Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of vehicles on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database are not taxed in (a) England and (b) Easington constituency.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The outcome of the most recent roadside survey, which provides an estimate of the number of unlicensed vehicles in traffic, was published in December 2023. This showed that 98.7 per cent of vehicles across the UK were correctly licensed, which equates to an estimated 498,000 unlicensed vehicles and an evasion rate of 1.3 per cent. The estimated evasion rate in England was also 1.3 per cent. This information is not held by parliamentary constituency. A copy of the roadside survey can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/vehicle-excise-duty-evasion-statistics-2023/vehicle-excise-duty-evasion-statistics-2023.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of vehicles on the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency database do not have a valid MOT in (a) England and (b) Easington constituency.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) database records every vehicle that has an MOT, and the dates the MOTs were carried out. Authorities, such as the Police, have access to that data should they need to check if a vehicle has a valid MOT. There is no comparable database for vehicles which do not have a valid MOT.
As such, it is not possible to determine the number, or proportion, of vehicles being used illegally without an MOT in England or the constituency of Easington.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department last (a) reviewed the evidence base underpinning its demand forecasts and (b) update its forecasts of travel demand across modes as set out in its Transport Analysis Guidance.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We review evidence underpinning our transport demand forecasts across modes regularly and publish forecasts every few years, consistent with the proportionate update process in the Transport Analysis Guidance. Projections of travel demand across modes were last published in 2022 which included, for the first time, a set of Common Analytical Scenarios to illustrate the impact of different plausible futures on demand. The projections are available online, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tempro-downloads. The Department will publish an update in due course.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Director General of the Road Transport Group in his Department is responsible for co-ordinating Network North.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Directors General across the Department are responsible for looking at transport in an integrated way and from the perspective of the places and public they serve, with each Director General having cross-cutting responsibilities. The unit that provides a central co-ordinating function across the many projects and policy areas included within Network North reports to the Director General of the Road Transport Group.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the European Train Control signalling system is classified as a (a) renewal or (b) enhancement for the purposes of Network Rail’s budget.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of guidance issued by his Department to (a) Network Rail, (b) National Highways and (c) the Great British Railways transition team on potential conflicts of interest.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport’s (DfT) Arm’s Length Bodies have a duty to manage public money responsibly and effectively and in a transparent way. This includes managing any potential conflicts of interest effectively through the implementation of an effective and appropriate Conflicts of Interest (CoI) policy, in line with the Cabinet Office’s Procurement Policy Note: Applying Exclusions in Public Procurement, Managing Conflicts of Interest and Whistleblowing (PPN 04/21).
As the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) employs people from across the rail industry, DfT’s Rail Reform team has been working closely with them to maintain and improve current information sharing processes, including ensuring NDAs have adequate provisions to protect all parties where potential conflicts of interest exist. This includes ensuring GBRTT have adequate provisions in place when working with Train Operating Companies (TOCs) and contractors.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department provides to officials on the use of the social media platforms (a) X and (b) LinkedIn.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department’s policy for the use of social media platforms X and LinkedIn is available online, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/about/social-media-use. The Civil Service Code provides wider guidance in relation to the conduct of civil servants and is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code.
The Department for Transport and its agencies (DVLA, DVSA, MCGA, VCA and ATE) follow the guidance set out in these policies. Further guidance is provided to all staff in the Social Media Policy for DfT and Executive Agencies, available on the staff intranet.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 120953 on Network Rail: Finance and pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2024 to Question 18100 on Railways: Finance, what assessment he has made of the causes of the differential in the rail enhancements budget for 2019 to 2024.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The answer provided 25 November 2020 to Question 120953 on “Network Rail: Finance” referred to the budget for rail enhancements during the years 2019-2024. The answer provided 12 March 2024 to Question 18100 on “Railways: Finance” referred to the spend on rail enhancements in each year of that period. The comparison is therefore of a budget, stated as £9.4bn after Spending Review 2020, to the spend against that budget estimated at £8.63bn over the same period. There is no differential in the rail enhancements budget implied by that comparison. The difference in the figures comes from a degree of underspending against budget in each year of the first 4 years of the period.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the roads good vehicles travelling to Europe statistics for April 2023 to March 2024; and when this series will conclude.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Road Goods Travelling to Europe statistical series is currently undergoing a quality review due to a potential supplier data issue. We are working with our data supplier to assess this issue, and updates to this statistical series will resume once the matter has been resolved. Dates for future publications will be communicated via our release calendar (available at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/about/statistics) as soon as possible. There are no immediate plans to cease this statistical series, and any future variation would be consulted on as per Code of Practice for Statistics.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the accuracy of projected future rail passenger volumes made by consultancy Steer in its report entitled Research on Long-Term Passenger Demand Growth, published on 19 February 2024.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is aware and has reviewed the report entitled Research on Long-Term Passenger Demand Growth by Steer. Rail demand is uncertain – especially over the long term. DfT produces a range of different future rail demand and revenue scenarios in line with our published guidance which have a number of uses including supporting investment decisions. The projections produced by RIA/Steer are not aligned methodologically with the Department’s Common Analytical Scenarios (CAS).