Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce train cancellations in the north of England.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Ministers, the Department, and Rail North Partnership Officials regularly meet with the senior management of Network Rail and operators to review performance. We are holding them to account for matters within their control and will continue to use all contractual levers to drive the best outcomes for passengers.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support electrification on the Southport to Wigan Rail line.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
At present the Department does not have any plans to electrify the Southport to Wigan line. In the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the Government committed to delivering a net zero rail network by 2050, with sustained carbon reductions in rail along the way. To help deliver this, we will electrify additional lines and deploy battery and hydrogen trains on some lines, where it makes economic and operational sense. The Great British Railways Transition Team will bring forward costed options for the Government to carefully consider in terms of overall deliverability and affordability.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take additional steps to ensure the effective operation of the West Coast Main Line prior to the expiry of the short-term contract for the management of that line with Avanti West Coast.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Effective operation of the West Coast Main Line requires Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager, and the train operating companies including West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast, and TransPennine Express to work collaboratively. Where train operating companies, including Avanti West Coast, perform poorly, the Department will continue to hold them to account for the things within their control using the mechanisms within the contract.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what financial support his Department offers local authorities which wish to develop business cases and proposals for submission through the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline process.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
For schemes to be able to enter the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) promoters will need to present a business case of the appropriate level (Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC), Outline Business Case (OBC) or Full Business Case (FBC)- with an SOBC as a minimum. Due to the challenging fiscal environment Government funding is not available to assist with funding these business cases.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to reduce waiting times for driving license applications.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s online services are the quickest and easiest way to renew a driving licence. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their driving licence within a few days. There are also no delays in straightforward paper driving licence applications which are being processed within normal turnaround times.
Driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer. The length of time taken depends on the condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from third parties, for example doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a decision on whether to issue a licence can be made.
It is important to note that the majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing they have not been told not to drive by a doctor or optician.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further steps his Department are taking to improve safety on all lane running smart motorways.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Overall, in terms of serious or fatal casualties, smart motorways are the safest roads on the Strategic Road Network. We want all drivers to feel safe and we have paused the rollout of smart motorways not already in construction while we collect more data. During the pause, we have committed £900m for safety improvements across the network including building more emergency areas.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of restoring the Burscough Curves.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The proposed Burscough Curves project was assessed as part of the Restoring Your Railway programme after a bid was made under the third round of the programme’s Ideas Fund. The assessment concluded that the project was not appropriate for funding through the Restoring Your Railway programme, however may be a strong candidate for future development. The feedback recommended that the Promoter, Lancashire County Council, re-submit a proposal through the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline (RNEP) process.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the requirements of the Bus Services Act 2017 are met in good time.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Bus Services Act 2017 does not contain any time constraints on the introduction of Enhanced Partnerships (EPs) or franchising. However, since publication of the National Bus Strategy, all local authorities in England are pursuing either an EP or developing a franchising business case.
We know that the provision of audible and visible information onboard local services can support a range of passengers to travel confidently. The 2021 National Bus Strategy included a commitment to use powers in the Bus Services Act 2017 to make Accessible Information Regulations, subject to final analysis, and we continue to work towards this goal.
We have now delivered the core components of the Bus Open Data digital service, data standards and the majority of the bus industry is compliant with the regulations. The current focus is working with non-compliant bus operators to support publication, enabling app developers and technologists to use the service.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of fatalities on smart motorways.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government has acted to improve smart motorway safety, ordering a stocktake in 2020 and investing £900 million to equip them with stopped vehicle detection, enforcement cameras, additional signs and emergency areas, while pausing the rollout of new smart motorways to collect more data.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safe and effective management of smart motorways.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government has acted to improve smart motorway safety, ordering a stocktake in 2020 and investing £900 million to equip them with stopped vehicle detection, enforcement cameras, additional signs and emergency areas, while pausing the rollout of new smart motorways to collect more data.