Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve road safety for guide dog users.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Department provides guidance to local authorities on how to make streets safe and accessible for all users, including those with visual impairments. It has been carrying out research to inform possible revisions of two of its key guidance documents: Inclusive Mobility and Guidance on the use of Tactile Paving Surfaces. A collaborative project with the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland on inclusive street design is also underway. The Department will be providing further updates when the results of this research are available later this year.
Additionally, the Department’s two-year cycling and walking safety action plan, published in November 2018, included a commitment to review certain elements of The Highway Code to improve safety for vulnerable road users. The Department will consult on proposed changes to The Highway Code later this year.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the charity sector continues to have access to airline charity fares.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the importance of charity fares provided by airlines to assist charitable organisations in performing charity work overseas. However, this is a commercial decision and a matter for individual airlines.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the forthcoming Drone Registration Scheme on aero modellers flying of small air vehicles that are not drones.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Drone Operator Registration Scheme will apply from November 2019 and is one of several new measures to address the safety and security challenges that unmanned aircraft pose. It will help law enforcement agencies to tackle the misuse of such aircraft effectively, alongside new Police powers, which will be introduced in the upcoming Drones Bill.
In response to the Department’s 2018 consultation on unmanned aircraft, the Government stated that any alternative approach for model flyers must be achieved without imposing undue burden on the state and the taxpayer, whilst also being efficient and enforceable, without compromising the integrity of the policy. Any blanket exemption from registration and competency tests for aero modellers, or having the associations register their members into the registration scheme, will not meet these criteria.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the future locations of proposed developments of large logistics parks.
Answered by John Hayes
The Department does not hold any systematic information about the future locations of proposed developments of large logistics parks. The planning and development of logistics parks is primarily a matter for local authorities.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Government's response on the e-petition entitled, To introduce a permanent, minimum passing distance when overtaking cyclists, what assessment his Department is planning of cycle passing spaces in South Australia and by when he plans to complete that assessment.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The introduction of a legally enforceable minimum passing distance between cyclists and other vehicles in South Australia is relatively recent. As a result, there is limited information available regarding the impacts both positive and negative following this change in the law. As with other changes of this type introduced overseas, we remain interested in the change and are keeping it under review.
The Highway Code already has a requirement for motorists to give cyclists plenty of room when overtaking.