Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road traffic accidents involving an e-scooter there were in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of reported personal injury road collisions involving e-scooters is published as part of the Department’s road casualty statistics. These show that there were 460 reported collisions involving e-scooters in 2020, and 1,352 in 2021. Provisional figures covering the period to June 2022 are scheduled for publication on 24 November.
The Department is currently considering options for construction and use regulations for e-scooters, which will likely include requirements for details such as power, weight and maximum design speed. No final decisions about e-scooter regulations have been made and the Department will consult publicly before any new arrangements come into force.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department understands the importance of the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions and correspondence. Between the period of May to July inclusive the Department for Transport answered 100% of Parliamentary Questions on time and 98% of ministerial correspondence cases in 20 working days in May and June and 96% in July.
The Department will continue to focus on delivering excellent response rates to both Parliamentary Questions and correspondence.
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 impact of speed limit for class 2 and class 3 mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs on the safety of (a) users and (b) pedestrians and road users.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government has not made an assessment of the impact of the speed limit for class 2 and class 3 mobility scooters. The safety of all road users is a key priority for the Government and the current speed limit for mobility scooters is based on both safety and mobility considerations and balances the interests of all road users.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of current penalties issued to train operating companies in instances of short-forming on services.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The operational performance regime, including the approach to short formations, seeks to improve the alignment of operator performance and outputs with government priorities. It focuses the performance-based element of the contract on aspects that include the operational performance of the railway, the passenger experience, financial performance and collaborative behaviours; it encourages operators to minimise cancellations and short-formations, and only resort to such practices when they are in passengers' and the industry's best interests.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's average response time was to an enquiry from a hon. Member to the MP (a) hotline and (b) account management team in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from MPs, either directly or on behalf of their constituents.
The Department for Transport does not have either an MPs hotline or an account management team.
The DVLA does provide a service where MPs can call for an update on cases. Response times are not recorded for this line.
Data on the timeliness of responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers for 2019 and 2020 is published on Gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peers Data for 2021 will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential safety benefits of (a) lowering the default speed limit on single carriageway roads and (b) only allowing higher speeds on rural roads which have passed a safety assessment.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
An assessment of the potential safety benefits of lowering the default speed limit on single carriageway roads was contained in a report prepared for the Department for Transport: TRL Report 397 by Sexton and Johnson: An Evaluation of options for road safety beyond 2010, which can be found at TRL | An evaluation of options for road safety beyond 2010.
No separate assessment was made of only allowing higher speeds on rural roads which have passed a safety assessment.
Setting national speed limits in Wales and Scotland is a matter for the Welsh and Scottish Governments. When setting local speed limits traffic authorities are asked to take into account the relevant national guidance.
There are no current plans to lower the default speed limit on single carriageway roads or allow higher speeds on rural roads which have passed a safety assessment.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to establish a collision investigation branch for roads akin to those in place for rail, aviation and maritime.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
My Department ran a public consultation on creating a Road Collision Investigation Branch between 28 October and 9 December 2021. The consultation has now closed and the Department is currently conducting a full analysis of the feedback.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Government will set a target of zero road deaths and serious injuries by 2040.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
While UK roads continue to be among the safest in the world, we can never afford to be complacent or relax efforts to improve what we do. That is why reducing the numbers of those needlessly killed and injured on our roads is a key priority for this Department and as announced on 30 July in our Gear Change: One Year On review (Gear Change: One Year On (publishing.service.gov.uk), we intend to prepare an ambitious new framework for road safety setting out measures for action and improvement.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with National Highways and Delta on a completion date for the two-bridge Central Park-Avonmouth junction on the M49.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
National Highways completed works at the M49 Avonmouth junction in December 2019 and is working with key stakeholders to finalise an approach for the completion of the link roads to the existing local roads in the Avonmouth Severnside Enterprise Area, which will be an important step towards unlocking significant benefits to local communities and the wider region.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is taking to prioritise driving license (a) applications and (b) amendments for heavy goods vehicle drivers.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be dealt with in person. Ongoing industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union, along with fewer operational staff on site to allow for social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements and an increased demand for its services has led to delays in dealing with paper applications. The DVLA has leased an additional building to accommodate more operational staff.
Currently, driving licence applications made on paper are likely to take six to ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.
The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process applications as quickly as possible. The DVLA has accelerated the development of additional online services to reduce the number of paper applications and supported their take up through a publicity campaign. Further digital service enhancements are underway.