south coast of England.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has no current plans to introduce permanent hydrogen refuelling stations (HRSs) in that area. The £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme will continue to support the development of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure via a competitive bidding process. Siting of stations is one of a number of criteria, and it is for the market to lead on developing strong bids for specific locations. In March this year the Government announced the winners of £8.8 million of funding, which will see the construction of additional hydrogen refuelling stations as well as upgrades to existing refuelling infrastructure.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that not-for-profit community bus services are not treated as commercial operators under the proposed changes to sections 19 and 22 of the Transport Act 1985.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Departmental officials are analysing the responses to the Government’s consultation about how EU Regulation 1071/2009 applies to not-for-profit community transport operators. The Government’s response will be published in due course.