Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions trade unions on any proposed changes to vetting requirements for airside crew at Airports in England.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
We are not proposing any changes to the national security checks being undertaken by Government for staff entering airside areas at UK airports and there have been no discussions with trade unions. The travelling public must have confidence that appropriate security measures are in place at airports. They would expect nothing less of government.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has received representations from the Home Secretary on the merits of relaxing the rules for security vetting for airside crew at Airports in England.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
National Security Vetting is led by the Cabinet Office. The security measures in place to protect airside locations at UK airports are carefully assessed by the appropriate authorities including the CAA and are kept under continual review. We regularly engage with other Government departments as part of our work on aviation security, including vetting.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing (a) haul and (b) service roads used in the construction of HS2 to become part of the active travel infrastructure once they are no longer in use.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in my recently published Parliamentary Report, I have asked HS2 Ltd to explore the potential for the re-purposing of temporary construction routes into vehicle-free connections between rural communities that could connect with emerging local authority cycling and walking routes and provide a wider active travel network along the spine of HS2.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of flights arriving at Heathrow airport carrying freight but with less than 20 per cent passenger capacity in the last 12 months.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Data on commercial flight operations is collected by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and is currently complete and held by the Department until the end of September 2021.
In the last 12 months where data is available (October 2020 to September 2021), the number of passenger flights arriving at London Heathrow airport which carried freight and were operating with less than 20% of their available seats filled was 6,620. This figure includes international and domestic arrivals on scheduled and chartered passenger services. “Freight” excludes mail, and cargo-only services are not included.
Flights may operate with a low number of passengers for a range of reasons. For the period between October 2020 and September 2021 the normal slot regulations that require airlines to operate 80% of their slots in order to retain them for the following season were completely suspended. This means that airlines have not been required to operate empty or almost empty flights solely to retain their historic slots rights.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2022 to Question 110499, in what form his Department holds the data on the number of flights with no or very few passengers landing at Heathrow airport in order to retain slots.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Department holds the data on the number of flights with no or very few passengers based on figures collected by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on commercial flight operations. The Department does not hold data on the purpose of these flights operated. Flights may operate with a low number of passengers for a range of reasons and we are not able to identify whether any of these were flown specifically to retain slots.
I previously provided an answer of 7 February 2022 to Question 119801 on number of empty or almost empty international departing passenger flights.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the number of flights with little or no passengers, which fly over airspace in the London Borough of Hounslow.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Department does not hold statistical data on flights entering UK airspace. Data on commercial air services collected by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) only covers flights departing and arriving at UK airports and therefore does not include flights that pass-through UK airspace without landing at a UK airport.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with officials at Heathrow airport on the number of flights arriving at Heathrow airport with few or no passengers on board.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
My officials and I regularly engage with Heathrow Airport and work constructively together on many of the cross-cutting issues.
A targeted consultation took place between 15 November to 13 December 2021 with airports, airlines and aviation industry bodies, including Heathrow Airport about alleviation from normal slot usage rules for the Summer 2022 season.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many responses the Government received to its consultation entitled Future of transport regulatory review: modernising vehicle standards.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government received 7,891 responses to its consultation entitled Future of transport regulatory review: modernising vehicle standards.
The Government will consider all responses received and publish a consultation response summarising the responses and setting out the next steps.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) equity and (b) effect on driver safety of drivers being fined for sleeping in car parks at motorway services.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department has made no recent assessment of this specific practice. The primary function of motorway services areas (MSAs) is to provide drivers with a safe area to take a short break from driving. In England, MSAs are operated by private companies who work within the requirements of Government policy as set out in Department for Transport (DfT) Circular 02/2013 "The Strategic Road Network and the Delivery of Sustainable Development". This requires MSA operators to provide 24/7 free short-term parking for up to two hours for all types of vehicle allowing people to take a break, use the facilities and/or eat a meal as required. After this period, operators are permitted to charge for parking as this helps to ensure a turnover of spaces.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve roadside facilities for HGV drivers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government recognises the need to ensure hauliers have access to appropriate services and facilities.
This week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced we will be investing £32.5 million in roadside facilities for HGV drivers on the road.
The Department will continue to engage with key stakeholders to encourage the development of more safe, secure, and high-quality lorry parking to improve driver welfare.