Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with bus service operators regarding the wheelchair accessibility of fleet vehicles.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Ministers engage regularly with bus industry representatives on a range of issues. Currently, 99% of local buses[1] comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR), which require the provision of a wheelchair space and ramp or lift.
[1] Source: Annual Bus Statistics 2019, referenced in the National Disability Strategy
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 improve direct transport links into central Manchester from Southport with (a) the rail network and (b) the bus network.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In collaboration with Network Rail and Transport for the North, The Department has developed the core of a new timetable for rail services in and around Manchester. It will provide more punctual, reliable journeys for passengers from December 2022, and includes services from Southport to both the North and South sides of Manchester city centre.
Ambitious infrastructure enhancements are then targeted to follow over the decade, and £26 million has been granted to Network Rail to develop and design improvements aimed at accommodating service demands.
In addition, all English Local Transport Authorities outside London – including the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority - have published Bus Service Improvement Plans, setting out local visions for transformed bus services. The Government will invest £1.2 billion of dedicated funding in bus transformation deals to deliver improvements in services, fares, and infrastructure.
Liverpool City Region will also benefit from £710 million allocated at Spending Review from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to broaden the UK's recognition of covid-19 vaccination status with respect to vaccines administered overseas beyond the existing list of countries.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As of 22 November, people vaccinated with vaccines listed on the WHO Emergency Use Listing, in addition to those already recognised, can travel to the UK without having to quarantine. In practice, this means that Sinovac, Sinopharm Beijing and Covaxin are now accepted at the border as well as Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen.
The Government will continue to work with international partners to expand the policy to more countries and territories where it is safe to do so.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council on their recent consultation on cycle lanes in Southport as required under the terms of the Active Travel Fund.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department is in regular contact with authorities across the country to discuss their active travel plans. The most recent meeting with Liverpool City Region, including officials from Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, took place on 5th November, shortly before the consultation results from the Southport Walking and Cycling survey were due to be considered by the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting. Following that meeting on 9 November, the Department understands that the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Locality Services has offered to meet with those ward councillors affected by the issue before taking a final decision on this matter.
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 improve the (a) affordability and (b) availability of public transport in (i) Southport and (ii) the North West.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
During this Parliament the Government will invest £1.2 billion of new funding to deliver improvements in bus services, fares and infrastructure in England outside London.
We have also developed the core of a new timetable for rail services in and around Manchester, in collaboration with Network Rail and Transport for the North, to provide more punctual, reliable journeys for passengers from December 2022. This includes services from Southport to both the north and south sides of Manchester City Centre.
There are a number of railcards available that offer discounts against most rail fares, including the 16-17 and 26-30 Millennial Railcard, and the new Veterans Railcard.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether overwhelming public opposition expressed through a consultation exercise is considered sufficient grounds for a local authority to decide not to progress with a scheme developed under the Emergency Active Travel Fund.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department has consistently made clear that local authorities should seek the views of a representative sample of the local population as a whole on their proposals and provided guidance on how best to do this, including via polling and public opinion surveys, which can help provide a more accurate understanding of public views than a traditional consultation exercise. Local authorities do not need to show that schemes are universally popular at the time of introduction, but should be prepared to make changes if there is strong evidence that their original proposals are unsuitable. The views of the local Member of Parliament should also be taken into account.
We have revised our Network Management Duty guidance to state that measures should be "taken as swiftly as possible, but not at the expense of consulting local communities" and that "local residents and businesses should... be given an opportunity to comment on proposed changes" to schemes. Please note these requirements also apply as much to the removal or modification of existing schemes as to the installation of new ones.
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 need for the covid-19 traffic light system for international travel in its existing format as at 14 September 2012.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
On Friday 17 September, the Government announced a number of significant changes to the international travel system to take advantage of the world leading vaccination programme.
From Monday 4 October the traffic light system will be replaced by a single red list of countries and territories and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world. The rules for travel from countries and territories not on the red list will depend on an individual's vaccination status.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when an announcement will be made on round three bids to the Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We are assessing the bids and currently expect to announce the outcomes later this year.
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 ensure that rail platforms are accessible for people with visual impairments.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We are committed to improving accessibility across the rail network, and I shall be bidding for further rounds of funding for the Access for All programme at the upcoming Spending Review and for the next rail Control Period (2024-29).
Furthermore, Network Rail has received an initial £10 million to install tactile paving at priority stations not already funded. I will make further announcements on future rounds of funding in due course.
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 ensure that rail platforms are accessible for wheelchair users.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I am committed to improving accessibility across the rail network. The Department expects the industry to meet current accessibility requirements whenever it installs, renews or replaces station infrastructure. Failure to do so can lead to enforcement action by the Office of Rail and Roads.
Furthermore, I shall be bidding for further rounds of funding for Access for All schemes in the forthcoming Spending Review.