Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2022 to Question 26843 on High Speed 2 Line: Cheshire, where in the North West jobs for building Phase 2bWL will be based; and what job roles are included in the figures.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Jobs will be created along the line of route, in counties including Cheshire. We do not have any further details of locations at this stage.
The job roles included in the figures previously given for Phase 2bWL include those in both the construction and rail engineering sectors. The peak workforce in 29/30 split for Phase 2bWL is: construction 15,400 FTE and rail engineering 2,500 FTE giving a total of 17,500 FTE.
Construction peaks at around 15,400 people with a relatively constant workforce around that level from 2027/28 to 2029/30. Around 48% of the workforce are in construction operative roles and close to 40% in management roles. Design service roles account for about 13% of the workforce and peak in 2021/22.
In rail engineering, the largest demand for labour and skills occurs in the track asset type, followed by traction and rolling stock, and then signalling systems & telecommunications.
Source document : HS2 Labour and Skills demand and supply forecasting and analysis: July ‘ 21. (Further break down of figures explained on page 37).
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Campaign for Better Transport's report, Funding local bus services in England, published in June 2022, if his Department will make an assessment of the implications for its policies of the findings of that report that (a) more than half of areas that applied for more support received no funding and (b) more than a third of the country’s population did not receive funding; and if he will (a) review the competitive funding model and (b) replace that model with long-term funding allocations for all local authorities conditional on achieving certain objectives.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
A total of 31 Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), representing 34 local authority areas, have been selected for funding from the £1.2 billion new dedicated funding announced in April to level up local bus services.
Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) not in receipt of BSIP funding have been offered a further capacity support grant to strengthen their in-house capacity; will be able to access practical assistance, including training, under the auspices of the new Bus Centre of Excellence; and can apply for other government funding sources to improve their bus services and grow bus patronage.
In the Levelling-Up White Paper, the Government recognised the benefits of long-term funding and has committed to simplifying the funding landscape for local authorities.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many jobs will be created by HS2 in (a) Northwich, (b) Cheshire and (c) the North of England.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Labour market forecasts can be found in the 'HS2 labour and skills demand and supply forecasting and analysis' published in July 2021.
https://assets.hs2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/HS2_LSF-report_clean_V2-0508.pdf
Whilst we cannot provide geographical specific forecasts, section 2.7 (page 36 - 45) details the labour forecast for building Phase 2bWL, which will all be based in the North West. It estimates there will be a peak workforce of 17,500 in 2029/30, with the workforce sustained at over 14,000 between 2027/28 and 2029/30.
The forecasts for Phase 2a are also given in the table on page 21.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Transport Bill, what assessment his Department has made of whether local authorities require powers to tackle pavement parking; and whether he plans to include provisions on pavement parking in that bill.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department consulted on measures to address pavement parking and received over 15,000 responses. Ministers are carefully considering the options in the light of the consultation findings. We will publish the formal consultation response and announce next steps as soon as possible.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to assist Northern in introducing two trains per hour from Northwich station to (a) Manchester Piccadilly and (b) Chester.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Any future options will be considered as part of the Manchester Transformation Programme looking at requirements to improve reliability and increase capacity. More generally, the Rail North Partnership will continue to work with Northern to improve its services, including reinstating or adding services where there is the capacity to do so reliably, based on passenger demand, while recognising that travelling patterns have changed as a result of the pandemic.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to electrify the Mid-Cheshire railway line.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Electrification will play an important role in our modernisation of the railways.
Specific technology decisions on individual railway lines, such as the Mid-Cheshire line, will need to factor in a range of economic and operational considerations.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in reference to the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey, what assessment his Department has made of the estimate of the £12.64 billion needed to deal with carriageway repairs; and what estimate he has made of the timescale to deal with outstanding carriageway repairs.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. It is for each local authority to decide how best to do this.
Whilst the Government does not intervene in local highway maintenance decisions, we are providing over £2.7 billion funding for local highways maintenance for local authorities outside of London and City Region areas over the next three years. In an extremely challenging fiscal context following COVID-19, this settlement announced at Spending Review 2021 represents a funding level consistent with 2021/22 committed for three years. This will help local highway authorities plan effectively for managing their highways assets, from tackling potholes to repairing bridges and other asset defects across their local road networks.
The Department for Transport encourages good practice in local highway maintenance for all local highway authorities and endorses the UK Roads Liaison Group’s Code of Practice on Well Managed Highway Infrastructure.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey (2022) which reports a 23 per cent increase in the backlog of carriageway repairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle that backlog.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. It is for each local authority to decide how best to do this.
Whilst the Government does not intervene in local highway maintenance decisions, we are providing over £2.7 billion funding for local highways maintenance for local authorities outside of London and City Region areas over the next three years. In an extremely challenging fiscal context following COVID-19, this settlement announced at Spending Review 2021 represents a funding level consistent with 2021/22 committed for three years. This will help local highway authorities plan effectively for managing their highways assets, from tackling potholes to repairing bridges and other asset defects across their local road networks.
The Department for Transport encourages good practice in local highway maintenance for all local highway authorities and endorses the UK Roads Liaison Group’s Code of Practice on Well Managed Highway Infrastructure.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make representations to representatives of HS2 Ltd to commission an assessment and report on the potential impact of price increases in (a) fuel and (b) construction materials on the delivery of the HS2 contract.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The potential impact of price increases in fuel and materials is reviewed continuously by both HS2 Ltd and my Department. I am clear that all opportunities to deliver the programme in the most cost efficient way must be fully explored.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with P&O ferries on the 800 members of staff who have been sacked from their jobs; what steps his Department is taking to (a) support those staff and (b) minimise passenger disruption.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Secretary of State has written to the chief executive of P&O Ferries to express his anger over their handling of the situation and urge him to engage with the seafarers affected to rectify his decision.
I also spoke with the CEO of P&O Ferries on Thursday 17 March to express my concern and anger at the manner in which they have treated their loyal, hard working seafarers. I will continue to engage with P&O Ferries throughout this situation and have insisted P&O Ferries support those affected.
The Department for Work and Pensions have reached out to P&O Ferries employees to offer assistance and a number of schemes can be accessed. The Home Office, other transport operators and local employers are also offering support within their respective organisations.
Although replacement services are available, there will be some disruption over the coming days. Officials are in close contact with resilience forums across the country and with the Devolved Administrations to mitigate this disruption.