Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the accounting officer for his Department has requested a written ministerial direction for expenditure on contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Lord Grayling
Bernadette Kelly, the accounting officer for DfT sought a written ministerial direction on 7th February 2018 for expenditure on EU Exit preparations. The details can be found here
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-exit-preparations-dft-ministerial-direction.
No other ministerial directions have been sought.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to introduce mandatory disability awareness training for all taxi and minicab drivers.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) provide a vital service for many disabled people. However, as of March this year, only 38% of licensing authorities required drivers to complete disability awareness and equality training; I would urge the remainder to use their existing licensing powers to ensure that all taxi and PHV drivers have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide every passenger with the assistance they require.
Ministers are considering the recommendations made in the report of the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing, including those intended to improve accessibility. A Government response will be issued in due course.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the criteria are for allocating funds under the Safer Roads Fund.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
As highlighted in my June Written Ministerial Statement, the Department has invested £100 million to improve the 50 most dangerous stretches of ‘A’ roads in England.
The roads chosen for funding were based on Road Safety Foundation analysis, the key components of which were the number of people killed or seriously injured, the traffic flow of the road and the likelihood of future collisions based on the characteristics of the road.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the responses to the public consultation, Proposals for the creation of a Major Road Network, published in December 2017.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Department is aiming to publish a response to the consultation shortly, with a view to releasing a network map and further details on the scheme selection process by the end of the year.
It will then be for the relevant local authority, working with regional partners, to make the case for MRN funding for particular schemes.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to include the A68 in the major roads network.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Department is aiming to publish a response to the consultation shortly, with a view to releasing a network map and further details on the scheme selection process by the end of the year.
It will then be for the relevant local authority, working with regional partners, to make the case for MRN funding for particular schemes.