Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to bus services in rural areas across West Sussex.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government is committed to improving access to transport in rural areas.
The Government pays almost £260 million per year in Bus Service Operators Grant, which benefits passengers by helping operators keep fares down, and enabling operators to run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation, particularly in rural areas.
There is currently a ‘Call for Evidence’ open to seek ideas on what we could include within a Future of Transport Rural Strategy. Views are being sought on: trends in rural areas, opportunities from innovation for rural areas and the approach government could take to help shape these opportunities.
We are also developing a National Bus Strategy for England, which will focus on the needs of passengers so that more people have access to bus services that meet their needs. The Government recognises the importance of good transport links for the sustainability and independence of communities, particularly in rural areas, and the Strategy will set out how national and local government, and the private sector will come together to support this.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to decarbonise the transport network.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
We are developing a bold and ambitious Transport Decarbonisation Plan to achieve net zero emissions across all modes of transport, which we expect to publish in Spring 2021. It will set out a credible and ambitious pathway to delivering transport’s contribution to carbon budgets and meet net zero by 2050.
We have already taken significant steps and the Government is going further and faster to decarbonise transport by phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. Between 2030 and 2035, any new cars and vans sold that emit from the tailpipe must have significant zero emission capability, for example plug in and full hybrids.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve access at railway stations for disabled people in (a) Sussex and (b) Arundel and South Downs constituency.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
We remain committed to improving accessibility at stations and £383m has been allocated to extend the Access for All programme until 2024. Since 2012 nine stations in Sussex have benefitted from the programme, including tactile paving for visually impaired passengers and platform humps to reduce the stepping distance to the train. Hassocks also received two lifts to provide step free access at the station.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2020 to Question 55079, what assessment he has made of the results of the acoustic camera trials announced in June 2019 to monitor traffic noise; and what plans he has for a wider rollout of acoustic cameras.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Department’s initial trials of a prototype acoustic camera have concluded. The outcome of the trial is currently being considered, including what further development would be required to enable the technology to be used for more targeted and efficient enforcement.
It is too early in the development of the device to provide a plan for its introduction, but we are optimistic that it will provide an effective enforcement tool in the future.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to connect more Sussex towns to the railway network.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Earlier this year, Network Rail completed and published the West Sussex Connectivity Study. This study focused on identifying long term improvements that could be pursued on the Arun Valley Line and West Coastway Line (between Brighton and Chichester). A range of potential train service, timetable, and infrastructure options have been identified that could improve connectivity between towns and local stations in West Sussex. Network Rail are considering if a case can be made to develop these options further, which would be assessed in line with the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline process.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2020 to Question 105623, when he plans to announce a decision on the Arundel chord rail connection.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
A bid was made to the second round of the Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund to restore the Arundel Chord. We announced outcomes for bids to Round 2 on the 25th November 2020 and feedback was provided in writing to sponsoring MPs. Our discussion and assessment found that while this proposal may be suitable for Ideas Funding in principle, the case needs strengthening. Officials in the Department are able to render assistance to scheme sponsors going forward.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department is providing to local authorities in West Sussex to increase levels of cycling and walking.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department announced £175 million of active travel funding for local authorities on 13 November, including an allocation of £2,351,250 for West Sussex. In addition this summer West Sussex received £781,000 from the first tranche of the Emergency Active Travel Fund. The Department has also funded the development of the West Sussex Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the condition of roads in West Sussex.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Department for Transport is providing West Sussex County Council with over £23 million through the Transport Infrastructure Investment Fund for highway maintenance this financial year. It is for the Council to decide on how this funding is utilised based on their highway asset management strategy, needs and priorities.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support pilot training and aviation sector employment.
Answered by Robert Courts
The UK Government recognises the impact Covid-19 has had on the aviation sector. In addition to the unprecedented cross-economy package of support, which the aviation sector has utilised extensively, we have put in place several measures to help the sector.
The department has worked closely with the Civil Aviation Authority to develop temporary regulatory exemptions around licensing and training in light of Covid-19 restrictions, including that enable Pilots to maintain currency through virtual classroom training and flight simulator devices.
The department is working to maximise the use of the existing support measures such as DWP’s Flexible Support Fund and Rapid Response Service to support aviation workers, and working with industry on options to support skills.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many fatal road traffic collisions were recorded in (a) Sussex and (b) England in (i) 2015, (ii) 2016, (iii) 2017, (iv) 2018, (v) 2019 and (vi) 2020 to date.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The number of fatal reported personal injury road accidents in the Sussex police force and England between 2015 and 2019 can be found in the table below.
The latest annual published statistics are for 2019. The final data on reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain for 2020 will be published in September 2021.
Reported fatal road accidents, Sussex and England, 2015 to 2019 | |||||
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Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
Number of fatal road accidents in Sussex1 | 41 | 52 | 50 | 43 | 42 |
Number of fatal road accidents in England | 1,373 | 1,425 | 1,437 | 1,427 | 1,403 |
Source: DfT, STATS19 | |||||
1 Includes East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove. | |||||