Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by the Centre for Economic Business Research entitled The pothole crisis is costing £14.4 billion a year in economic damage in England alone, published on 29 April 2024.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government agrees that, whilst local road maintenance is the responsibility of individual local authorities, more that needs to be done to improve the condition of roads across the country.
That is why we’ve committed £8.3 billion extra from savings as a result of cancelling HS2 Phase 2 to help local councils fill potholes and resurface roads.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the safety of smart motorways; and what evidence was used to make that assessment.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The latest published safety data and assessment can be found in National Highways’ ‘Third year progress report 2023’.
Since then, massive investment of millions of pounds has been spent to upgrade and improve the safety of all motorways. Ongoing assessment is being made.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent reports that flights to and from the UK may have been affected by alleged Russian jamming of GPS systems.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Aviation remains among the safest forms of travel. There are several safety protocols in place to protect aircraft navigation and loss or denial of global positioning should not directly affect the safety of an aircraft. Nonetheless we continue to work with the Civil Aviation Authority and industry to mitigate any risks posed to aviation.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is working with HS2 Ltd and its supply chain to assess the cost implications of the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2a and 2b. This work is ongoing and updates will be provided in future Parliamentary Reports on HS2.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent negotiations he has had with trade unions on planned train strikes.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government has no role in negotiations. Negotiations must take place between the employer, which the Rail Delivery Group has done on behalf of the train operating companies (TOC), and the trade union. We remain committed to supporting those who are involved in resolving this dispute so that important workforce reforms can take place, supported by a fair pay deal. ASLEF remains the only TOC in a national level dispute causing disruption to passengers and impacting the economy. We continue to urge them to negotiate with industry.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to increase staffing levels on trains to improve public safety.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The train operating companies, as employers, are responsible for ensuring there are adequate numbers of staff to suit their operational needs, which includes maintaining the safety of the public using their trains. The British Transport Police (BTP) is the national dedicated police force for the railways in England, Scotland and Wales. It also has responsibility for the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, the Midland Metro tram system, Croydon Tramlink, Tyne and Wear Metro, Glasgow Subway and the IFS Cloud Cable car. We urge all passengers, to please report any incidents to the BTP either via its text-reporting service on 61016, its Railway Guardian App, online via its website, or in an emergency by dialling 999.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of findings in SusTrans' Walking and Cycling Index 2023, published in March 2024, relating to people's opinions on relative funding for (a) road building schemes and (b) walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport options.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has noted the findings in this report and agrees that it is important that people should be able to choose how they make their everyday journeys. The Government is investing around £3 billion over the current Parliament in schemes to enable more people to choose walking, wheeling and cycling, which is more than any previous Government has invested. The Government also recognises the importance of local bus services and has announced over £4.5 billion to support and improve bus services in England outside London since 2020.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Hitachi on the job security of the staff at its rail plant in Newton Aycliffe.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Hitachi is not currently consulting on any workforce changes at its train manufacturing site in Newton Aycliffe. Ministers and officials in my Department have met Hitachi Rail’s UK management team several times in recent months and have had several exchanges of correspondence to discuss workload and job security at the company’s Newton Aycliffe site.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to expedite compensation for people required to move home for the construction of HS2.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In all cases, HS2 Ltd seeks to provide compensation in as timely a manner as possible. And the focus of the Department for Transport has always been on devising policies to ensure that transactions are progressed promptly. For instance, the streamlined residential blight (SRB) scheme was introduced to provide a quicker route for property owners to sell their home as the process does not require negotiation on the property value and disturbance items. This goes beyond what is mandated in law (through the Compensation Code).
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will support the introduction of a railcard equivalent with a discount of a third for off-peak rail travel for people (a) living and (b) working in the north of England.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There are a range of existing railcards that offer one third off most rail fares that are available to people living and working in the north of England; these include the Senior Railcard, the 26-30 Railcard and the Disabled Persons Railcard.
Any new discounts or concessions made to rail fares must consider the effect on a certain individual or group and be balanced against the financial impact on fare payers in general and the public purse.