Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will respond to her Department's consultation entitled Managing Pavement Parking, which closed on 22 November 2020, by 31 December 2025.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of inaccessible (a) public transport and (b) streets on disabled people seeking employment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the importance of accessible streets and public transport to enable disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity, including ensuring they can access and sustain employment opportunities. As part of our broader mission to break down barriers to opportunity, we recognise that more needs to be done to ensure transport is accessible to all. The Government welcomed the findings of the Transport Select Committee’s report on improving accessibility across the transport network, and we are committed to driving change.
Local authorities are responsible for the design, management and maintenance of their streets. It is for them to ensure they carry out these functions in a way which takes account of the needs of everyone, and complies with the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Department has published good practice guidance on this in ‘Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure, available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mobility-making-transport-accessible-for-passengers-and-pedestrians.
In December last year, the government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill which includes a comprehensive package of measures to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of local bus services. We have also confirmed over £1 billion for 25/26 to support and improve bus services and keep fares affordable, including £712 million for local authorities. Local authorities can use this funding in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including improving the accessibility of bus infrastructure.
The government also has ambitious plans to reform the rail sector, unifying track and train under one organisation. The cornerstone of the Government’s plan for rail reform is to establish Great British Railways (GBR), a publicly owned arm’s length body charged with running Britain’s railways in the public interest. Accessibility is one of the Government’s six priorities for the railway and will be central to GBR. To support this, the Railways Bill includes legal requirements relating to accessibility that will ensure that the interests of passengers, including those with accessibility needs, will be a fundamental part of decision-making on the railways. We will shortly publish an Accessibility Roadmap for rail that sets out the actions we are taking to deliver a more accessible railway.
We are also committed to developing an Accessible Travel Charter. The charter is a commitment to a shared vision for accessible travel. It will aim to set out what disabled travellers can expect from their journeys and what to do when standards aren’t met, share best practice across organisations and create consistency in end-to-end journeys for disabled travellers.
All of these measures and many more projects and policies within the Department are aimed at making the journeys of disabled people more accessible and allowing them to travel as they need.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Road Safety Strategy will be published.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government treats road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Department is developing our Road Safety Strategy with plans to publish it this year. We will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made a comparative assessment of penalty levels for uninsured driving in (a) the UK and (b) other European countries.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has not made a comparative assessment of penalty levels for uninsured driving in the UK and other European countries.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has considered including measures to combat uninsured driving in the Road Safety Strategy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.
All drivers must be insured to drive or ride the vehicle they are using and for the purpose it is used for. The Government takes uninsured driving seriously. Police forces work closely with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) to tackle this. This is achieved through Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE), a scheme where MIB and DVLA collaborate to identify uninsured drivers and police enforcement on the road.
There is also a national policing initiative known as Operation Tutelage to reduce the level of uninsured driving on our roads. The police send advisory letters to the registered keepers of vehicles seen on the road in circumstances where the current insurance status of the vehicle is unclear. The letter encourages the registered keeper to identify if there is a problem with the insurance for the vehicle, and to put things right.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of penalty levels for uninsured driving.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My department is developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.
All drivers must be insured to drive or ride the vehicle they are using and for the purpose it is used for. The Government takes uninsured driving seriously.
My department is currently considering a range of policies relating to the motoring offences and their penalties.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to introduce further legislative measures to enhance road and pedestrian safety in relation to (a) electrically assisted pedal cycles and (b) electric scooters.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This Government takes road safety very seriously and reducing those killed and injured on our roads is a key priority. There are already strict laws in place for e-cyclists and e-scooter users, and police have the power to prosecute if these laws are broken.
The Department is working with the Home Office on new offences intended to tackle those rare instances where a user’s behaviour is dangerous or careless, and results in the death or serious injury of another road user.
This is in addition to the new powers for the police to seize any vehicle, including e-cycles and e-scooters, being used in an anti-social manner and without first being required to give a warning.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to increase the penalties for (a) failing to display a front registration plate and (b) using a plate that does not meet the legal requirements on a car.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government keeps the motoring offences under review, and is considering possible interventions.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban car insurance companies from using age to determine insurance premiums for older drivers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government takes uninsured driving seriously. This is achieved through Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE), a scheme where the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency collaborate to identify uninsured drivers and police enforcement on the road.
All drivers must be insured to drive the vehicle they are using and for the purpose it is used for. As with all drivers, they are subject to roadside enforcement by the police.
Motor insurers are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of the policies that they offer, and it is for them to decide the level of risk that they take in issuing any policy to a given applicant. They use a range of criteria to assess the potential risk a driver poses, including the age of the applicant, the type of vehicle being insured, the postal area where the applicant lives and the driving experience and record of the applicant. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.
The Equality Act 2010 provides general protection against age discrimination for people of all ages. However, the Act also includes an exemption for those conducting an assessment of risk for the purposes of providing a financial service to another person. This means that motor insurance companies are still able to take age into account when considering the premium to be paid or indeed whether to insure people of any particular age group.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps to help tackle the use of (a) fraudulent and (b) substitute insurance by fast food delivery drivers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government takes uninsured driving seriously. This is achieved through Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE), a scheme where the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency collaborate to identify uninsured drivers and police enforcement on the road.
All drivers must be insured to drive the vehicle they are using and for the purpose it is used for. As with all drivers, they are subject to roadside enforcement by the police.
Motor insurers are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of the policies that they offer, and it is for them to decide the level of risk that they take in issuing any policy to a given applicant. They use a range of criteria to assess the potential risk a driver poses, including the age of the applicant, the type of vehicle being insured, the postal area where the applicant lives and the driving experience and record of the applicant. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.
The Equality Act 2010 provides general protection against age discrimination for people of all ages. However, the Act also includes an exemption for those conducting an assessment of risk for the purposes of providing a financial service to another person. This means that motor insurance companies are still able to take age into account when considering the premium to be paid or indeed whether to insure people of any particular age group.