Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to issue updated guidance to local authorities on balancing carbon reduction initiatives with pedestrian and road user safety in relation to street lighting.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, such as Dorset Council. They have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Local authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.
The Department is funding “Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK”, a three-year, UK-wide £30 million programme that aims to help decarbonise the local highway network. Learning and best practice from this programme will be shared with all highway authorities. One of the projects is trialling innovative ways to reduce the carbon emissions from streetlighting while also making roads safer.
The Department has also started the process of reviewing the UK Roads Leadership Group’s (UKRLG) ‘Well Managed-Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice’, which provides guidance for highway authorities and their contractors on all aspects of highway infrastructure, including street lighting. This will take account of lessons learned from the Live Labs 2 trials.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of street lighting reductions on road safety in West Dorset.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, such as Dorset Council. They have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Local authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.
The Department is funding “Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK”, a three-year, UK-wide £30 million programme that aims to help decarbonise the local highway network. Learning and best practice from this programme will be shared with all highway authorities. One of the projects is trialling innovative ways to reduce the carbon emissions from streetlighting while also making roads safer.
The Department has also started the process of reviewing the UK Roads Leadership Group’s (UKRLG) ‘Well Managed-Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice’, which provides guidance for highway authorities and their contractors on all aspects of highway infrastructure, including street lighting. This will take account of lessons learned from the Live Labs 2 trials.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities to align bus and train services in West Dorset for improved accessibility.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows that a modern, integrated public transport network is vital to providing access to services for all users of the system and keeping communities connected. The Government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December to put the power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders. In addition, the Government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London, including £3.8 million allocated to Dorset Council.
These measures are designed to empower local transport authorities (LTAs) to deliver bus services that meet the needs of their communities, including ensuring services are more accessible and better integrated with other modes of transport. The Department’s guidance to LTAs on producing their Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) makes clear that these should be designed to help make bus services more accessible and inclusive, and better integrated with other modes, including more bus-rail interchange and integration.
The Government has also announced plans to develop an Integrated National Transport Strategy to set the long-term vision for transport in England. It will focus on how transport should be designed, built and operated to better serve the people who use it and ensure that the transport network is complementary, including the interaction between different modes of travel.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has considered the specific needs of vulnerable populations in coordinating public transport schedules.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows that a modern, integrated public transport network is vital to providing access to services for all users of the system and keeping communities connected. The Government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December to put the power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders. In addition, the Government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London, including £3.8 million allocated to Dorset Council.
These measures are designed to empower local transport authorities (LTAs) to deliver bus services that meet the needs of their communities, including ensuring services are more accessible and better integrated with other modes of transport. The Department’s guidance to LTAs on producing their Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) makes clear that these should be designed to help make bus services more accessible and inclusive, and better integrated with other modes, including more bus-rail interchange and integration.
The Government has also announced plans to develop an Integrated National Transport Strategy to set the long-term vision for transport in England. It will focus on how transport should be designed, built and operated to better serve the people who use it and ensure that the transport network is complementary, including the interaction between different modes of travel.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will take steps to ensure synchronisation between bus and train timetables.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows that a modern, integrated public transport network is vital to providing access to services for all users of the system and keeping communities connected. The Government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December to put the power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders. In addition, the Government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London, including £3.8 million allocated to Dorset Council.
These measures are designed to empower local transport authorities (LTAs) to deliver bus services that meet the needs of their communities, including ensuring services are more accessible and better integrated with other modes of transport. The Department’s guidance to LTAs on producing their Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) makes clear that these should be designed to help make bus services more accessible and inclusive, and better integrated with other modes, including more bus-rail interchange and integration.
The Government has also announced plans to develop an Integrated National Transport Strategy to set the long-term vision for transport in England. It will focus on how transport should be designed, built and operated to better serve the people who use it and ensure that the transport network is complementary, including the interaction between different modes of travel.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department issues guidance on ensuring that bus replacement services have sufficient capacity to accommodate passengers from cancelled train services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Train operating companies are subject to a number of requirements relating to the provision of rail replacement services. The Office of Rail and Road hold train operating companies to account against their obligations under the passenger information licence conditions.
