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Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of his Department's progress on increasing the number of electric vehicle charging points across Bristol North West constituency.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government is supporting local authorities in England through its £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund.

The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has been allocated £6,644,000 of capital funding and £688,000 of capability funding through the LEVI Fund, to transform the availability of local charging infrastructure across the area, including Bristol North West. Capital funding covers the costs associated with the installation of EV chargepoints and resource funding will secure dedicated in-house expertise to support WECA to plan, procure and tender the delivery of local chargepoints. In addition, Bristol City Council has previously been awarded £284,000 for the installation of 155 public chargepoints through the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme.


Written Question
Large Goods Vehicles: Safety
Tuesday 11th July 2023

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has taken steps to help ensure that left-hand drive HGV vehicles are driven safely in the UK.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) complete robust roadside inspections of heavy goods vehicles (HGV) and passenger carrying vehicles (PCV) stopped at the roadside to ensure they meet the standards required to operate on Britain’s roads. The DVSA complete checks on the drivers of those vehicles to ensure they meet the driver licensing and driver certificate of professional competence (CPC) requirements. The DVSA also complete checks to ensure drivers comply with tachograph rules and requirements to ensure they are operated safely. There is no distinction made between left-hand and right-hand vehicles; the same standards apply across all vehicles.

Individual police forces are responsible for dealing with driving offences.


Written Question
Parking
Wednesday 28th June 2023

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department issues on (a) costs, (b) transparency and (c) enabling comments by people affected when Highways Authorities merge schemes which require the suspension of on-street parking bays into single Traffic Regulation Orders.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government has not issued guidance to local authorities in relation to making Traffic Regulation Orders. They must follow the procedures set out in regulations: The Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Procedure Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/1215) and The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/2489).


Written Question
Dual Carriageways
Wednesday 28th June 2023

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department issues on when Traffic Regulation Orders are necessary for providing (a) amenities and (b) improvements on the carriageway.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government has not issued guidance to local authorities in relation to making Traffic Regulation Orders. They must follow the procedures set out in regulations: The Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Procedure Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/1215) and The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/2489).


Written Question
Roads: Plants
Wednesday 28th June 2023

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to s.142(8) of the Highways Act 1980, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to indemnify local authorities against claims for damages caused by planters and parklets placed in the carriageway by residents in agreement with the local authority as part of the forthcoming Transport Bill.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government has no plans at present to bring forward such legislation.


Written Question
Cycling: Electric Vehicles
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending the classification of tricycles in the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (Amendment) Regulations 2015 to account for the need for greater motor wattage for tricycles when climbing hills.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in July 2022, reaffirmed the Department’s commitment to making walking, wheeling and cycling the natural choice for millions more journeys. Equal access for disabled people is at the heart of this and the Department is keeping the prospect of changes to regulations on electric cycles, including tricycles, under review.


Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions
Monday 27th February 2023

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

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 increasing the fixed penalty notice fine for idling car engines.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

All fixed penalty notices are periodically considered to ensure they remain appropriate. With idling car engines, Local Authorities are encouraged to adopt an educational approach to change driver behaviour, alongside considering enforcement via use of FPNs.


Written Question
Parking: Disability
Friday 3rd February 2023

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals for enforceable disabled parking bays in residential roads.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The law already provides for enforceable disabled parking bays on residential roads. Enforcement authorities may issue penalties to the registered keepers of vehicles parked in such bays when not displaying a valid Blue Badge.


Written Question
Removal Services and Storage
Monday 16th January 2023

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

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 creating a single point of contact for the removals and storage sector.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Department for Transport has a central, cross-cutting freight and logistics team which serves as the primary point of contact for, and works closely with, the freight and logistics sector. This DfT team also works closely with other governmental departments on policy overlaps including storage, as this is led by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities.


Written Question
Electric Scooters
Monday 16th January 2023

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

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 applying regulations on the use of mopeds to e-scooters.

Answered by Jesse Norman

Under current legislation, e-scooters are classed as motorcycles, within the subclass of mopeds, as defined in Section 185 of the Road Traffic Act. This means the legal requirements that apply to mopeds also apply to e-scooters. However, they were not designed with e-scooters in mind and consequently it is very difficult for e-scooters to comply. The regulatory requirements for micromobility were considered as part of the Future of Transport Regulatory Review. It was concluded that a new 'Low-Speed Zero Emission' vehicle category would be created, separate to the cycle and motor vehicle categories, when parliamentary time allows. E-scooters are expected to be the first example of the new category. The Department will consult before any new arrangements come into force, and all interested parties will have a chance to shape the new regime.