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 recent advice his Department has received from Public Health England on the safe restarting of driving tests as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been the safety of its staff and the wider public. That remains its priority as it restarts its services.
The DVSA has consulted with Public Health England and has released an updated version of its standard operating procedure and risk assessments to driving examiners, which contains social distancing measures and safety precautions, to ensure the safe restart of driving tests. The DVSA is currently engaging with Scottish and Welsh Governments to ensure it engages with Health advisors before services are resumed in both.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received advice from Public Health England on the safety of clinically vulnerable DVSA staff who conduct driving tests as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been the safety of its staff and the wider public. That remains its priority as it restarts its services.
The DVSA has consulted with Public Health England (PHE) to ensure the safety of all its staff when resuming testing services. The DVSA will be following the guidance PHE has provided to Government for those who are Extremely Clinically Vulnerable and those who are Clinically Vulnerable.
Driving examiners will wear face coverings on test and have the option to wear gloves and use disposable seat covers. Candidates will be asked to bring and wear a face covering attending for test, unless they have a good reason not to. Candidates are reminded they should not come for test if they have any symptoms or have been asked to self-isolate by test and trace. Similar guidance has been provided to the approved driving instructors.
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 recent assessment he has made of the ability of DVSA staff to socially distance while conducting driving tests.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been the safety of its staff and the wider public. That remains its priority as it restarts its services. The approach being taken has been developed with input from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Public Health England (PHE).
To prevent the spread of coronavirus and keep staff and candidates safe:
Driving examiners will wear face coverings and have the option to wear gloves and use disposable seat covers.
The number of people arriving for a driving test at the same time will be limited and all meet and greet will be undertaken achieving social distancing.
Driving instructors or supervising drivers will not be allowed to sit in the back of the car during the test.
Candidates will be asked to bring and wear a face covering attending for test, unless they have a good reason not to.
Driving test centre waiting rooms and toilets will be closed except for those who have a disability, medical condition, or who are pregnant.
The amount of time spent in the vehicle will be minimised:
If a candidate makes a serious or dangerous fault, which means they have failed, the driving examiner will direct them back to the driving test centre, where the test will end.
At the end of the test, the driving examiner will give the test result feedback outside of the vehicle.
Driving instructors can listen to the test result feedback if it is safe to do so.
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 personal protective equipment will be provided to DVSA staff conducting driving tests; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been the safety of its staff and the wider public. That remains its priority as it restarts its services.
To keep driving examiners safe, and help prevent the spread of coronavirus, examiners will wear face coverings and have the option to wear gloves and use disposable seat covers. These measures have been put in place following discussions with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Public Health England (PHE).
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation has affected the right of recognised unions in his Department to bargaining information in relation to section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The assessment of the Department for Transport is that the General Data Protection Regulation has not affected the rights of unions in the DfT in relation to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is compliant with the requirement in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code that time off with pay for safety representatives will not be set against facility time allowed under existing arrangements.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department for Transport provides trade union representatives with reasonable facility time to undertake trade union duties, union learning representative duties and health and safety duties. This is in line with the departmental policy, the Civil Service Management Code, the Cabinet Office Framework on Trade Union Facility Time and our legislative obligations. These include a requirement to publish, as set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time for relevant union officials, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official that is permitted by the official’s employer, including under “regulations made under section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974”.
The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many equal pay reviews there have been in his Department since 2010; what the dates were of those reviews; and whether his Department plans to undertake an equal pay review in 2019.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
An Equal Pay Review was undertaken in 2015. An external service provider has been appointed to undertake a further Review, with work expected to be completed before the end of 2019.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the pay system in his Department has been changed to take account of the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling on Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Mr G Willetts and Others on holiday pay and voluntary overtime; and whether affected workers in his Department have been given back pay as a result of that ruling.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Officials have begun discussions with the Departmental Trade Unions on making the relevant changes. Future meetings will include the Unite Union, who represent drivers in the Government Car Service.