Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of increased fuel prices on the viability of taxi businesses.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Private hire vehicle operators are able to set their own fares so fuel price increases can be considered. Licensing authorities are responsible for setting taxi fare tariffs, these should pay regard to the needs of the travelling public and what it is reasonable to expect people to pay, but also to the need to give taxi drivers the ability to earn a sufficient income and so incentivise them to provide a service when it is needed.
My Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has just announced a temporary 12 month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre, representing a saving worth around £100 for the average car driver, £200 for the average van driver, and £1500 for the average haulier.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on financial support for sectors most affected by increased fuel prices.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
I regularly meet with Cabinet colleagues and DfT is working closely with HMT to monitor and assess the impact of fuel prices on the transport sector.
My Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has just announced a temporary 12 month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre, representing a saving worth around £100 for the average car driver, £200 for the average van driver, and £1500 for the average haulier.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the economic impact of the Integrated Rail Plan on connectivity between Sheffield (a) Leeds and (b) Manchester.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In developing the Integrated Rail Pan, Ministers considered the economic impacts of the proposed schemes as well as cost and affordability on the North and Midlands, including Sheffield. By improving regional connectivity, the Integrated Rail Plan will unify labour markets, so that people can access a much wider range of jobs; bring businesses closer together; and improve access to key international gateways and markets so they become even more attractive locations for business investment.
The IRP sets out that planned upgrades are being completed on the Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Sheffield, and connections between Sheffield and Leeds will be further considered as part of the work looking at how best to take HS2 trains to Leeds.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic impact on Sheffield of his proposals for connectivity to that city as part of the Integrated Rail Plan.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
By improving regional connectivity, the Integrated Rail Plan will unify labour markets, so that people can access a much wider range of jobs; bring businesses closer together; and improve access to key international gateways and markets so they become even more attractive locations for business investment. Electrification of the Midland Mainline along with HS2 East will deliver the same journey time improvements between Sheffield and London as the previously planned HS2 Eastern leg and will cut the journey from Sheffield to Birmingham by 13 minutes. In addition, completing upgrades to the Hope Valley Line could bring improved provision for rail freight in the longer term.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is available to deliver (a) the bus service improvement plan in England and (b) the bus service improvement plan in the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority area.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
At the Budget, we announced £1.2 billion of new dedicated funding for bus transformation deals, which will support the delivery of Bus Service Improvement Plans in England. Further details on how this money will be allocated will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a cycle scheme whereby people of pension age can obtain commuter bikes and cycling accessories at a discounted rate; and whether he has had discussions with Ministerial colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions on such a scheme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department has not made any detailed assessment of the potential merits of introducing such a scheme. The Cycle to Work scheme enables employees of any age to hire a cycle and safety equipment from their employer through a salary sacrifice arrangement, effectively providing access to cycles at a discount. For those who are not in employment, no similar scheme is in place, but the Department is supporting pilot schemes in a number of local authority areas to test approaches to providing e-cycles to those with the highest need, including those that cannot benefit from the cycle to work scheme. The Department is also due to launch a national e-cycle support programme shortly, building on the lessons learned from these pilot schemes. It is also developing a social prescribing pilot scheme to be rolled out in some local authority areas which could involve providing subsidised access to cycles for older people.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to include trade unions in discussions on supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of HGV drivers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Trade union representatives are included in policy discussions with haulage sector trade bodies and departmental officials on a range of issues including retention of the current HGV driver workforce and attraction of new workers to the sector.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to issue guidance to transport providers on the protection of workers who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed from covid-19.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Whilst many of the legal restrictions that the Government has imposed during the pandemic have been lifted at Step 4 of the roadmap, cautious guidance remains. The guidance sets out that the Government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport.
The Department continues to publish clear guidance to transport operators on how to provide safer workplaces, including measures that can be taken to assess and address the risks of COVID-19. This includes guidance to operators that they should continue to support workers in high risk groups and discuss any concerns individuals may have around their particular circumstance. The Department will also encourage transport operators to consider the reasonable adjustments needed for staff with disabilities and how these fit with other obligations to workers arising from employment rights and equality legislation.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to issue guidance to transport providers on the protection of workers who are vulnerable to infection from covid-19 because they (a) have an underlying health condition, are (b) immunocompromised or (c) immunosuppressed.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department will continue to provide clear guidance to transport operators on how to provide safer workplaces, based on The Health and Safety Executive guidance on protecting vulnerable workers. This includes measures that can be taken to assess and address the risks of COVID-19. This also includes guidance to operators that they should continue to support workers in high risk groups and discuss any concerns individuals may have around their particular circumstance.
The Department will also encourage transport operators to consider the reasonable adjustments needed for staff with underlying health conditions and how these fit with other obligations to workers arising from employment rights and equality legislation.
The Government has published guidance for those people who have been identified by the NHS as being clinically extremely vulnerable. There is different guidance for people living in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason it is the Government's policy that people travelling from amber list countries during covid-19 travel restrictions who take a PCR test to release at Day 8 with a negative result are not allowed to leave quarantine whereas those that pay for a PCR test on Day 5 and test negative are allowed to leave quarantine.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Testing remains an important part of our toolkit to manage the risk of imported cases of Covid-19, as well as identifying variants of concern.
The timing of all post-arrival tests is based on data modelling from Public Health England which shows that, due to the limited number of travellers taking up the scheme and the smaller differential between levels of infection at Days 5 and 8, Test to Release has minimal impact on infection rates but supports essential travel for businesses and individuals where appropriate.
However, even the most accurate test can only detect the virus in a person when the viral load is high enough to do so. Therefore, the day 8 test is necessary to ensure that Amber arrivals who are due to end self-isolation no longer pose a threat of infecting others. This applies even if you have opted into Test to Release and tested negative on day 5. If your day 8 test is positive you must self-isolate for a further 10 days.
We will continue to regularly review the measures in place to take account of the domestic and international health picture.