Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of increases in rail fares on trends in the level of passenger numbers.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The Department considers a range of factors when determining rail fare changes, including the impact on passenger demand. The Government intervened to cap regulated rail fares increases at 4.9%, 4.1 percentage points lower than the July RPI figure on which fare changes are usually based. This strikes a balance between offering lower fares to encourage passengers to use our rail network and supporting the rail industry while it gets back on good financial footing as it continues to deal with a revenue shortfall after the pandemic.
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 Leader of the House on the timetable for legislating on national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing.
Answered by Guy Opperman
There was insufficient parliamentary time to bring forward legislation on national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing during this Parliament, but the Government remains committed to doing so 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 steps he is taking to increase public awareness of the January 2022 changes to The Highway Code.
Answered by Anthony Browne
The January 2022 changes to The Highway Code to help improve road safety for people walking, cycling and horse riding have been communicated via:
As a result, the percentage of road users reporting to know either a little or a lot about the Highway Code changes increased from 36% in January 2022 to 58% in August 2022, with 83% of road users having heard of the changes by August 2022.
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 implications for his Department's policies of recent trends in the level of car insurance inflation.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The setting of motor insurance premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience. The government does not intervene or seek to control the market.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of levying a higher rate of Air Passenger Duty on all private jet flights.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
As a tax, Air Passenger Duty, is an HMT policy.
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
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 - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
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 - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
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 - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
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 - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
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.