Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of options for maintaining the Great Western Railway night riviera sleeper service during engineering works.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Officials and Great Western Railway have considered several options for maintaining the Night Riviera sleeper service during upcoming works to upgrade signalling in Devon and Cornwall. Unfortunately, none of these were deemed feasible.
Together GWR and Network Rail were able to agree a plan that allows Sleeper services to continue to operate on Friday and Sunday nights as well as some select days in recognition of the key role this train plays for customers. The sleeper service will resume six nights a week as soon as completion of the work allows.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic impact on (a) Devon and (b) Cornwall of cancellations to the GWR Night Riviera service during engineering works.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
No assessment has been made, but Network Rail has agreed to do this work in a series of possessions over four-nights a week instead of closing the railway for longer periods during the day. This would have impacted those using the railway to travel to work or education or visitors to Devon and Cornwall. Resignalling in Devon and Cornwall will improve reliability and offer options for improved timetables in future, supporting the economy of both counties.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with Great Western Railway on (a) the adequacy of and (b) plans for rolling stock on the night riviera sleeper service.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Officials have regular discussions with Great Western Railway around the operation of its sleeper services, including the adequacy of its rolling stock provision. There are no current plans to alter the rolling stock on the Night Riviera service or it’s frequency.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with Great Western Railway on (a) the frequency of and (b) plans for its night riviera sleeper services.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Officials have regular discussions with Great Western Railway around the operation of its sleeper services, including the adequacy of its rolling stock provision. There are no current plans to alter the rolling stock on the Night Riviera service or it’s frequency.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's news story South West to benefit from £6.5 billion transport investment, published on 4 October 2023, whether construction of the five mile track and new station at Tavistock will be funded by his Department.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to restore the railway line between Plymouth and Tavistock using funding within the £36 billion Network North programme.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential safety merits of requiring bells to be attached to new bicycles for (i) pedestrians and (ii) people with hearing impairments; and whether his Department holds data on the potential impact of the removal of that requirement in 2011 on the number of accidents occurring between bicycles and pedestrians.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 require bicycles to be fitted with a bell at point of sale. Rule 66 of The Highway Code recommends that bells are fitted to cycles, and that people who cycle should always be considerate of other road users, including by calling out or ringing their bell if they have one. The Government does not intend to legislate to make the use of bells on cycles mandatory as there are other ways for people who cycle to warn other road users of their presence.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
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 speed limits for e-bikes in areas also used by pedestrians.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department has made no such assessment. Cyclists, like other road users, must obey the rules of the road as set out in the Highway Code. In the case of e-cycles, the electrical assistance must cut out when the vehicle reaches 15.5mph. There are no plans to introduce speed limits for e-cycles, either on roads or on shared-use cycle and pedestrian tracks.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents involving e-bikes and pedestrians have been recorded in the last five years; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure the safety of pedestrians in areas shared with e-bikes.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department’s road casualty statistics are based on data collected from police forces via the STATS19 system.
STATS19 does not identify e-bikes as a separate category, and therefore the Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for driving tests in (a) Plymouth, (b) the South West and (c) England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Since April 2021, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has created over one million extra car test appointments by recruiting new examiners, conducting out-of-hours testing, such as on public holidays and weekends, asking all those qualified to conduct tests but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and asking recently retired driving examiners to return. On average, this has created approximately 40,000 extra car test appointments each month.
As of 4 September 2023, there were 560,121 car practical driving tests booked, and 58,382 driving tests available nationally within the 24-week booking window. The table below shows the number of tests booked and available within the 24-week booking window as of 4 September 2023 in (a) Plymouth, (b) the South West and (c) England.
Location | Car practical tests booked | Car practical tests available to book |
Plymouth | 2,945 | 241 |
South West | 27,620 | 3,036 |
England | 491,319 | 46,602 |
Driving examiner recruitment campaigns continue to be successful but, like many employers, the DVSA is finding the job market extremely competitive. As it moves through each recruitment campaign, the DVSA will continually review and make changes and improvements to its recruitment and selection process, and training courses.
The DVSA’s latest recruitment campaign to recruit another 52 driving examiner posts closed in June 2023; 10 of these posts are intended for test centres in the South West.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has regarding made of the adequacy of the availability of driving tests in England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Since April 2021, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has created over one million extra car test appointments by recruiting new examiners, conducting out-of-hours testing, such as on public holidays and weekends, asking all those qualified to conduct tests but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and asking recently retired driving examiners to return. On average, this has created approximately 40,000 extra car test appointments each month.
As of 4 September 2023, there were 560,121 car practical driving tests booked, and 58,382 driving tests available nationally within the 24-week booking window. The table below shows the number of tests booked and available within the 24-week booking window as of 4 September 2023 in (a) Plymouth, (b) the South West and (c) England.
Location | Car practical tests booked | Car practical tests available to book |
Plymouth | 2,945 | 241 |
South West | 27,620 | 3,036 |
England | 491,319 | 46,602 |
Driving examiner recruitment campaigns continue to be successful but, like many employers, the DVSA is finding the job market extremely competitive. As it moves through each recruitment campaign, the DVSA will continually review and make changes and improvements to its recruitment and selection process, and training courses.
The DVSA’s latest recruitment campaign to recruit another 52 driving examiner posts closed in June 2023; 10 of these posts are intended for test centres in the South West.