Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking through the Road Safety Strategy to reduce fatalities on rural roads.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies which will have national reach. More details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential economic impact of trains operating on the proposed Oxford to Cambridge rail line continuing their journey to Norwich via the Breckland line.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are currently no plans to extend East-West Rail services beyond its core scope, but through services may be an option in the future – and doing so would not be precluded by any scope being delivered as part of East-West Rail.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that disabled travellers are not discriminated against when using taxi services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Disabled people should be able to travel easily, confidently and with dignity, like anybody else and the Government understands the importance of taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) services in making this possible.
Consistent with other service providers, under the Equality Act 2010 taxi and PHV drivers, and PHV operators, are prohibited from discriminating against disabled passengers on grounds of disability and must make reasonable adjustments to enable disabled people to access their services. They also have specific duties to accept the carriage of disabled people and not to charge them more than other passengers.
We encourage licensing authorities in England to use the government’s best practice guidance document which emphasises the importance of licensing authorities continuing to improve the inclusivity of the taxi and PHV services they regulate. This includes taking effective action in response to alleged discriminatory conduct by drivers and operators and ensuring that drivers and operator staff complete training in disability awareness.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the frequency of rail services for commuters between Norwich and Cambridge.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Greater Anglia continuously reviews passenger numbers and service levels and in collaboration with Network Rail, adjusts timetables where there is the case to do so and where it is possible.
In addition, Network Rail is currently carrying out a route study on the capacity and future demand of the rail network in Norfolk, which includes the route between Norwich and Cambridge. This study is expected to provide guidance on future investment and improvements needed to increase service levels.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the rural road network.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government takes the condition of both rural and urban roads very seriously and is determined to help local authorities tackle the maintenance backlog that results from years of underinvestment by the previous Government. The Department for Transport has allocated Norfolk County Council over £56 million for the 2025/26 financial year to help it carry out its highway maintenance responsibilities, an increase of over 36%. It is up to Norfolk County Council to decide how much of this it spends on its rural roads, based on local needs and priorities, but the additional funding should allow it to deliver real improvements in both rural and urban areas.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve highway safety on rural lanes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have awarded local authorities £185.8 million of funding between 2017 and 2024 through the Safer Roads Fund to improve the safety of England's most high risk 'A' roads. To date, it has funded 445.3 miles of rural roads which make up 62.4% of all funded routes.
We acknowledge there is more that can be done; therefore, my Department is developing a road safety strategy, the first in over ten years, and we will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to electric vehicle charging points in rural communities.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
A widespread, easy-to-use and reliable network of public chargepoints is crucial to support the electric vehicle transition. In 2024, nearly 20,000 public charging devices were added to the network, making it a record year. There was particularly strong growth in rural areas, with chargepoint numbers increasing by 45%.
Government investment will continue to support public chargepoint rollout, including the £381m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund which was purposefully designed to better reflect regional disparity. The LEVI Fund, alongside private investment, is estimated to deliver at least 100,000 chargepoints alone.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the bus fare cap on the average annual reduction in bus fares for people in South Norfolk constituency in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the Budget on 30 October, the government confirmed it will invest over £150 million to introduce a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January until 31 December 2025. Under the plans of the previous administration, the current £2 cap on bus fares had been due to expire on 31 December 2024, and prior to the Budget, there was no further funding available to maintain the cap beyond this point.
The published interim evaluation of the £2 fare cap showed that patronage continued to recover following the COVID 19 pandemic. The final evaluation of the £2 fare cap will be published in due course.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support the use of buses in (a) South Norfolk constituency and (b) East Anglia.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities, and the government is committed to delivering better bus services and growing passenger numbers. Since the de-regulation of buses in England, passenger numbers have declined, and the government is determined to fix this.
As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will pass the Better Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, to ensure networks can meet the needs to the communities who rely on them and encourage passengers back onto buses, including in South Norfolk, East Anglia and right across England. The Department will work closely with local leaders and bus operators to deliver on these ambitions.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with Network Rail on (a) the status of the Ely area capacity enhancement and (b) its potential impact on rail capacity for the Cambridge to Norwich route.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Both the Rail Minister and I are early in our tenure as Transport Ministers, and he is yet to speak to Network Rail regarding the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement. However, as Transport Ministers we recognise the benefits the scheme could bring for freight and passenger rail services in East Anglia, including the Cambridge to Norwich route. The Rail Minister looks forward to discussing these proposals with Network Rail and other stakeholders in due course.