The Department for Transport contracts with train operating companies include requirements to provide rail replacement services in the event of planned or unplanned disruption. The type of vehicle used for rail replacement depends on service frequency and customer numbers and may include coaches, buses, taxis, or minibuses with capacity varying according to time of travel.
We expect train operating companies to use all reasonable endeavours to provide or secure the provision of alternative transport arrangements in the event of any planned or unplanned disruption to railway passenger services and ensure that passengers have accurate and timely information about their travel options, so that they can plan and make journeys with confidence, including during disruption. Complementary requirements are set out in the National Rail Conditions of Travel and the Passenger’s Charter, issued by train operators.
Train operating companies are responsible for the procurement, planning and setting of the timetable for rail replacement services and work with Network Rail to ensure that any rail replacement services are co-ordinated with any planned engineering work or other disruptions on the railway.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department monitors the adequacy of bus replacement services for meeting demand during train service disruptions.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Train operating companies are subject to a number of requirements relating to the provision of rail replacement services. The Office of Rail and Road hold train operating companies to account against their obligations under the passenger information licence conditions.
The Department for Transport contracts with train operating companies include requirements to provide rail replacement services in the event of planned or unplanned disruption. The type of vehicle used for rail replacement depends on service frequency and customer numbers and may include coaches, buses, taxis, or minibuses with capacity varying according to time of travel.
We expect train operating companies to use all reasonable endeavours to provide or secure the provision of alternative transport arrangements in the event of any planned or unplanned disruption to railway passenger services and ensure that passengers have accurate and timely information about their travel options, so that they can plan and make journeys with confidence, including during disruption. Complementary requirements are set out in the National Rail Conditions of Travel and the Passenger’s Charter, issued by train operators.
Train operating companies are responsible for the procurement, planning and setting of the timetable for rail replacement services and work with Network Rail to ensure that any rail replacement services are co-ordinated with any planned engineering work or other disruptions on the railway.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department issues to drivers on (a) verifying the accuracy of their driving licence entitlements and (b) what recourse is available to them if discrepancies to their licence entitlements are found.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) sends leaflets with all driving licences which advise the licence holder to check that all details, including the vehicle categories or driving entitlements, are correct. The leaflet also explains the information contained on the licence and where it is found so that any issues can be easily identified.
If a licence holder notices any errors or discrepancies on their licence, they should return it to the DVLA to be corrected.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve road safety for horse riders in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In my answer of 28 April 2025 to WPQ-45414, WPQ-45415 and WPQ-45416 on horse rider safety, I stated that The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve the safety of all road users, particularly the most vulnerable. Key changes included the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, along with the strengthening of guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking horse riders.
The Government's flagship road safety campaign, THINK!, ran campaigns to alert road users of the changes as they came into effect and broader behaviour campaigns to encourage understanding and uptake of the guidance. Results from the last campaign showed that by September 2023 93% of drivers agreed it was their responsibility to give space to vulnerable road users. We will continue to promote The Highway Code changes on THINK! and DfT social media channels and via our partner organisations.
Local authorities are responsible for road safety on the local road network. Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act (RTA) 1988 puts a 'statutory duty' on the local authorities to provide a safe local road network. This includes road construction, accident investigation and analysis, traffic calming and setting speed limits. The Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness and provides local authorities with guidance on road safety measures, but it should be noted that it is up to individual authorities to determine how they meet their statutory duty.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support Community Speed Watch schemes and (b) deter (i) antisocial driving and (ii) street racing in rural areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Community Speedwatch schemes are initiatives coordinated by the police working with local volunteers to target speeders, and decisions on whether to operate local schemes are operational matters for the police. The Department for Transport agrees that these schemes can be a useful way of monitoring speeds and encouraging drivers to stay within speed limits. However, it has not made any assessment of the effectiveness of the programmes in the West Dorset constituency.
Turning to the deterrence of antisocial driving and street racing in rural areas, the Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament in February, includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour including street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.