Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve cycle safety on roads.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is focused on making cycling and walking safer and easier, and to that end the Department for Transport undertook a major cycling and walking safety review in 2018. Following an extensive public consultation, the Department published its full response and a detailed two year action plan on 22 November 2018, which is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/governments-response-to-the-cycling-walking-investment-strategy-safety-review
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the level of social exclusion is in rural areas; and what assessment his Department has made of the link between social exclusion and access to public transport in rural areas.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
In December 2018 the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published their annual digest of statistics on a range of social and economic subject areas. This survey also shows that levels of belonging are, in fact, 10% higher in rural areas.
However, we acknowledge that for some, a lack of public transport can prevent people from having the social connections that they want, particularly in rural areas. The Department for Transport is one of five government departments to have loneliness added to the ministerial portfolio, and sits on the cross-government group which takes responsibility for driving action on social exclusion.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on opening Carlisle airport to domestic flights as part of the proposed Borderlands Growth Deal.
Answered by John Hayes
No such discussions have taken place. UK airlines and airports operate in a competitive, commercial environment, and it is for individual airlines to decide what air services they operate based on their assessment of commercial and market conditions. Stobart Air was offered support under the Regional Air Connectivity Fund to set up new routes from Carlisle Airport in 2016. As yet these new routes are not in operation. Any decision to start operation of these routes would be for the airline to decide.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on road improvements to the A1 in Scotland and the effect on that part of the road of improvements to the A1 from Newcastle to the Scottish border.
Answered by Jesse Norman
I refer to my previous answer to the honourable member dated 11 September that the Department has had Board level discussions with Transport Scotland about improving the remainder of the A1 from Newcastle to Scotland, and will continue to look at the case for completing the dualling of the route, taking into account Scotland’s revised Transport Strategy upon its publication. Improvements to the A1 in Scotland are the responsibility of the devolved administration, but Highways England will consider the effects that improvements in Scotland may have on the A1 in England.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government about improvement to the A1.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Dualling the A1 to Scotland will have to be done in stages to limit disruption. The 13 mile section of the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham is already being dualled as part of the first Road Investment Strategy. The Department has had Board level discussions with Transport Scotland about improving the remainder of the A1 from Newcastle to Scotland, and will continue to look at the case for dualling the route, taking into account Scotland’s revised Transport Strategy upon its publication.