Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what non-capital funding his Department provided to Transport for London in each of the last 12 years for which figures are available.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Transport for London funding agreed via Spending Review settlements.
Year | TFL grant | |
| Capital | Non-Capital |
2010/2011 | £2,871,589,000[1] | |
2011/2012 | £1,943,000,000 | £861,000,000 |
2012/2013 | £1,922,000,000 | £881,000,000 |
2013/2014 | £1,084,000,000 | £904,000,000 |
2014/2015 | £846,000,000 | £928,000,000 |
2015/2016 | £925,000,000 | £629,000,000 |
2016/2017 | £944,000,000 | £447,000,000 |
2017/2018 | £960,000,000[2] | £228,000,000 |
2018/2019 | £976,000,000 | £0 |
2019/2020 | £993,000,000 | £0 |
2020/2021 | £1,010,000,000 | £5bn COVID emergency funding |
2021/2022 | £1,010,000,000 | |
2 From April 2017, received through the Business Rates Retention Scheme
[1] Funding was not split by capital/non-capital in this year
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has plans to lift the restriction on the use of 60+ Oyster Cards and Older Persons Freedom Passes before 9am on weekdays.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Transport in London is devolved and responsibility for it lies with the Mayor of London and Transport for London, including decisions on concessions offered and the terms attached to those concessions.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many full-time equivalent staff were working for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each of the last ten years for which data is available.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The number of paper driving licence applications awaiting processing on a specific date in each of the last 12 months is shown in the table below.
Date | Total |
1 Mar 2021 | 113,632 |
1 Apr 2021 | 171,993 |
1 May 2021 | 306,690 |
1 Jun 2021 | 448,874 |
1 Jul 2021 | 608,934 |
1 Aug 2021 | 628,345 |
1 Sept 2021 | 675,775 |
1 Oct 2021 | 637,411 |
1 Nov 2021 | 549,758 |
1 Dec 2021 | 446,888 |
4 Jan 2022 | 392,821 |
1 Feb 2022 | 384,841 |
The average number of days taken to process a paper application for a driving licence in each of the last 12 months is shown in the table below.
Date | Average working days |
Feb 2021 | 5.2 |
March 2021 | 8.6 |
April 2021 | 12.9 |
May 2021 | 18.1 |
June 2021 | 23.9 |
July 2021 | 32.1 |
August 2021 | 34.8 |
Sept 2021 | 33.3 |
Oct 2021 | 33.9 |
Nov 2021 | 30 |
Dec 2021 | 28.9 |
Jan 2022 | 28 |
The number of full-time equivalent staff working for the DVLA in each of the last ten years is shown in the table below.
Date | Full-Time Equivalent |
31 March 2013 | 5,612.58 |
31 March 2014 | 4,985.10 |
31 March 2015 | 4,918.94 |
31 March 2016 | 5,429.94 |
31 March 2017 | 5,351.16 |
31 March 2018 | 5,195.51 |
31 March 2019 | 5,336.04 |
31 March 2020 | 5,499.17 |
31 March 2021 | 5,467.87 |
31 January 2022 | 5,461.25 |
To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process paper applications as quickly as possible.
Together with the ending of industrial action, these measures are having a positive impact.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time taken is to process a paper application for a driving licence, for each of the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The number of paper driving licence applications awaiting processing on a specific date in each of the last 12 months is shown in the table below.
Date | Total |
1 Mar 2021 | 113,632 |
1 Apr 2021 | 171,993 |
1 May 2021 | 306,690 |
1 Jun 2021 | 448,874 |
1 Jul 2021 | 608,934 |
1 Aug 2021 | 628,345 |
1 Sept 2021 | 675,775 |
1 Oct 2021 | 637,411 |
1 Nov 2021 | 549,758 |
1 Dec 2021 | 446,888 |
4 Jan 2022 | 392,821 |
1 Feb 2022 | 384,841 |
The average number of days taken to process a paper application for a driving licence in each of the last 12 months is shown in the table below.
Date | Average working days |
Feb 2021 | 5.2 |
March 2021 | 8.6 |
April 2021 | 12.9 |
May 2021 | 18.1 |
June 2021 | 23.9 |
July 2021 | 32.1 |
August 2021 | 34.8 |
Sept 2021 | 33.3 |
Oct 2021 | 33.9 |
Nov 2021 | 30 |
Dec 2021 | 28.9 |
Jan 2022 | 28 |
The number of full-time equivalent staff working for the DVLA in each of the last ten years is shown in the table below.
