Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his press release of 21 January 2022 on reducing train announcements, whether British Transport Police announcements with counter-terror information, and details of how to report concerns via the See it. Say it. Sorted campaign, will be decreased or removed from train announcements.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Train operating companies are required to make security announcements at a set frequency to encourage the public to be vigilant for all types of crime and to report this to either Rail Staff or the British Transport Police. This requirement has not changed, but we will be ensuring that rail operators do not make more announcements than they are required to do and to avoid unnecessary repetitions of the message.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the DVLA is taking to improve response times for renewing driving licences when there is a medical consideration.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process applications as quickly as possible.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been working with fewer operational staff on site to allow for social distancing, in line with Welsh Government requirements. This, along with ongoing industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union and an increased demand for DVLA services, has caused delays. Drivers with a medical condition may experience further delays as the DVLA is often reliant on receiving information from medical professionals to ensure drivers can meet the required medical standards.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the findings and recommendations of the William's Rail Review.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The government is committed to bringing forward vital sector-wide reforms and commissioned Keith Williams to carry out the first root and branch review of the rail industry in a generation.
The Williams Review was in its final stages at the outbreak of Covid-19.
The reforms are as important as ever and the government intends on publishing a White Paper with details of its plans for rail reform when the course of the pandemic becomes clearer.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the publication of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch's report into the sinking of the Solstice.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
This case is still in the investigation phase. I expect the final report to be published in July 2018.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the efficacy of the enforcement of disabled parking bays in supermarket car parks.
Answered by Jesse Norman
My Department has made no assessment of enforcement of disabled parking bays in supermarket car parks. Privately owned car parks are not subject to the provisions of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the terms and conditions under which they are operated are a matter for the car park owner. Owners of private car parks are covered by the Equality Act, and as such they are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that disabled people have the same access to the service as non-disabled people.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 75 of the Budget, how much of the £130 million announced for repairs of roads and bridges he plans will be spent in Calderdale; and when he expects Calderdale council to be in receipt of such funds.
Answered by Andrew Jones
From the total funding of £180 million the Department for Transport has made available to assist local highway authorities affected by this winter storms, including £130 million as announced in the Budget 2016, we have agreed to allocate a total of £25 million to Calderdale Council to help repair damage to the local highway infrastructure for which they are responsible. This includes the £5.5 million announced in January 2016 to help replace Elland Bridge.
This funding is in addition to the funding of £20.5 million we are providing to the council for local highways maintenance funding to 2020/21.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to ensure that all rail users have access to rail fares data which can help them find the cheapest split-ticket fares.
Answered by Claire Perry
Rail fares information for all journeys on the national rail network is available on Train Operating Company and the National Rail Enquiries website. This also includes journey planning information. This can be used by anyone to check fares and find any split ticket opportunity.
The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) who represent the rail industry make the underlying data available, free of charge, under the terms of a licence arrangement. There are now a number of websites which offer a service to search for split ticket combinations.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to communicate to learner drivers that their tests have been cancelled in the event of strike action.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) sent emails to candidates who had tests booked during the recent industrial action. The emails advised candidates about the industrial action and reminded them that they could change their test date online without loss of fee by giving three clear working days’ notice. The emails also advised candidates that if they came for a test and it was cancelled because of strike action they could claim out of pocket expenses, and that their test would be rebooked automatically for the earliest possible date at no further charge.
DVSA alerted driving instructors and other stakeholders who are signed up to DVSA’s email alert system, proactively contacted driving instructor associations, displayed posters in driving test centres and published advice for candidates on the GOV.UK website. DVSA also used its social media channels to respond to queries and to direct customers to the guidance on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) implications for his policies and (b) reasons for the finding of the Civil Service People Survey 2015 that Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency staff rated leadership and management the lowest in the civil service.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) acknowledges that its 2015 Civil Service People Survey results are disappointing, and it is determined to improve its leadership and management of change. This is no easy task for an organisation of 4,500 people working across more than 500 sites. It has begun implementing actions to improve staff engagement, including creating forums for specific groups of staff to contribute to change, and Directorate and team meetings focussing specifically on staff engagement. It is also sending out its corporate senior leaders to talk to, and more importantly, to listen to its public-facing operational staff.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Calder Valley Line will be used as a diversion during the electrification of the Manchester to Leeds via Stalybridge line; and what assessment he has made of the merits of those diverted trains calling at Sowerby Bridge.
Answered by Andrew Jones
As announced on 30 September, Network Rail are working with the Department and Rail North to develop a new plan for electrification of the TransPennine line to focus on delivering key passenger benefits as quickly as possible. In his letter to the Secretary of State, Sir Peter Hendy, the chairman of Network Rail, stated that the planning of this work will be concluded by the end of 2017. The intention is to use the Calder Valley Line as a diversion during the works on the North Transpennine Line via Stalybridge. The details of the calling patterns of the diverted trainsare not yet determined, as the works need to be planned first. The Department and Rail North will work with the new train operators over the next few years to plan the calling patterns. The new train operators will take over from April 2016.