Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she made of the affordability of train tickets for travel in the South East of England.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows how important affordable and reliable public transport services are in enabling people to get to education, work, access vital services, and keep communities connected. We are freezing rail fares, from March, for the first time in 30 years, putting money back in passengers’ pockets and easing the cost of living for hard working people.
In the South East, our expansion of Pay As You Go with contactless ticketing has already simplified the complicated web of tickets to Peak and one Off-Peak price. This will allow passengers greater flexibility in their choice of tickets, with some seeing a reduction in their ticket price.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that private parking companies provide adequate notice to individuals served with a fine regarding the period in which they must (a) pay or (b) appeal.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State has not had discussions with her cabinet colleagues on this matter. Private parking companies are the policy responsibility of the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps she has taken alongside local authorities to reduce traffic congestion in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Managing traffic on local roads is the responsibility of the local traffic authority. The Traffic Management Act 2004 places a Network Management Duty on them, which requires them to manage their roads to deliver ‘expeditious movement’ for all traffic including pedestrians, with a view to reducing congestion. They have a wide range of tools already available to them to manage congestion and traffic flows.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has held discussions with Transport for London on the potential impact of delays in issuing private hire licences on private hire drivers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which local licensing authorities in England license the taxi and private hire vehicle trades but ultimately the licensing process is left at the discretion of local authorities.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with app-based private hire companies regarding Transport for London issuing licences for private hire drivers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Secretary of State has not recently discussed the issuing of private hire vehicle driver licences by Transport for London with private hire vehicle operators.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to National Highways press release entitled Fix being rolled out after variable speed camera anomaly, published on 15 December, whether she has any plans to (a) contact insurance companies of or (b) provide assistance in any other way to affected drivers to help obtain a reassessment of their current premiums.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data has been provided to the police forces to enable them to start contacting those drivers who were impacted by this anomaly and allow the process of redress to begin. While we expect the number of drivers impacted by this issue to be very small, all those notified by the police will receive details on how to contact National Highways, who will consider the details of each claim on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department's policy is for vessels identified within UK territorial waters as sailing under a false flag.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The United Kingdom recognises the importance of all vessels complying with international maritime law and we are concerned by the rise of ships without nationality. We are determined to continue to uphold international maritime law and to challenge abusive flag practices.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to National Highways press release on 15 December entitled Fix being rolled out after variable speed camera anomaly, whether money has been set aside to compensate affected drivers for a) any lost interest and b) any increase to their insurance premiums.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data has been provided to the police forces to enable them to start contacting those drivers who were impacted by this anomaly and allow the process of redress to begin. While we expect the number of drivers impacted by this issue to be very small, all those notified by the police will receive details on how to contact National Highways, who will consider the details of each claim on a case by case basis.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps she has taken to support local councils to ensure timely road repairs in (a) Slough constituency and (b) Berkshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to tackling the poor state of our roads and has pledged to support local authorities.
Recognising the need for additional funding, the Government increased local highway maintenance funding by £500 million this financial year compared to 2024/25, bringing the total to nearly £1.6 billion. 25% of this additional funding is contingent on local authorities adhering to reporting requirements and demonstrating that they are following best practice in highways maintenance.
In 2025/26, Slough will be eligible to receive up to £1.8 million of highway maintenance funding, and West Berkshire will be eligible to receive up to £8.9 million, subject to complying with reporting requirements.
In addition, at the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced that by 2029-30, the Government will commit over £2 billion annually for local authorities to repair and renew their roads and fix potholes – doubling funding since coming into office. Allocations for local highway authorities will be announced in due course.
The Department is also increasing penalties for street works offences and extending overrun charges to weekends and bank holidays to help councils keep works on schedule. We are also continuing to use the Street Manager digital service to provide real-time information that supports better coordination and timely repairs.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with train operators on steps taken to prevent sexual offences from occurring on the rail network.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Everyone should be able to use the rail network without fearing for their safety. As part of the government’s Safer Streets mission we have a commitment to reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade.
The Department works with all operators through the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on their work to prevent sexual offences across the rail network, including funding the initial launch of the RDG’s Zero Tolerance campaign in 2021.
Furthermore, the Department has implemented contractual changes to improve the steps operators take to prevent VAWG on the network, including requiring operators under public ownership to ensure their public-facing staff complete sexual harassment training on a regular basis.