Date | Full-Time Equivalent |
31 March 2013 | 5,612.58 |
31 March 2014 | 4,985.10 |
31 March 2015 | 4,918.94 |
31 March 2016 | 5,429.94 |
31 March 2017 | 5,351.16 |
31 March 2018 | 5,195.51 |
31 March 2019 | 5,336.04 |
31 March 2020 | 5,499.17 |
31 March 2021 | 5,467.87 |
31 January 2022 | 5,461.25 |
To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process paper applications as quickly as possible.
Together with the ending of industrial action, these measures are having a positive impact.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many paper applications await processing for a driving licence for each of the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The number of paper driving licence applications awaiting processing on a specific date in each of the last 12 months is shown in the table below.
Date | Total |
1 Mar 2021 | 113,632 |
1 Apr 2021 | 171,993 |
1 May 2021 | 306,690 |
1 Jun 2021 | 448,874 |
1 Jul 2021 | 608,934 |
1 Aug 2021 | 628,345 |
1 Sept 2021 | 675,775 |
1 Oct 2021 | 637,411 |
1 Nov 2021 | 549,758 |
1 Dec 2021 | 446,888 |
4 Jan 2022 | 392,821 |
1 Feb 2022 | 384,841 |
The average number of days taken to process a paper application for a driving licence in each of the last 12 months is shown in the table below.
Date | Average working days |
Feb 2021 | 5.2 |
March 2021 | 8.6 |
April 2021 | 12.9 |
May 2021 | 18.1 |
June 2021 | 23.9 |
July 2021 | 32.1 |
August 2021 | 34.8 |
Sept 2021 | 33.3 |
Oct 2021 | 33.9 |
Nov 2021 | 30 |
Dec 2021 | 28.9 |
Jan 2022 | 28 |
The number of full-time equivalent staff working for the DVLA in each of the last ten years is shown in the table below.
Date | Full-Time Equivalent |
31 March 2013 | 5,612.58 |
31 March 2014 | 4,985.10 |
31 March 2015 | 4,918.94 |
31 March 2016 | 5,429.94 |
31 March 2017 | 5,351.16 |
31 March 2018 | 5,195.51 |
31 March 2019 | 5,336.04 |
31 March 2020 | 5,499.17 |
31 March 2021 | 5,467.87 |
31 January 2022 | 5,461.25 |
To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process paper applications as quickly as possible.
Together with the ending of industrial action, these measures are having a positive impact.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will allow driving tests to take place for key workers during the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will respond to requests for practical driving tests in England and Wales from organisations on behalf of frontline mobile emergency workers, who require a driving licence to carry out duties in their employment role.
This is a limited service subject to examiner resource and is restricted to candidates working in health and social care, and other public bodies involved in work responding to ‘threats to life’ such as the Environment Agency’s flood rescue staff, or local authority gritter truck drivers. The DVSA is contacting relevant bodies to explain how to nominate candidates; candidates cannot apply themselves. Applications from other organisations will be considered if the mobile emergency worker criteria is met.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will collate statistics on the number of employees in the rail industry by rail franchise who have died of covid-19.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The industry collates the number of railway workers who have died with COVID-19. The latest figures indicate a total of 10 workers employed by Network Rail and Train Operating Companies have regrettably passed away.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of employees of the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise that have contracted covid-19 are from a BAME background.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
GTR confirm that of the 18 employee cases, 6 employees self-reported as being from a BAME background.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help conduct risk assessments for rail franchises to protect vulnerable staff.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We have been clear that our priority remains the safety of staff and passengers. We have issued comprehensive guidance to employers on the steps they should take to make their workplaces COVID-secure, which outlines measures to assess and address the risks of coronavirus in the transport sector across England. Employers should conduct risk assessments and, in collaboration with employees, identify workplace risks, including those to people classed as clinically vulnerable and extremely vulnerable. All guidance documents are available on the government website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-guidance.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance he has issued to rail franchises on the use of PPE in the workplace.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Keeping transport workers and passengers safe is of paramount importance as we continue to scale up services across the transport network as part of the restart. The Department has held roundtables and meetings at all levels with operators across the transport sector in the response to COVID-19, including to support with the implementation of the Government’s PPE plan published in April.
Public Health England guidance has been clear that there is very little scientific evidence of widespread benefit from personal protective equipment outside of health and social care settings. Guidance on cleaning of non-healthcare settings and shipping and sea ports and how PPE may be used in these contexts has been published in February and March respectively. The Department has worked with and continues to work with operators to ensure they can meet the PPE needs as set out in this guidance.
Throughout the response, the Department has worked with the sector to support with effective implementation of key measures of social distancing and good hand and respiratory hygiene in transport settings.