Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Retained EU Legislation (Revocation and Reform) Bill on (a) rail and (b) road safety.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport is firmly committed to improving safety across the transport sector, and this will be a priority as it reviews the body of retained EU law.
Whilst there will be opportunities to review and amend individual pieces of retained EU law, the Department will ensure both that the regulatory landscape adheres to international obligations and upholds high standards for transport and travel safety.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on the Road Safety Strategic Framework; and on what date he plans to publish that plan.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Transport is developing the new Road Safety Strategic Framework (RSSF) and it is our intention, subject to wider consultation and agreement, to publish in the spring.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to introduce road safety measures in response to the inclusion of roads policing in the Strategic Policing Requirement.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
As part of the current review into roads policing and traffic enforcement, the Government is listening closely to the concerns of those affected by tragic cases of death or serious injury on our roads. This helps shape Government thinking and policy going forward.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to bring forward legislative proposals to establish the Road Safety Investigation Branch and give it the powers set out in the consultation response published in June 2022 entitled Deepening our understanding of road traffic collisions and how best to address them.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government intends to bring forward measures to enable the creation of a Road Safety Investigation Branch as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to impose new standards for Heavy Goods Vehicles for the whole of the UK in line with those proposed for London.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There are no plans to alter our national road vehicle construction and use regulations. All local authorities are already able to introduce enhanced requirements to address specific concerns in their area, as Transport for London are proposing.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to review the speed limits for rural roads.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department has no current plans to review the national speed limits.
Traffic authorities already have the power to set speed limits on the roads for which they are responsible, and the Department has published guidance designed to make sure that speed limits are appropriately and consistently set while allowing for flexibility to deal with local needs and conditions.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of TransPennine Express trains were cancelled between Huddersfield and Leeds in the last six months.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department does not routinely collect this information centrally as this is the responsibility of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Their latest published data on train cancellations can be found on the ORR website.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on how much the DVLA pays GP practices for processing short-term medical driving licence applications.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The provision of information to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency as part of its investigations into an individual’s fitness to drive is not part of the NHS contract. GP practices provide a private service for the completion of medical questionnaires required for driver licensing purposes.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 111539 on Driving under Influence, if he will clarify (a) what is meant by the phrase no-cost partnership and (b) how that negates a conflict of interest in this instance.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
In a no-cost marketing partnership, THINK! does not financially sponsor any partner activity. Instead, partners feature our campaign messaging and a ‘Supporting THINK!’ logo in their content, helping us to reach a wider target audience. This was the case in our partnership with Diageo.
THINK! and the Department for Transport were not financially sponsored by Diageo. We did not receive any complimentary services or products from Diageo through this partnership or provide any such services to Diageo.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure there is no conflict of interest in the alcoholic beverage company Diageo’s sponsorship of the new THINK! drink drive campaign.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
THINK! and Diageo have entered into a no-cost partnership to tackle drink driving over the festive period, following a successful partnership in winter 2021.
THINK! assessed that there would be no conflict of interest in this partnership due to its no-cost and educational nature.