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
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
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.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what powers local residents have to influence plans introduced under the Active Travel Scheme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department has set new conditions on local authorities receiving funding through the Active Travel Fund, requiring them to ensure schemes are properly consulted on and that the views of local residents and businesses have been taken into account. This includes requiring authorities to undertake appropriate surveys with local residents to inform the design and implementation of schemes. The updated Network Management Duty guidance published alongside the Tranche 2 allocations makes clear the importance of engaging with local communities to ensure schemes deliver for all. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reallocating-road-space-in-response-to-covid-19-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department plans to achieve under the Active Travel Scheme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department is making up to £225 million available to local authorities through the Active Travel Fund in 2020/21. The Fund supports the Prime Minister’s long term vision for cycling and walking, “Gear Change”, published in July. This funding will support the delivery of high quality infrastructure that will encourage more people to walk and cycle for shorter journeys. Increasing cycling and walking can help tackle some of the most challenging issues we face as a society – improving air quality, combatting climate change, improving health and wellbeing, addressing inequalities and tackling congestion on our roads.
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 the DVLA prioritises driving licence applications for key workers during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
During the national lockdown, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) recognised the impact that the pandemic would have on the UK’s vital supply chains and emergency workers. To address this, the DVLA provided a service to prioritise applications from key workers. This included a dedicated postal address for driving licence applications and specific support through the DVLA’s contact centre.
The DVLA is now processing applications from all customers as normal but is able to prioritise applications from key workers as necessary.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the budget is of (a) Phase 2b east and (b) Phase 2b west of High Speed Two.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Full Business Case for Phase One sets out the central cost estimate for the whole of Phase 2b at £39bn (including contingency). The funding allocations for HS2 including phase 2b are being reviewed as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2020, which is due to conclude later this Autumn.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many HS2 Ltd employees have been furloughed during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
HS2 Ltd has not furloughed any employees.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how residents of Congleton constituency can access the £225 million fund allocated by the Government to the improvement of cycling facilities.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Emergency Active Travel Fund is being released in two phases. The first tranche of £45 million will be released as soon as possible provided Local Authorities submit suitably ambitious plans to the Department. This is to enable work to begin at pace on emergency measures such as closing roads to through traffic, installing segregated cycle lanes and widening pavements. Cheshire East Unitary Authority has been indicatively allocated £155,000 for tranche one, and receipt of these funds is dependent on the completion of an application form outlining the authority’s plans. The application must be submitted by 5 June. The second tranche of £180m will be released later in the summer, again, subject to Local Authorities submitting plans that meet with the Department’s approval.
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 increasing accessibility at Sandbach railway station is included in the Government's disability action plan.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
I am committed to improving access at all stations. Last year we published the Inclusive Transport Strategy which sets out what we are doing to improve access across all transport modes. As part of this, we extended our Access for All programme with an additional £300m of funding. This provides accessibility improvements over and above those required by the rail industry itself. Stations are nominated by the rail industry bodies who can work alongside local authorities and Members of Parliament. Stations are selected for funding through a prioritisation and assessment process. Sandbach was not nominated for this funding.
We will continue to seek further opportunities, and funding, to make more improvements.