Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) extending the forthcoming national £2 bus fare cap to tram services and (b) providing funding to local transport authorities and tram operators to enable tram fares to be capped at the same level as the bus fare cap.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As buses are the most widely used form of public transport in England, the Department is prioritising support for lowering bus fares as part of the Government's plan to give families more breathing space. Given the finite funding available, the Government has focused its investment where it can have the greatest impact for the largest number of passengers.
Responsibility for light rail, including tramways, is devolved in England. Local authorities own and are responsible for the operation and financial sustainability of their systems, including the setting of fares. Local transport authorities have received significant Government funding settlements to support local transport priorities and may choose to use this funding to support tram services or reduce tram fares where that aligns with local priorities.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if there are plans to extend the £2 bus fare cap to tram networks such as Sheffield's Supertram.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As buses are the most widely used form of public transport in England, the Department is prioritising support for lowering bus fares as part of the Government's plan to give families more breathing space. Given the finite funding available, the Government has focused its investment where it can have the greatest impact for the largest number of passengers.
Responsibility for light rail, including tramways, is devolved in England. Local authorities own and are responsible for the operation and financial sustainability of their systems, including the setting of fares. Local transport authorities have received significant Government funding settlements to support local transport priorities and may choose to use this funding to support tram services or reduce tram fares where that aligns with local priorities.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing multi-year funding for Active Travel England grants.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Following publication of the Devolution White Paper in 2024, the majority of grants to local authorities are consolidated and are provided on a multi-year funding basis, including Active Travel England funding. This reduces burdens on authorities and allows greater flexibility to spend on local priorities. This funding is now paid out as part of wider integrated and consolidated funding arrangements for 2026/27 onwards.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the proportion of short stages in towns and cities in England that are currently walked and cycled.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates of the proportion of short stages in towns and cities in England that are walked and cycled are obtained from the National Travel Survey. In 2024, 48% of stages of less than 5 miles made by residents of towns and cities in England were walked or cycled.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of regulations on motorcycles towing trailers; and whether she plans to (a) review and (b) amend those regulations.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There has not been a recent assessment of the adequacy of regulations on towing of trailers by motorcycles, and there are no plans to review or amend the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations in relation to these matters. Nothing has been identified to the Department to indicate that there is a need to amend Regulations at this time.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the Driving licensing review - call for evidence on opportunities for changes to the driver licensing regime.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The results of the Call for Evidence were published on 6 June 2023.
The results are being analysed and we will confirm the next steps in due course.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of public electric vehicle charging points that have a speed of less than (a) 8kW and (b) 50kW.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Data on public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, held by the Department for Transport, is sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform Zapmap.
The data supplied to the Department from Zapmap does not break down the speed of a public charging device as requested within this question.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the current average waiting time for a practical driving test in each region.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s recovery measures have created over 39,000 extra car practical driving test slots each month, and, since April 2021, over 1 million additional test slots.
As of 10 July 2023, there were 547,076 car practical driving tests booked, and 39,535 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.
The average waiting time for a car practical driving test nationally (June 2023 average) is 18.4 weeks.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people waiting for a practical driving test.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s recovery measures have created over 39,000 extra car practical driving test slots each month, and, since April 2021, over 1 million additional test slots.
As of 10 July 2023, there were 547,076 car practical driving tests booked, and 39,535 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.
The average waiting time for a car practical driving test nationally (June 2023 average) is 18.4 weeks.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish his Department's assessment of the likelihood of meeting its objectives for increased active travel under confirmed funding levels for April 2021 to March 2025.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government’s most recent assessment of progress against these and other objectives was set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy report to Parliament in July 2022, a copy of which is available in the House Libraries. The Department will provide an updated assessment in its next report to Parliament in due course.