Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential environmental merits of creating a direct rail link between Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Midlands Connect produced an SOBC in May 2021 which provides a high-level summary of the environmental implications of this scheme.
We remain committed to publishing the Rail Network Enhancements Programme update, which has been delayed by the need to take account of the impacts of the pandemic and the Spending Review.
We want to provide as much clarity and certainty as possible on rail enhancements and will set out our plans shortly.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to include a Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham connectivity project in the forthcoming Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Although unable to discuss individual projects at this time the Government is focusing our investment on rail infrastructure in the Midlands and the North.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding for concessionary fares, as provided to Nottingham's bus service, to the tram service in that city.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age to ensure that no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone.
Funding for this is provided through the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Revenue Support Grant: a Grant that supports a wide range of activities to ensure that each local transport authority receives the funding that they need. This funding is not ringfenced to enable local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely align with local needs and circumstances.
This means that local authorities can use this funding to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to buses. Nottingham City Council has already chosen to extend this to their tram system.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding for concessionary fares, as provided to Nottingham's bus service, to the tram service in that city.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age to ensure that no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone.
Funding for this is provided through the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Revenue Support Grant: a Grant that supports a wide range of activities to ensure that each local transport authority receives the funding that they need. This funding is not ringfenced to enable local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely align with local needs and circumstances.
This means that local authorities can use this funding to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to buses. Nottingham City Council has already chosen to extend this to their tram system.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to provide funding for tram concessions in Nottingham, similar to the funding provided to bus concessions in that city.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age to ensure that no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone.
Funding for this is provided through the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Revenue Support Grant: a Grant that supports a wide range of activities to ensure that each local transport authority receives the funding that they need. This funding is not ringfenced to enable local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely align with local needs and circumstances.
This means that local authorities can use this funding to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to buses. Nottingham City Council has already chosen to extend this to their tram system.