Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further steps the Government is taking to situate additional lighting and street furniture on the M6 Heysham link road to enhance road safety.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport allocated Lancashire County Council with £110.9 million towards the total scheme cost of £134.4 million for the M6 to Heysham Link Road, also known as the Bay Gateway.
In addition, the Department for Transport is providing the Council with over £124 million between 2015 and 2021 for local highways maintenance and £4.5 million in 2017/18 through the National Productivity Investment Fund. It will be for Lancashire County Council, as local highway authority, to decide whether they wish to use this funding to provide additional street furniture and lighting for the road if they deem this a priority.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department has made an assessment of how much it costs on average to fill an individual pothole; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport has estimated that on average it costs £53 to repair a pothole. However, the cost of filling an individual pothole will depend on a range of variables including geography, the type of road and whether the repair is temporary or permanent.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when Lancashire County Council made its application to the Pothole Action Fund; what level its application to that fund was awarded; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Pothole Action Fund is worth £250 million over the next five years to local highway authorities in England, outside London. On 7 April the Government announced the share each local highway authority will receive from the £50 million available for 2016/17. Funding is allocated according to the length of the road network each local highway authority is responsible for as set out in the Department for Transport Road Statistics Publication. Lancashire County Council received £1,241,000 from the Pothole Action Fund in 2016/17.
Further details can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cash-for-councils-to-fill-almost-1-million-potholes
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the consultation on the UK's first space port; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
I refer my Hon Friend to my answer of 8 March, UIN 28858 (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=28858).
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the progress of repairs to the Loyn Bridge in Gressingham in the Lune Valley in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Progress in respect to the repairs to the Loyn Bridge following damage caused by the winter storms is entirely a matter for Lancashire County Council as local highway authority. The Department for Transport has provided £5 million funding to the Council and they will undertake repairs to the bridge as soon as practicable.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
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 trunking the new M6 link road from junction 34.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The M6 link road to Heysham is a local road that has been funded by Government to complete the connection from the Heysham and Morecambe peninsula to Junction 34 of the M6. Neither the local authority nor the Department has raised the issue of trunking the road.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any recent assessment has been made of proposals to extend the connection of junction 35 (A601M) Carnforth on the M6 to the A590 in Cumbria.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Highways England has made no recent assessment of a proposal to extend the A601(M) to the A590.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of potential increases to the port usage of Heysham after the new Heysham M6 link road is completed; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Jones
None. As this is a local road and not part of the Strategic Road Network, the assessment was carried out by Lancashire County Council. However, the scheme will certainly improve access to the Port and improve accessibility for related local businesses.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
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 capacity on the West Coast Mainline after completion of the HS2 and related projects.
Answered by Claire Perry
Network Rail leads the long term planning process, which works with local authorities and operators to identify and consider future options for capacity improvement across the rail network as a whole. Network Rail studies are underway to consider future capacity on the West Coast Main Line, but no assessment has been made at this stage by the government. In due course, the government will consider the full range of options for capacity improvements on national rail that are identified by the industry processes. These industry options will feed into the Government’s decisions on Rail Investment Strategies for the periods 2019-2024 and beyond, taking into account the recommendations of the Hendy, Bowe and Shaw reports.
Asked by: David Morris (Conservative - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the condition of local roads.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Government fully understand how important it is to have a reliable quality road network, which is why we are providing a record £6 billion for local highways maintenance. We have also created the pothole action fund with a budget of £250 million dedicated to delivering better journeys.