Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects tactile edging to be introduced to platforms at Doncaster railway station; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We remain fully committed to fitting tactile paving at all remaining mainline railway stations in Britain by the end of 2025 at the latest. At Doncaster Network Rail have completed preparatory tarmac work on three platforms and will complete works on those platforms in July. All remaining platforms at Doncaster will have their tactiles installed before the end of this calendar year. In the meantime, safety announcements are being made to advice blind and partially sighted passengers of the current lack of tactiles at platform edges.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's timeline is for the southbound carriageway of the A1 motorway (a) north and (b) south of the Hatfield Tunnel to be (i) repaired and (ii) existing defects and potholes in the road surface remedied.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The surfacing on the A1 motorways (M) near the Hatfield tunnel is currently under review by National Highways to ensure that the road remains safe and serviceable for all road users.
The A1(M) is inspected on a weekly basis, currently on Tuesdays. During NH’s inspections it categorises all defects identified according to their severity. The most severe defects, which are a potential risk to road users, are made safe within 24 hours and permanently repaired within 28 days. Less severe defects are monitored during the weekly inspections and repaired if they deteriorate or within six months, normally alongside other planned works. This arrangement enables us to keep the roads safe whilst minimizing the disruption to road users from roadworks.
All of the defects on the A1(M) in the most severe category have been repaired.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of heavier electric vehicles using the public highway on the durability and longevity of existing road surfaces; if he will publish details of that assessment; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Increasing volumes of electric vehicles (EVs) are likely to have minimal impacts on roads in general, including on deterioration and longevity. Vehicles have been increasing in weight for many years, driven by consumer choice and improving safety and environmental performance technologies. While some EVs are heavier than their internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalents, there are many examples where EVs are lighter than the heaviest ICE vehicles currently on the market.
Maximum axle weight or gross vehicle weight limits are in place to avoid excessive road wear and damage. Heavy commercial vehicles, rather than passenger vehicles, are the dominant factor determining road design and weight limits.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to promote and facilitate the uptake of new road repair and maintenance technology by local highway authorities in England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department works closely with the highways sector to promote best practice and to encourage innovation and trialling of new technologies. In 2019, the Department provided £22.9 million for a ‘Live Labs’ innovation programme, managed by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT), as a way of encouraging innovation across the English local road network.
Based on the previous Live Labs success, the Department has this year confirmed an additional £30 million for a second round of the ADEPT Live Labs programme, with a focus on decarbonising local highways infrastructure and assets to improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of local highways maintenance and repair. This will see seven projects, grouped by four interconnected carbon-related themes, being led by local highway authorities working alongside commercial and academic partners.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many instances of cable theft affecting train services have been reported in the last 12 months for which figures are available; what steps the Government is taking to help reduce this number; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police (BTP) recorded 214 incidents of live cable theft in 2022-2023.
The Government recognises the disruption that can be caused by cable theft and strongly supports BTP’s engagement with the rail industry, and operational activities to tackle it. The BTP-led National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership works to problem solve, disrupt and reduce all aspects of metal and infrastructure crime across the UK. BTP also have dedicated disruption teams which proactively target metal crime hotspots. The Force conducts a national training programme to upskill police forces and partners across the UK to tackle metal crime.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to evaluate the climate resilience of (a) existing road surfaces and (b) different asphalt mixes for use in road construction and maintenance.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department is working closely with the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Resilience, Biodiversity & Climate Board to assess the impact of climate change on the highway network and to develop guidance for local highway authorities to make their highway assets, including road surfaces, more resilient.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of placing highways maintenance funding on a multi-year basis.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
After reviewing funding options, to help local authorities plan effectively for managing their roads and improve asset management, the Government has moved to a three-year funding settlement for local highway maintenance amounting to approximately £915 million of capital funding per year. This funding covers the financial years 2022/23 to 2024/25 and is for local highway authorities across England outside of London and the Mayoral Combined Authorities which receive separate funding.
Mayoral Combined Authorities are receiving City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements amounting to £5.7 billion over five years, which includes funding for maintenance for their local highway networks.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of TS2010 asphalt for (a) the Strategic Road Network and (b) local roads in England.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The TS2010 is a specification that has been adopted in Scotland because it is considered that it offers durability benefits that are tailored to their environmental conditions. For the Strategic Road Network in England, National Highways has a wide range of Thin Surface Course Systems products some of which are very similar to TS2010 which provide the associated durability benefits while meeting National Highways’ additional safety requirements. For local roads in England, Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the adequacy of the strength of (a) multi-story carparks and (b) bridges at safely bearing the additional weight of electric vehicles; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The adequacy of the strength of multi-storey carparks and other off-street parking is the responsibility of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.
Local highway authorities are responsible for maintenance and management of their respective local highway networks, including any bridges that they own. It is for local authorities to decide what weight limits, if any, should be applied to any of their bridges because of the type or structural condition of the bridge or its inability to support heavy vehicles.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using road surface toppings in England identical or similar in composition to those being used on the strategic road network in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The specification for road surface toppings used in the whole of the UK is defined in the Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works (MCHW) and Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB), both these documents are owned and manged by National Highways. This includes general content (used by all organisations) and national specific content for National Highways, Transport Scotland, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure. National specific content is included for asphalt surfacing materials based on local requirements linked to types of road, traffic levels, environmental factors (such as weather) and noise. These local requirements are not consistent across and between the road authorities; therefore, each organisation has different ranges of options.