Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment with the Minister for Women and Equalities of the adequacy of access for disabled people on rail travel; and what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) all newly constructed railways and (b) upgrades to existing lines will sufficiently address the challenges disabled people currently face on rail travel.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has standards in place requiring all new and upgraded rail infrastructure to be accessible. This is set out in the Accessibility National Technical Specification Notice and the Code of Practice: Design Standards for Accessible Railway Stations. Failure to meet these standards may result in enforcement action by the Office of Rail and Road, as compliance is a condition of operator’s licences.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that school vehicles operated under Section 19/22 exemptions (a) meet the same safety standards as those under Passenger Carrying Vehicles licences and (b) help mitigate driver fatigue after a day of teaching; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (i) vehicle safety and (ii) compliance checks.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government publishes guidance to support the correct and safe use of section 19 and section 22 permits, including recommended vehicle maintenance arrangements. Vehicles operated under permits should have regular safety inspections, at least every 10 weeks, in addition to daily walkaround checks, regular servicing and annual MOTs.
The guidance further notes that all drivers should be aware of the risk to passenger safety from driving when tired and that it is not sensible to start a long trip after a full day’s work, whether that work involves driving or not. In 2013, the Government also published guidance specifically for schools and local authorities on driving school minibuses.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment with the Secretary of State for Education of the potential impact of trends in the level of bus fares on school attendance.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has made no such assessment. The government recognises the importance of affordable local bus services in facilitating access to education. We have acted to ensure bus services remain affordable by introducing the £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London, and at the Spending Review announced this would be extended by over a year until March 2027.
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 Worcestershire County Council has been allocated £9.4 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce initiatives to reduce the cost of travel for young people.
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to bus services in this Spending Review by confirming continued funding each year from 2026/27 to maintain and improve vital bus services, including taking forward bus franchising pilots in areas including York and North Yorkshire.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to prevent fare evasion on the cross-city line between North Worcestershire and Birmingham.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department supports DfT contracted train operators to reduce both fare evasion and fraud, but fare evasion is an operational matter and the responsibility of passenger train operators.
West Midlands Trains (WMT), which operates the cross-city line, like most train operators, have a multi-faceted strategy for revenue protection which includes ticket checking on train and operating gate lines effectively, as well as making it easy to buy a ticket. WMT is also in the process of recruiting additional mobile revenue protection officers who undertake ticket checking on train.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of building a westerly relief road around Bromsgrove.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is for the local authority to identify which local road schemes should be proposed and progressed as part of their strategic transport plans. It would therefore be for Worcestershire County Council to bring forward any plans for a westerly bypass for Bromsgrove, should it wish to do so.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of bus services in Bromsgrove constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government knows that a modern public transport network is vital to providing access to services and keeping communities connected. The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December to put the power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders. 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. Worcestershire County Authority have been allocated over £9 million of this funding, helping to improve bus services across the area, including Bromsgrove.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of building Westerly slip road access to the M42 from J1 of the M42.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are no plans to introduce westbound access to the M42 at Junction 1 owing to the close proximity of the Junction to the M5 Catshill interchange, half a mile to the west. National Highways has determined that due to the significant amount of weaving and lane changing already required to access Catshill Interchange, adding a new merge at this location off Junction 1 would introduce a considerable and unacceptable level of safety risk to road users.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 increasing the time period between MOTs for privately registered passenger vehicles under ten years of age from one to two years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The MOT test is a vital part of keeping our roads safe. Many motorists rely on it to identify and fix potentially dangerous faults with their vehicle. Any changes made to the frequency of testing risk increasing the number of serious injuries and fatalities on our roads and must therefore be considered very carefully.
The Department for Transport published a consultation on changing the date of the first MOT test in 2023. Of those who responded 84% opposed changing the date of the first test with the decision made not to change it. The associated call for evidence also asked for opinions on the frequency of testing, and the Department has been considering those responses as part of a wider review of the MOT. In that context there are currently no plans to alter the frequency of MOT testing.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will take steps to reduce levels of congestion in Hagley resulting from recurring roadworks.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Highway authorities have a range of powers to manage and co-ordinate road works on their road network and reduce the impact they have on congestion. Councils can also introduce lane rental schemes to target works on the busiest roads at the busiest times.
But we know how frustrating it is when road works are poorly managed and run over time, which is why we have recently announced increases in penalties for utility companies and the extension of overrun charges to the weekend.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with West Midlands Railway on restoring the number of services between North Worcestershire and Birmingham to six per hour.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State has not had discussions with West Midlands Trains on this specific matter, but officials have done so. We keep service provision under constant review but have to balance the costs of providing additional services with the needs of taxpayers.