Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in the North West on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in that region.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Under the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, when proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours (including closures) operators are required, amongst other things, to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers. We would also expect operators to consider equality related needs of passengers and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.
Together with the rail 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. Train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the Government will not make it a legal requirement for cyclists to wear helmets.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department recommends that all cyclists wear helmets, as set out in The Highway Code, and particularly encourages children to wear helmets.
Helmet wearing is strongly advised in the Bikeability programme and school children are taught the correct way to fit them. A 2018 safety review considered mandating helmet wearing for all cyclists but concluded that this would deter many people from cycling and therefore any safety benefits would undermine wider health and environmental benefits.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure young people wear helmets on bicycles.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department recommends that all cyclists wear helmets, as set out in The Highway Code, and particularly encourages children to wear helmets.
Helmet wearing is strongly advised in the Bikeability programme and school children are taught the correct way to fit them. A 2018 safety review considered mandating helmet wearing for all cyclists but concluded that this would deter many people from cycling and therefore any safety benefits would undermine wider health and environmental benefits.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total value is of (a) contracts and (b) vessel purchases made between his Department and companies owned by DP World in the period since 17 March 2022.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
None.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on support for the electric car industry.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Secretary of State for Transport meets regularly with Cabinet colleagues and works with them to ensure that there is a coordinated cross-Whitehall approach to the UK’s commitment to Net Zero by 2050, which includes decarbonising the transport sector.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to end the Trans Pennine Express contract in May 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department in partnership with Transport for the North will make an announcement in due course.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the trend in the level of bus driver vacancies.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The most recent Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) estimate is that almost 1 in 10 bus driver positions in the UK were vacant in September 2022. Findings from CPT’s most recent driver shortage run in February are expected to be known shortly.
In November 2022, the Department and CPT co-chaired a Bus and Coach Driver Summit to understand and address the issues causing driver shortages. Following the Bus and Coach Driver Summit, the Department has been working with CPT to take forward the actions identified at the summit.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of the costs of (a) indemnifying train companies from losses on strike days and (b) meeting rail workers' union's pay demands.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
No compensation has been paid by the Department to train operators to cover lost revenue due to strike action. Under the terms of the operator agreements put in place since the onset of COVID, the Government is on revenue risk not operators and hence operators are not financially affected by any fluctuations in revenue.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to give the Civil Aviation Authority power to directly fine airlines who break consumer law.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government consulted, as part of the Aviation Consumer Policy Reform Consultation in 2022, on whether the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) should be given additional administrative powers to enforce consumer protections laws. It is reviewing the responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 Dec 2022 to Question 111701 on Train Operating Companies: Investment Income, if he will publish this information with companies' names redacted.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not intend to publish details of such payments to train operating companies with company names redacted, as ultimately values could still be attributed back to individual companies which would prejudice commercial interests.