Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost of a standard class annual rail season ticket from (a) Bletchley and (b) Milton Keynes to London Euston was in 2010.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The cost of an annual season ticket in 2010 between London and a) Bletchley was £3,316 and b) Milton Keynes was £3,832.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the HS2 Woodland Fund on Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A Phase One Ancient Woodland Strategy was published in 2017. It provided a full assessment for how building HS2 would affect ancient woodlands and details each individual woodland that was forecast to be impacted, based on the design at the time of submission of the hybrid Bill.
As the scheme has moved into detailed design and construction HS2 Ltd have sought to avoid or minimise the impacts of construction on sensitive ecological receptors like ancient woodlands, wherever practicable. The latest design data shows that the forecast impacts on ancient woodland are now 17.7 hectares. This is a 33% reduction on the 26.6 hectares of loss that had been expected in the HS2 Environmental Statement.
Where there are unavoidable impacts on ancient woodland, HS2 Ltd have implemented a range of compensatory measures including new woodland planting, enhancement of existing woodlands and a £5 million HS2 Woodland Fund to support third party landowners to deliver tree planting projects near the HS2 route. The Woodland Fund has successfully allocated all its funding and supported the creation of hundreds of hectares of new tree planting. It is therefore now closed to new applications.
Further information on HS2 Ltd’s approach to managing Ancient Woodland impacts, including annual summary reports, can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-ancient-woodland-reports
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with HS2 Ltd on the potential impact of HS2 construction on ancient woodland in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A Phase One Ancient Woodland Strategy was published in 2017. It provided a full assessment for how building HS2 would affect ancient woodlands and details each individual woodland that was forecast to be impacted, based on the design at the time of submission of the hybrid Bill.
As the scheme has moved into detailed design and construction HS2 Ltd have sought to avoid or minimise the impacts of construction on sensitive ecological receptors like ancient woodlands, wherever practicable. The latest design data shows that the forecast impacts on ancient woodland are now 17.7 hectares. This is a 33% reduction on the 26.6 hectares of loss that had been expected in the HS2 Environmental Statement.
Where there are unavoidable impacts on ancient woodland, HS2 Ltd have implemented a range of compensatory measures including new woodland planting, enhancement of existing woodlands and a £5 million HS2 Woodland Fund to support third party landowners to deliver tree planting projects near the HS2 route. The Woodland Fund has successfully allocated all its funding and supported the creation of hundreds of hectares of new tree planting. It is therefore now closed to new applications.
Further information on HS2 Ltd’s approach to managing Ancient Woodland impacts, including annual summary reports, can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-ancient-woodland-reports
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken to reduce the potential impact of HS2 construction on ancient woodland.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A Phase One Ancient Woodland Strategy was published in 2017. It provided a full assessment for how building HS2 would affect ancient woodlands and details each individual woodland that was forecast to be impacted, based on the design at the time of submission of the hybrid Bill.
As the scheme has moved into detailed design and construction HS2 Ltd have sought to avoid or minimise the impacts of construction on sensitive ecological receptors like ancient woodlands, wherever practicable. The latest design data shows that the forecast impacts on ancient woodland are now 17.7 hectares. This is a 33% reduction on the 26.6 hectares of loss that had been expected in the HS2 Environmental Statement.
Where there are unavoidable impacts on ancient woodland, HS2 Ltd have implemented a range of compensatory measures including new woodland planting, enhancement of existing woodlands and a £5 million HS2 Woodland Fund to support third party landowners to deliver tree planting projects near the HS2 route. The Woodland Fund has successfully allocated all its funding and supported the creation of hundreds of hectares of new tree planting. It is therefore now closed to new applications.
Further information on HS2 Ltd’s approach to managing Ancient Woodland impacts, including annual summary reports, can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-ancient-woodland-reports
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of HS2 construction on ancient woodland in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A Phase One Ancient Woodland Strategy was published in 2017. It provided a full assessment for how building HS2 would affect ancient woodlands and details each individual woodland that was forecast to be impacted, based on the design at the time of submission of the hybrid Bill.
As the scheme has moved into detailed design and construction HS2 Ltd have sought to avoid or minimise the impacts of construction on sensitive ecological receptors like ancient woodlands, wherever practicable. The latest design data shows that the forecast impacts on ancient woodland are now 17.7 hectares. This is a 33% reduction on the 26.6 hectares of loss that had been expected in the HS2 Environmental Statement.
Where there are unavoidable impacts on ancient woodland, HS2 Ltd have implemented a range of compensatory measures including new woodland planting, enhancement of existing woodlands and a £5 million HS2 Woodland Fund to support third party landowners to deliver tree planting projects near the HS2 route. The Woodland Fund has successfully allocated all its funding and supported the creation of hundreds of hectares of new tree planting. It is therefore now closed to new applications.
Further information on HS2 Ltd’s approach to managing Ancient Woodland impacts, including annual summary reports, can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-ancient-woodland-reports
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with HS2 Ltd on reducing the environmental impact of HS2 construction.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State requires that HS2 Ltd minimises its environmental impact throughout construction and operation. This includes through the Environmental Minimum Requirements (EMRs) for the scheme. The EMRs include an Environmental Memorandum and a Code of Construction Practice which sets out specific environmental controls that HS2 Ltd and its contractors must follow to minimise the effect of noise, air quality, waste, and water management and a range of other impacts. The Department for Transport has regular discussions with HS2 Ltd on the fulfilment of these obligations, including at the HS2 Ltd Environmental Sustainability Committee, and contractually requires the company to follow sustainable development principles and minimise adverse environmental effects through the Development Agreement between the Secretary of State for Transport (DfT) and HS2 Ltd.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of available driving tests in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.
Further information on these actions and progress of DVSA’s plan to reduce driving test waiting times, which was announced in December 2024, can be found on GOV.UK.
The nearest driving test centres to Buckingham are Aylesbury, Bletchley (Milton Keynes) and Leighton Buzzard. As a result of a recent recruitment campaign, the DVSA is in the process of interviewing applicants. So far one applicant has been successful with the interview process for Aylesbury or Bletchley, with a further two applicants currently undertaking the drive element of the recruitment process. The DVSA is continuing with its recruitment campaigns, including for these areas.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve bus services in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them right across England, including in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes.
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. Buckinghamshire County Council has been allocated over £6.7 million of this funding, with Milton Keynes Council allocated £3.6 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the condition of roads in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local road network. Data on the condition of local roads is published annually and is available on gov.uk.
Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes Council are the local highway authorities for their respective areas and are therefore responsible for the condition and maintenance of their local road networks.
At Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced an extra £500 million for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year. Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes Council will receive around £20.7 million and £10.7 million respectively from this Department during 2025/26 to help them carry out their local highway maintenance responsibilities. In each case this represents an uplift of over 35% compared to the current financial year. These totals are subject to both councils meeting new reporting requirements that the Government has introduced. Councils that comply with these new requirements will receive their full funding uplifts, helping to deliver the manifesto commitment to fill a million extra potholes a year as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.