Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to make a decision on the allocation of grant funding for the Middlewich Eastern Bypass programme.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This is being considered and a decision will be issued shortly.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an urgent decision on the full business case relating to the Middlewich Eastern Bypass to facilitate the commencement of construction.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Officials at DfT are assessing the business case of the scheme and will provide advice on whether to approve it as soon as possible.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department provided to Cheshire East Council for highways (a) maintenance and (b) improvements in the (i) 2022-23 and (ii) 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Over the two years in question, the Department has provided a total of over £30 million to Cheshire East Council for highway maintenance, as set out in the table below. Over the same period the Department has also provided over £4 million to Cheshire East Council for small-scale transport improvements through the Integrated Transport Block. Further details are available on gov.uk.
Table showing funding provided to Cheshire East Council
Funding Stream | 2022/23 (£m) | 2023/24 (£m) | Total (£m) |
Highways Maintenance Block | 7.249 | 7.249 | 14.498 |
Potholes Fund | 5.799 | 5.799 | 11.598 |
Increase for 2023/24 announced in Budget 2023 |
| 2.319 | 2.319 |
Increase for 2023/24 announced as part of Network North programme |
| 1.658 | 1.658 |
Total Maintenance | 13.048 | 17.025 | 30.073 |
Integrated Transport Block | 2.003 | 2.003 | 4.006 |
Total | 15.051 | 19.028 | 34.079 |
The highway maintenance funding being provided in 2023/24 is a 30% increase on 2022/23.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to facilitate the process for consideration of the Full Business Case for the Middlewich Eastern Bypass in the Congleton constituency.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Department for Transport officials are liaising with Cheshire East Council in relation to the Full Business Case for the Middlewich Bypass which they to expect to receive in September.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) CrossCountry and (b) East Midlands Railway restore full rail services to (a) Congleton and (b) Alsager following recent network changes and disruption.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Train services were reduced across the country in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic with some services reintroduced since. We welcome that passengers are returning to the railway in increasing numbers this summer. As they do, it will be for operators, working together, to propose the appropriate level of station calls and train services that reflect the changed patterns of demand and reduced revenue following the pandemic, and also provides a robust and punctual timetable.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further funding the Government can provide to help secure progress towards the opening of a new railway station for Middlewich.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We are assessing the bid made to round three of the Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund for the Middlewich Line and expect to announce the outcome later this year.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether new guidance has been issued to local councils on establishing priority for winter gritting since winter 2020-21.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 local highway authorities, such as Cheshire East Council, have a duty to maintain the highways network in their area. This duty includes the requirement “to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice”.
Whilst Government has no powers to intervene in these matters in relation to local authority roads and winter service planning and the treatment of roads for which they are responsible, the Department works with the UK Roads Liaison Group to provide guidance to local highway authorities on a range of issues. In June 2020, the UKRLG’s National Winter Service Group published Planning for Winter Service.
This autumn, Ministers will be writing to the leaders of all local highway authorities in England, outside London, reminding them of their responsibilities with regard to winter planning and the measures they expect them to take to ensure they can provide a safe highway network during the 2021-22 winter season.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the timetable for the next comprehensive review of countries under the covid-19 traffic light system for international travel.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The allocation of countries to the traffic light system will be reviewed every three weeks, unless concerning evidence means we need to act faster to protect public health.
The next review will take place in the week commencing 21st June 2021.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to progress consideration of reopening of the Mid Cheshire rail line and Middlewich railway station.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Having provided detailed feedback on a draft of the document in April, officials received an updated version of the Mid-Cheshire and Middlewich Station Strategic Outline Business Case from the Cheshire and Warrington LEP in October 2020, along with a request for feedback on their consultant’s suggestions for further work on it. The goal is to strengthen the case for the scheme’s potential inclusion within the Department’s Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline (RNEP).
Due to funding constraints, the LEP wish to progress this work in the next financial year, supported by co-funding from the Department. My officials plan to discuss with the LEP how this can best be considered and progressed. The third round of the Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund is also currently accepting applications.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance he has published for councils wanting to put in places measures under the Active Travel Scheme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government has announced ambitious plans for cycling and walking and has committed an unprecedented £2 billion of funding for active travel over the next 5 years. The details are set out in the Prime Minister’s Gear Change plan, published in July and can be viewed here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-plan-for-england.
The Department has also published design advice for cycling infrastructure which can be found in Local Transport Note 1/20 ‘Cycle Infrastructure Design’ which is at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycle-infrastructure-design-ltn-120.
To support the Active Travel Fund, the Department has also published additional Network Management Duty guidance on reallocating road space. This clearly sets out what the Department expects local authorities to do in making changes to their road layouts to encourage cycling and walking. This guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/reallocating-road-space-in-response-to-covid-19-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities.