Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of rail use on the environment.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Rail is a green mode of transport and can contribute to transport decarbonisation by moving goods and people from more polluting modes. In 2021, greenhouse gas emissions from rail (passenger and freight) made up just 1.4% of the UK's domestic transport emissions, while 7.4% of passenger miles travelled in Great Britain were by rail. Both historic and forecasted future passenger demand is taken into account when developing policies and evaluating the carbon emissions from rail.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of bus services since 2019.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The policies of this government have significantly protected bus services from the impact of Covid-19.
The Government provided over £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding from March 2020 to June 2023 to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. Due to this funding, bus service provision in England outside London remained at over 85% of pre-COVID levels in 2021/22, despite patronage dropping to 10% of pre-pandemic levels during the height of the pandemic.
We recently announced a long-term approach to protect and improve bus services backed by an additional £300 million from July 2023 until April 2025. £140 million of this funding will go to bus operators to support services, and the remaining £160 million will go to Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) to protect and enhance bus services, and support local fares initiatives.
This funding is in addition to the over £1 billion the Government is providing to 34 counties, city regions and unitary authorities to help local areas level up their bus services and deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans. We also make available up to £259 million every year for bus operators and LTAs to keep fares down and run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation through the Bus Service Operators Grant.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the Insolvency Service investigation into P and O Ferries.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Insolvency Service’s civil investigation into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries is ongoing. It would not be appropriate to comment on the investigation at this time.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether civil service pay remit guidance applies to National Highways workers.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Since National Highways was established in 2015, it has largely aligned with the Civil Service Pay Remit. NH does however operate within a 5 year pay envelope which is agreed with HMT, in parallel with Road Investment Periods, and is responsible for ensuring pay, recruitment and attraction costs do not exceed its allocated budget.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to introduce artificial intelligence traffic cameras.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There are systems that have already been certified as "Approved Devices" for the civil enforcement of traffic contraventions that use Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence. It is used mainly to identify vehicle types & for detection of some types of moving traffic contraventions. It should be noted that any potential moving traffic contraventions are reviewed and decided by a human operator before a PCN is issued and that approved device certification is for the whole CCTV system of which the camera and detection methodology is only a part.
There are not currently any plans to introduce Artificial Intelligences cameras to replace current speed cameras. Moreover, the Home Office does not currently plan to introduce Artificial Intelligence in speed and red light cameras under the Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) process. If, and when, such devices are submitted it will consider them against the requirements outlined in the HOTA Handbook.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The department has an ongoing monitoring and evaluation project in place for the Zero Emission Bus Regional Aras (ZEBRA) scheme. This will assess the extent to which the ZEBRA scheme meets its objectives and help to improve the evidence base on the performance of zero emission buses.
On 7 June 2023 the department published an interim evaluation report on the ZEBRA scheme. The report includes findings from a process evaluation of the pre-implementation phase of the ZEBRA scheme. The report can be viewed on the department’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/zero-emission-bus-regional-areas-scheme-interim-evaluation
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to support the maritime sector's transition to net zero emissions.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The government continues to deliver on commitments made in the 2021 Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP). In July, we confirmed that the UK Emissions Trading Scheme would be extended to include domestic maritime emissions, beginning in 2026 and published the summary of responses to the domestic maritime course to zero consultation.
The fourth round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition was launched on 7th July, bringing the total invested through the CMDC to £129 million, part of the £206 million UK SHORE R&D investment to support maritime decarbonisation.
Internationally the United Kingdom has worked ambitiously with the International Maritime Organization to reach a unanimous agreement at landmark negotiations in July, for net zero emissions by around 2050 that puts the Paris Agreement 1.5C temperature goal within reach.
The department intends to publish a refresh of the Clean Maritime Plan (CMP) by the end of 2023. It will build on the achievements of the 2019 CMP and TDP to deliver an ambitious, action focused plan to accelerate maritime decarbonization in the UK.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in Warrington North constituency on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the North West.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.
Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to support unprofitable bus routes in hard-to-reach rural areas.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Yes. The Department provides around £200 million every year through the Bus Service Operators Grant to help bus operators run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation. In addition, £42 million every year goes directly to local authorities to subsidise bus services, including socially and economically necessary services, helping to ensure communities can stay connected and access vital local services.
On 17 May, the Government announced a long-term approach to supporting bus services, backed by £300 million of funding from July 2023 to April 2025. £160 million will be provided to local transport authorities to protect and improve services and fares while £140 million will go directly to operators to help protect essential services across England. This funding will also help support longer routes, such as those in rural areas, where some services are less likely to be commercially sustainable without additional funding.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of ticket office closures at train stations on rail users.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider all equality related needs and make this clear in their consultation.
No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future. This will include assisting those who need additional support and cannot or do not want to use digital tickets.