Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to mandate individual risk assessments for all employees in his Department before they return to the workplace following the easing of covid-19 restrictions; and how many individual risk assessments for people returning to work have been conducted by his Department as of 21 February 2022.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
At the current time there are no plans to mandate the use of the risk assessment tools.
As any such risk assessments are voluntary, DfT does not hold data centrally on the number of risk assessments completed or reviewed as of 21 February 2022.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to the correspondence form the hon. Member for Glasgow South West of 29 March 2021 and 8 June 2021 on the industrial dispute within the DVLA; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Department responded to your letter of 29 March on 9 April, and your letter of 8 June on 25 June. Copies of both are in the attached documents.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) plans he has for and (b) discussions he has had with stakeholders on amending the law on driving theory test certificates as a result of the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place for road safety reasons; to ensure that a candidate’s knowledge is current. This validity period is set in legislation and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.
It is important that road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point that they drive unsupervised for the first time. Those with theory test certificates expiring may have taken their test in early 2019. Since then, their lessons and practice sessions will have been significantly curtailed during recent lockdowns and it is likely that their knowledge base will have diminished. Research suggests that this would be particularly harmful for hazard perception skills, a key factor in road safety.
Ensuring new drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the training of new drivers, who are disproportionality represented in casualty statistics. Taking all this into consideration, the decision has been made not to extend theory test certificates and learners will need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) artificial intelligence and (b) machine learning projects are being (i) undertaken and (ii) considered for his Department.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning have many potential applications including in the transport sector. Innovation teams across the DfT family support research and development initiatives conducted both within and outside of DfT.
One specific initiative is investigating a proof-of-concept study into a non-intrusive AI-model capable of detecting the number of face-coverings, and the number of uncovered faces, in an image. The model would then display message responses focussed on positive engagement. This work will not be able to identify or track individuals, and no images will be stored by the system.
We don’t hold information centrally regarding further AI or machine learning projects being undertaken or planned by the department at this time.