Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to meet the Inclusive Transport Strategy target to develop a monitoring and enforcement framework for mandatory bus driver disability awareness training by spring 2019.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Department for Transport publishes annual bus statistics which include an assessment of the proportion of operators requiring relevant staff to undertake disability awareness training consistent with relevant legislation. The most recent release indicated that 98% of staff worked for bus operators that mandated this training. The Department continues to engage with industry and regulators to ensure a proportionate approach to enforcement is followed.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has held with the (a) Scottish Government and (b) British Transport Police on tackling crime on Scotland's railways.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Policing is a devolved matter and policing in Scotland is therefore devolved to the Scottish Government. I am not aware of any recent discussions involving the Secretary of State for Transport.
The policing of the railway in Scotland is delivered by the British Transport Police (BTP) who work closely with train operating companies and the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of train cancellations in 2018.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The industry definition for cancellations includes those trains which did not complete their full journey or failed to call at one or more stations. Around 4% of planned services met this criteria between 7 January 2018 and 5 January 2019.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Government's draft EU Withdrawal Agreement on the the financial viability of UK airports.
Answered by Lord Grayling
The Withdrawal Agreement sets out the terms of a time-limited implementation period. During this time air services and businesses, including airports, will be able to continue as they do now without having to comply with a different set of rules and regulations. The Political Declaration sets out the broad terms of our future relationship with the EU and signals the ambition of both sides to agree a Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement that will provide for market access for UK and EU airlines. This agreement will therefore support the continued competitiveness of the UK aviation sector.