Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward proposals to require the DVLA immediately to (a) suspend the driving licences of people suspected to have drug-related seizures and (b) require such people to undergo medical tests before their suspension can be lifted.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The law allows the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to revoke a driving licence after appropriate medical investigations have been carried out. In cases where a drug related seizure has been confirmed after medical investigations, the DVLA is able to immediately revoke a licence for a minimum of six months. The licence will only be restored when it has been confirmed that the driver has been free from drug misuse or dependence for an appropriate period. It will normally be necessary for independent medical assessment, including appropriate tests and consultant reports, to be carried out before the driving licence is restored.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what tests a person convicted of death by careless or dangerous driving is required to undertake being allowed to drive again.
Answered by Andrew Jones
If a person is convicted by the Courts of death by careless or dangerous driving and disqualified he/she will need to retake a theory test and an extended driving test in order to get their full driving licence back. An extended driving test must last no less than 60 minutes.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 12356, when he expects Network Rail to publish an update to its industry electrification strategy.
Answered by Claire Perry
It remains the Department’s expectation that Network Rail will publish the industry electrification strategy as a draft for consultation in early 2016, taking into account Sir Peter Hendy’s report of Network Rail’s programme of rail investment.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November to Question 13665, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the proposal from High Speed UK on high speed rail.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The proposals suggested by High Speed UK are similar to the Reverse ‘E’ considered by HS2 Ltd in their 2010 report submitted to the Government on the demand and business case analysis of the alternative proposals. It was considered that this proposal could not offer better journey times from London/Birmingham to Manchester/Liverpool than HS2 trains continuing to the north-west from Lichfield via the West Coast Main Line. The Environmental Statement for the Proposed Scheme, which was prepared to accompany the deposit of the Bill, addressed the history of route alternatives and our ongoing consultation and engagement. Ministers considered the advice presented and views from a wide range of sources, and based on the evidence the decision was taken to proceed with the ‘Y’ shaped network.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the location of the new HS2 station in Leeds is decided with a view to accommodating HS3/Transnorth in future.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government and Transport for the North are working to deliver the Northern Transport Strategy, which recognises that the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) Programme must complement HS2’s transformative north-south connectivity with radically improved east-west connections, multiplying and sharing the benefits across the North. The Government and TfN are working closely together to ensure that HS2 and proposals for NPR are complementary and integrated and this includes plans for Leeds station.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much revenue the DVLA has received from selling driver registration plate numbers to car parking companies in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The table below shows the income received by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) from processing requests for information from private parking management companies over the last five financial years. The DVLA sets fees to recover the cost of processing requests and does not make a profit from providing this information.
Year | Total Revenue |
2010/11 | £2,910,850 |
2011/12 | £3,657,859 |
2012/13 | £4,831,355 |
2013/14 | £6,097,898 |
2014/15 | £7,573,298 |
The DVLA releases vehicle keeper information to those who can show reasonable cause for receiving it. The following table shows the number of requests from private car parking management companies for vehicle keeper information processed via electronic links over the last five financial years.
Year | Electronic Requests |
2010/11 | 1,178,034 |
2011/12 | 1,574,397 |
2012/13 | 1,897,572 |
2013/14 | 2,430,130 |
2014/15 | 3,083,276 |
The vast majority of requests for vehicle keeper information are made electronically but information can also be requested using a paper application form. However, these requests come from a range of customers including private car parking management companies and the figures are not broken down by customer type.
The DVLA meets regularly with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to discuss a range of issues, including the provision of information for private parking management. The ICO’s most recent audit resulted in a high assurance rating relating to the release of information from the DVLA’s vehicle record.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the proposal from High Speed UK on high speed rail has been rejected.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The proposals suggested by High Speed UK are similar to the Reverse ‘E’ considered by HS2 Ltd in their 2010 report submitted to the Government on the demand and business case analysis of the alternative proposals. It was considered that this proposal could not offer better journey times from London/Birmingham to Manchester/Liverpool than HS2 trains continuing to the north-west from Lichfield via the West Coast Main Line. Ministers considered the advice presented and views from a wide range of sources, and based on the evidence the decision was taken to proceed with the ‘Y’ shaped network.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of driver registration plate numbers the DVLA has sold to car parking companies in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The table below shows the income received by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) from processing requests for information from private parking management companies over the last five financial years. The DVLA sets fees to recover the cost of processing requests and does not make a profit from providing this information.
Year | Total Revenue |
2010/11 | £2,910,850 |
2011/12 | £3,657,859 |
2012/13 | £4,831,355 |
2013/14 | £6,097,898 |
2014/15 | £7,573,298 |
The DVLA releases vehicle keeper information to those who can show reasonable cause for receiving it. The following table shows the number of requests from private car parking management companies for vehicle keeper information processed via electronic links over the last five financial years.
Year | Electronic Requests |
2010/11 | 1,178,034 |
2011/12 | 1,574,397 |
2012/13 | 1,897,572 |
2013/14 | 2,430,130 |
2014/15 | 3,083,276 |
The vast majority of requests for vehicle keeper information are made electronically but information can also be requested using a paper application form. However, these requests come from a range of customers including private car parking management companies and the figures are not broken down by customer type.
The DVLA meets regularly with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to discuss a range of issues, including the provision of information for private parking management. The ICO’s most recent audit resulted in a high assurance rating relating to the release of information from the DVLA’s vehicle record.