Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK airports provide autism-friendly (a) facilities and (b) support; and whether she plans to introduce national standards for accessibility provision for neurodiverse passengers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Aviation must be accessible to all. To support this, the Department for Transport established the Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group, which published 19 recommendations on 16 July to improve aviation accessibility.
Two of these focus on non-visible impairments, including neurodivergence. One calls for pan-impairment requirements in airport accessibility reviews to ensure facilities, services, and support meet the needs of all passengers. The other recommends awareness campaigns to build confidence among passengers with non-visible impairments and improve understanding among staff and the public.
The Group will now support the sector in championing and implementing these recommendations.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of legal powers held by councils to tackle pavement-parked cars.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response as soon as possible.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to introduce free bus travel for people under the age of 22; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of transport costs on young people’s access to education, training, and employment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows how important affordable and reliable bus services are in enabling people to get to education, work and access vital services. On 1 January, we introduced a £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London to help passengers continue to access cheaper bus services and better opportunities. At the Spending Review we announced the cap would be extended until March 2027.
At present, the majority of bus services operate on a commercial basis by private operators, and any decisions regarding the level at which fares are set outside the scope of the £3 bus fare cap are commercial decisions for operators. Bus operators can choose to offer discounted fares for young people, and in the year ending March 2025, youth discounts were offered by at least one commercial bus operator in 73 out of 85 local authority areas in England outside London.
As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government allocated over £1 billion to support and improve bus services in 25/26 and make fares more affordable. This includes £712 million for local authorities, this can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has been allocated £20.8 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, which could include introducing new fares initiatives to reduce the cost of bus travel for young people.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help reduce rail fares.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are committed to reforming the overcomplicated fares system with a view to simplifying it. While it is our ambition, through public ownership, to deliver a more affordable railway, any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway.
This year's 4.6 per cent increase will be the lowest absolute increase in three years and will support the Government's long-term plan to achieve financial sustainability of the railway.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference his Department's consultation on Pavement parking: options for change, which closed on 22 November 2020, when he plans to publish his response to the consultation; and whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit pavement parking.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to our consultation and we are currently working through the policy options and the possible legislative opportunities for delivering them and as soon as those matters are certain we will publish our formal response.
The formal consultation response will be available to view at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department (a) has conducted and (b) plans to conduct any equality impact assessments on train operators' proposals for railway ticket office closures.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider all equality related needs and make this clear in their consultation.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vessels worked on the (a) maintenance and (b) construction of offshore wind farms on the crown estate in the latest period for which data is available; and how many and what proportion of these vessels are registered in the UK.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The Department for Transport does not hold this information.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the dismissal of workers by P&O on 17 March 2022, whether he has taken steps to strengthen the employment rights of UK seafarers.
Answered by Robert Courts
The government continues to promote and deliver its seafarer protections nine-point plan, and the wider objectives of Maritime 2050.
On 6 July, the government introduced the Seafarers’ Wages Bill to the House of Lords and published the Government’s Response to the Consultation on Seafarers’ Remuneration. The Bill seeks to ensure that seafarers working on vessels that regularly use UK ports are paid at least an equivalent rate to the UK National Minimum Wage, irrespective of flag or nationality.
This is in addition to other commitments in the nine-point plan, including BEIS’ forthcoming consultation on a “fire and rehire” statutory code, reform to longer-term working conditions for seafarers, and working with international partners to collaborate on seafarer protections and welfare.