Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Green Book cost benefit analysis accounts for (a) economic and (b) connectivity issues when assessing transport infrastructure proposals in rural areas like Cornwall.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) provides methods and advice for assessing the impacts of schemes on economic activity and connectivity. This is mainly from direct benefits to travel users from reductions in travel time, and service improvements such as increasing frequency and quality. TAG can also assess impacts for wider economic, social and environmental impacts. For example, better connectivity can lead to productivity gains to businesses taking advantage of access to new markets and opportunities, or better access to jobs for people. These methods are equally applicable to urban and non-urban areas.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the Green Book appraisal framework for reflecting the value of transport infrastructure funding in rural areas like Cornwall.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) is a robust framework for assessing the cost and benefits of different transport schemes, across different parts of the UK. TAG builds on the foundations set by HM Treasury’s Green Book with specific guidance for transport schemes, but it does not deviate from the key principles set by the Green Book. The Department plans to update TAG in response to HM Treasury’s Green Book Review published last July, including supporting the development of place-based business cases.
The Department is developing an Appraisal, Modelling and Evaluation Strategy to identify updates to TAG to prioritise improvements to appraisal over the next five years, so investment decisions prioritise people and places are underpinned by high quality and accessible analysis. We listened to feedback from our extensive stakeholder engagement programme as part of this, and an emerging action is to consider developing the appraisal guidance for non-urban areas – including rural areas like Cornwall.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Dartmoor Railway Line into (a) North Cornwall constituency, (b) Launceston and (c) Bude.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the transport challenges faced by rural communities, including those in North Cornwall. While there are currently no plans to reintroduce rail services to North Cornwall, we encourage local authorities and transport providers, including Great Western Railway, to explore opportunities for enhancing integrated transport links, particularly between rail and bus services. For example, the new £15million Okehampton Interchange station is due to open in 2026, funded by the Government's Levelling Up Fund. This station will become a hub for trains and buses, including enabling improved bus services to North Cornwall, and improved walking and cycling links.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of rail connectivity in North Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the transport challenges faced by rural communities, including those in North Cornwall. While there are currently no plans to reintroduce rail services to North Cornwall, we encourage local authorities and transport providers, including Great Western Railway, to explore opportunities for enhancing integrated transport links, particularly between rail and bus services. For example, the new £15million Okehampton Interchange station is due to open in 2026, funded by the Government's Levelling Up Fund. This station will become a hub for trains and buses, including enabling improved bus services to North Cornwall, and improved walking and cycling links.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to develop a long-term strategy for regional air connectivity that (a) reduces reliance on (i) Gatwick Airport (ii) Heathrow Airport and (iii) other major hubs and (b) supports the growth of (1) Cornwall Airport Newquay and (2) other regional airports.
Answered by Mike Kane
The Department recognises how vital aviation is to maintaining connectivity between the regions of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and to the wider world. Ministers and officials at the Department meet regularly with regional airports, including Cornwall Newquay Airport, to discuss issues such as regional air connectivity.
Government supports connectivity across the union through our joint-funding of three Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes into London from Newquay, Dundee and Derry/Londonderry.
The Government keeps PSO policy under review. This includes recommendations made through the Union Connectivity Review published in November 2021.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to include the A30 junction at Plusha in the Road Safety Strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department is aware of the safety issues at the junction between the A30 and B3257 at Plusha. National Highways is investigating a number of possible modest safety improvements for this stretch of the A30 as part of its A30 Kennards House to Five Lanes Safety Study, for possible delivery in a future Road Investment Strategy.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of rural transport infrastructure in North Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government continues to work at pace to address the transport challenges people face in rural areas like North Cornwall.
We recently announced £2.3 billion of Local Transport Grant funding for local authorities over the four-year Spending Review period. This includes more than £24m for Cornwall Council for maintenance and enhancements, such as improving public transport, improving accessibility, and making our streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
We also confirmed £900 million in annual resource funding for local authorities to maintain and improve vital bus services, such as those helping people to travel in rural areas, at the same time as extending our £3 national bus fare cap until March 2027, to continue supporting cost of living pressures.
We look forward to presenting our Integrated National Transport Strategy later this year, which will present a place-based approach to empower local leaders to make appropriate decisions for their areas, including in rural communities.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of reduced bus service (a) frequency and (b) routes on people travelling to healthcare appointments in (i) North Cornwall and (ii) other rural areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government knows that a modern public transport network is vital to keeping communities connected, and ensuring people can get to education and work, including healthcare workers.
The government believes that local transport authorities, working with bus operators, are best placed to determine and design local bus networks in their area. The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December 2024 to put the power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of communities that rely on them.
In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country, of which Cornwall Council has been allocated £10.59 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce improvements to bus services and infrastructure to best meet the needs of passengers in their local area.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on banning the discharge of wash water from open-loop exhaust gas cleaning systems.
Answered by Mike Kane
The UK is committed to reducing the impact of shipping on the environment. In April, we cosponsored a proposal at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to create a new Emission Control Area. This will reduce pollutants across all UK waters.
The use of exhaust gas cleaning systems is regulated by the IMO, where the UK has an evidence led approach to their use as a compliance mechanism. We will be assessing the impact of discharges from open-loop exhaust gas cleaning systems in UK waters as part of our ongoing consideration of the environmental impacts of shipping.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of open-loop exhaust gas cleaning systems on marine vessels on the environment.
Answered by Mike Kane
The UK is committed to reducing the impact of shipping on the environment. In April, we cosponsored a proposal at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to create a new Emission Control Area. This will reduce pollutants across all UK waters.
The use of exhaust gas cleaning systems is regulated by the IMO, where the UK has an evidence led approach to their use as a compliance mechanism. We will be assessing the impact of discharges from open-loop exhaust gas cleaning systems in UK waters as part of our ongoing consideration of the environmental impacts of shipping.