Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the time taken for the drivers' medical action team to assess whether medical evidence is required when processing (a) new and (b) renewal applications for driving licences.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The average processing time to make a medical licensing decision in the last three financial years is shown in the table below.
Financial Year | Average processing time (working days) |
2018-2019 | 34 |
2019-2020 | 36 |
2020-2021 | 58 |
To improve the length of time taken to process medical licensing applications, the DVLA has recruited additional staff. This includes increasing the number of in-house doctors it employs and temporary administrative staff. Nurse caseworkers are being utilised to deal with specific conditions. The DVLA is also working with the relevant bodies to explore ways of reducing the time taken to receive the information needed to make licensing decisions.
The DVLA has also recently trialed a simplified renewal process for some medical conditions. This has significantly reduced the turnaround times for some drivers.
Where possible the DVLA will refer specific medical conditions to its in-house doctors in the first instance, to make a licensing decision using the information held.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for the renewal of driving licences where a medical consideration was made in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The average processing time to make a medical licensing decision in the last three financial years is shown in the table below.
Financial Year | Average processing time (working days) |
2018-2019 | 34 |
2019-2020 | 36 |
2020-2021 | 58 |
To improve the length of time taken to process medical licensing applications, the DVLA has recruited additional staff. This includes increasing the number of in-house doctors it employs and temporary administrative staff. Nurse caseworkers are being utilised to deal with specific conditions. The DVLA is also working with the relevant bodies to explore ways of reducing the time taken to receive the information needed to make licensing decisions.
The DVLA has also recently trialed a simplified renewal process for some medical conditions. This has significantly reduced the turnaround times for some drivers.
Where possible the DVLA will refer specific medical conditions to its in-house doctors in the first instance, to make a licensing decision using the information held.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will reinstate the Rescue Boat Grant Fund for independent lifeboat organisations.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
We will be considering the future of the Rescue Boat Grant Fund as part of the forthcoming review of government spending.
Independent lifeboat organisations play a vital role in the safety of our coasts and waterways. The Fund has already provided nearly £6 million in support significantly enhanced the capacity of the sector.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria were used to inform the decision include Qatar on the covid-19 red list for travel.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The decision to add Qatar to the red list on 19 March was made by Ministers, following data showing an increased risk of importation of the Beta variant of concern first identified in South Africa.
The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include genomic surveillance capability, COVID-19 transmission risk and Variant of Concern transmission risk. A summary of the JBC methodology has been published on GOV.UK, alongside key data that supports ministers’ decisions.
As with all our coronavirus measures, the Government keeps the red list under constant review and our priority remains to protect the health of the UK public.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that drivers who browse the internet whilst driving face prosecution.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government has consulted on changing the law to broaden the offence of using a mobile phone while driving. We are currently analysing the consultation responses.
Our objective in putting forward a proposal to change the law, was to ensure that the offence of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving reflects the real world where smart phones or devices are used not only for calls and texting (interactive communication), but also for scrolling play lists, taking photographs, or drafting emails (standalone functions).
Additionally, broadening of the offence will facilitate enforcement by obviating the need for the police to demonstrate that any use they identified from the roadside involved interactive communication.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to ensure that all drivers who use mobile phones to film or take photographs whilst driving are prosecuted.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government has consulted on changing the law to broaden the offence of using a mobile phone while driving. We are currently analysing the consultation responses.
Our objective in putting forward a proposal to change the law, was to ensure that the offence of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving reflects the real world where smart phones or devices are used not only for calls and texting (interactive communication), but also for scrolling play lists, taking photographs, or drafting emails (standalone functions).
Additionally, broadening of the offence will facilitate enforcement by obviating the need for the police to demonstrate that any use they identified from the roadside involved interactive communication.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support learner drivers who need to resit their driving theory test because the two-year validity on their qualification has expired as a result of being unable to sit their practical test during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
A candidate whose theory test certificate expires will have received the service for which they paid the fee. If a practical test is already booked at the time when the theory test expires, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will refund the fee for the practical driving test.
The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place for road safety reasons. It is important that road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point that they drive unsupervised for the first time. Those with theory test certificates expiring may have taken their test in early 2019. Since then, their lessons and practice sessions will have been significantly curtailed during recent lockdowns and it is likely that their knowledge base will have diminished. Research suggests that this would be particularly harmful for hazard perception skills, a key factor in road safety.
Taking all this into consideration, the decision has been made not to extend theory test certificates and learners will need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.
A total of 195,814 theory test certificates expired between the period of 25 March 2020 and 31 December 2020 without a practical test pass.
In the normal course of events, on average, 14,000 candidates let their certificate expire each month.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have had the two-year validity on their driving theory test expire since the beginning of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
A candidate whose theory test certificate expires will have received the service for which they paid the fee. If a practical test is already booked at the time when the theory test expires, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will refund the fee for the practical driving test.
The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place for road safety reasons. It is important that road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point that they drive unsupervised for the first time. Those with theory test certificates expiring may have taken their test in early 2019. Since then, their lessons and practice sessions will have been significantly curtailed during recent lockdowns and it is likely that their knowledge base will have diminished. Research suggests that this would be particularly harmful for hazard perception skills, a key factor in road safety.
Taking all this into consideration, the decision has been made not to extend theory test certificates and learners will need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.
A total of 195,814 theory test certificates expired between the period of 25 March 2020 and 31 December 2020 without a practical test pass.
In the normal course of events, on average, 14,000 candidates let their certificate expire each month.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reconfiguring the South Wales Mainline so that inter-city services can be separated from commuter services; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
On 21 August the Secretary of State announced a £343m package of investment in railway infrastructure in Wales. This includes the development of a scheme to upgrade the relief lines between the Severn Tunnel and Cardiff to provide greater capacity and more flexibility for passenger services on this part of the route. I have asked Network Rail to look for opportunities to accelerate this development work as much as possible.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the risk of fatality for private contractors' staff on the UK railway network.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department is working closely with Network Rail, train operators, trade unions and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to reduce the risk of fatalities on the network to directly employed staff and contractors. It has been over a year since the tragic deaths of two track maintenance workers, Mr Gareth Delbridge and Mr Michael Lewis, on 3 July 2019, when a passenger train struck them at Margam East Junction on the South Wales Main Line, and I would like to once again express my condolences to their families for their losses.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is currently investigating the circumstances that led to the tragic incident at Margam. Its report, which is expected shortly, is likely to make recommendations aimed at ensuring that lessons are learnt and at preventing such an event happening again.
Since July 2019, Network Rail has established a £70m safety task force to make fundamental changes to the way it manages track worker access to the rail network, including a review of its safe systems of work. Network Rail is also developing new digital protection and warning systems to warn track workers of approaching trains, and to increase the use of technology such as Plain Line Pattern Recognition, which provides automated track inspection and reduces the need for track access.