Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with the Rail Delivery Group on the provision of baby changing facilities across the rail network.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is in regular dialogue with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on measures that can be taken to make rail travel more accessible for those with young children. Earlier this year, we worked with the RDG to encourage operators to publish family-friendly travel information on their websites, to increase awareness of provisions already in place. In July 2023 the Rail Safety and Standards Board published an updated version of the Key Train Requirements document which includes further measures for operators to consider, which would help make rail travel more family-friendly,
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with the Rail Delivery Group on the potential merits of expanding the provision for set down and pick up areas for wheelchair and blue badge holders at railway stations across the network.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Train operating companies are responsible for managing station car parks and we expect them to take into consideration the needs of their passengers and the views of local partners. Operators are also expected to set out how assistance will be provided around the station, including when connecting from the train to the car park, as part of their Accessible Travel Policy.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with the Rail Delivery Group on the provision of public wifi across the rail network.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The department has regular discussions with the Rail Delivery Group on a range of issues including the passenger experience.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2023 to Question 177749 on Travel: Greater Manchester, what estimate he has of the percentage of households that own a car in Bolton South East constituency.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
According to Census data, 72% of households in Bolton South East constituency in 2021 had access to one or more cars or vans.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate his Department has made of the level of (a) car ownership, (b) bus usage (iii) light rail usage, (d) train usage and (e) active travel usage in (i) Bolton South East constituency, (ii) the borough of Bolton and (iii) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The information requested regarding (a) car ownership, (b) bus usage (c) light rail usage, (d) train usage and (e) active travel usage in (i) Bolton South East constituency, (ii) the borough of Bolton and (iii) Greater Manchester is given below, where available. In several cases, data are not available specifically for Bolton South East constituency or the Borough of Bolton.
A) Car ownership
According to the Department’s vehicle statistics, there were 1,393,157 registered cars as at end-September 2022 in Greater Manchester, 127,329 in Bolton Borough and 42,868 in Bolton South East Constituency.
B) Bus usage
According to the Department’s annual bus statistics, in the financial year 2021/22 there were 121.0 million local bus journeys taken in Greater Manchester. Data for (i) Bolton South East constituency and (ii) the borough of Bolton are not available
C) Light rail usage
According to the Department’s light rail statistics, in the financial year 2021/22 there were 26.0 million journeys taken on Manchester Metrolink. Data for (i) Bolton South East constituency and (ii) the borough of Bolton are not available
D) Train usage
According to Office of Rail and Road statistics in 2021/22 there were 39.2 million passenger rail journeys within the North West that started or ended in Greater Manchester. There were also 13.9 million journeys that started or ended in Greater Manchester that ended or started from regions other than the North West. Data for (i) Bolton South East constituency and (ii) the borough of Bolton are not available
E) Active travel usage
According to the Department’s annual walking and cycling statistics, between November 2020 and November 2021, 61.4% of adults walked or cycled at least once a week in Bolton (Local authority) and 66.6% of adults walked or cycled at least once a week in Greater Manchester. Data for (i) Bolton South East constituency are not available
F) Personal travel patterns in Greater Manchester
Additionally, information from the Department’s National Travel Survey shows that, on average each year between 2010 and 2019 there were 244 walking trips per person, 11 pedal cycle trips per person, 81 bus trips per person, 12 surface rail trips per person and 11 light rail trips per person by residents of Greater Manchester. 76% of adults in Greater Manchester had access to a car in 2021. National Travel Survey data is not available at constituency or borough level.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2022 to Question 25813 on Trams: Greater Manchester, what recent progress has been made on assessing the strategic outline business case for the Bolton to Radcliffe tram connection.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
In November 2020, the Government awarded £50,000 of Restoring Your Railway Ideas funding to Transport for Greater Manchester to develop a Strategic Outline Business Case to reinstate passenger services on the Bolton-Radcliffe/Bolton-Bury line. The scheme’s Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) is currently under consideration by the Department.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has allocated funding for a Bolton-Bury tramline project.
Answered by Wendy Morton
In November 2020, the Government awarded £50,000 of Restoring Your Railway Ideas funding to Transport for Greater Manchester to develop a Strategic Outline Business Case to reinstate passenger services on the Bolton-Radcliffe/Bolton-Bury line. The SOBC was submitted to the Department on 21st June 2022 and will be assessed in the coming months.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer given on 24 March 2021 to Question 172052, on Trams: Greater Manchester, and the Answer given on 21 February 2022 to Question 122629, on Manchester Metrolink: Bolton, what progress has been made on the progress of the Bolton-Bury tramline.
Answered by Wendy Morton
In November 2020, the Government awarded £50,000 of Restoring Your Railway Ideas funding to Transport for Greater Manchester to develop a Strategic Outline Business Case to reinstate passenger services on the Bolton-Radcliffe/Bolton-Bury line. The SOBC was submitted to the Department on 21st June 2022 and will be assessed in the coming months.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate his Department has made of the amount of funding allocated for investment in active travel in Bolton South East constituency.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Details of active travel funding allocations to all local authorities in England are available via gov.uk.