Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has has made of trends in the level of public awareness of updated Highway Code rules.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes, with the percentage of road users reporting they knew a little or a lot about the changes going from 36% in January 2022 to over 50% in August 2022 and 70% in September 2023. By that time 86% of road users reported having heard of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps Great British Railway will take to make railway stations in Yeovil constituency more accessible.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the significant social and economic benefits this brings to passengers and communities.
In May 2024, the previous government agreed the publication of a list of 50 additional stations selected for initial feasibility work under the Access for All programme, which included Yeovil Junction in the Yeovil constituency. Network Rail has now completed this feasibility work, and the Government will shortly announce which of these stations will progress to the next stage.
The Railways Bill will ensure that the interests of all passengers, particularly those with accessibility needs, are at the heart of decision-making across the railways. Great British Railways (GBR) will have a clear passenger and accessibility duty, requiring it to consider the needs of disabled passengers and to embed improved accessibility at the core of the railway. However, we are not waiting for GBR to be established to deliver improvements. Alongside the Railways Bill, the Department for Transport has published the Roadmap to an Accessible Railway, which sets out the actions being taken now to improve accessibility and the day-to-day travel experience for passengers who need assistance, ahead of GBR’s creation.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the number of carriages on (a) Great Western Railway and (b) South Western Railway during the Christmas period on the delivery of those services.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Great Western Railway and South Western Railway are responsible for ensuring the train service they operate, including the number of carriages they deploy, is optimised to meet the needs of the passengers they serve. This is while also taking account of planned maintenance work. Officials have been working closely with all operators to review plans and ensure readiness ahead of the Christmas period.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of disruption on the (a) South Western Railway and (b) Great Western Railway services over the Christmas period by people living Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 23 November the Chancellor and Transport Secretary announced that rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years. Over a billion journeys are going to benefit from this freeze with season tickets, anytime returns on commuter routes, and off-peak returns on longer-distance routes all subject to the freeze. Commuters from Yeovil to Exeter or Bristol could save around £200 across the year, while commuters to Weymouth could save around £100.
Planned engineering works may impact Yeovil constituents using South Western Railway and Great Western Railway services over the Christmas period. South Western Railway customers using services towards London Waterloo will be affected by major engineering works between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction and there will be some alterations to services on the Great Western Railway network. Passengers are advised to use journey planners to check before they travel.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to make rail travel more affordable for people living in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 23 November the Chancellor and Transport Secretary announced that rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years. Over a billion journeys are going to benefit from this freeze with season tickets, anytime returns on commuter routes, and off-peak returns on longer-distance routes all subject to the freeze. Commuters from Yeovil to Exeter or Bristol could save around £200 across the year, while commuters to Weymouth could save around £100.
Planned engineering works may impact Yeovil constituents using South Western Railway and Great Western Railway services over the Christmas period. South Western Railway customers using services towards London Waterloo will be affected by major engineering works between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction and there will be some alterations to services on the Great Western Railway network. Passengers are advised to use journey planners to check before they travel.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to make rail travel more affordable for over 30s in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 23 November the Chancellor and Transport Secretary announced that rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years. Over a billion journeys are going to benefit from this freeze with season tickets, anytime returns on commuter routes, and off-peak returns on longer-distance routes all subject to the freeze. Commuters from Yeovil to Exeter or Bristol could save around £200 across the year, while commuters to Weymouth could save around £100.
Planned engineering works may impact Yeovil constituents using South Western Railway and Great Western Railway services over the Christmas period. South Western Railway customers using services towards London Waterloo will be affected by major engineering works between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction and there will be some alterations to services on the Great Western Railway network. Passengers are advised to use journey planners to check before they travel.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support the road haulage industry in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National support for the road haulage industry includes joint investment with industry in lorry parking and driver welfare facilities of up to £35.7m. This is in addition to up to £30 million joint investment by National Highways and industry to improve lorry parking on the strategic road network. Further National Highways funding is planned for the third road investment strategy (RIS3) as part of the Customer and Community Designated Funds, subject to confirmation of National Highways’ RIS3 settlement.
Support for the sector’s decarbonisation includes the Plug-in Truck Grant which provides a contribution to the upfront purchase costs of zero emission vehicles, the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme, which is now closed to new applicants, but is providing up to £200m to fund hundreds of ZE HGVs and their associated recharging and refuelling sites and the Depot Charging Scheme which closes on the 28 November 2025, and will support HGV, van and coach fleet operators with the cost of installing charging infrastructure at depot sites.
Qualifying Operators in Yeovil have had the opportunity to apply for national schemes.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure there is consistent onboard information on request stops on rail services across the South West.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The process for request stops is standard for all stations on Great Western Railway’s (GWR) network. Alighting passengers must inform the conductor to request the stop, and boarding passengers need to signal the driver by raising their hand as the train approaches. However, I am aware that the operator has issues with some of their older fleet specifically for onboard information as the Passenger Information System is not always working as it should be. GWR are working with their technology supplier to improve the consistency of passenger information.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 23770 on Motor Vehicles: Lighting, whether she plans to publish the findings of the Government-commissioned independent research into headlamp glare.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Researchers are currently finalising the headlamp glare report so that it can be published in the autumn.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help support people to purchase affordable electric charging points for existing homes in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
To further accelerate the uptake of EVs, the Government offers grants to support the installation of chargepoints in residential and commercial properties. The Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant supports the provision of chargepoints for residents in flats and rented accommodation with grants of up to £350. SMEs and residential landlords can also claim car park grants of up to £15,000 and £30,000 per site towards the cost of infrastructure works and chargepoints.
Additionally, on the 13 July, the Government announced the £25m Electric Vehicle Pavement Channel grant to further support local authorities in England to adopt pavement channels. This will allow EV drivers to access their domestic electricity tariffs by safely connecting a home EV charger to their vehicle parked on-street and adds to published local authority guidance and chargepoint grants.