Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how long the average commute to work is by (a) bus and (b) train in (a) Wansbeck constituency, (b) the North East, (c) England and (d) the UK.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The average commute to work distance for employees by (a) bus and (b) train in (b) the North East and (c) England is shown in the table below. DfT do not routinely collect the required data to provide information for (a) Wansbeck constituency and (d) the UK.
| Average commute (miles) by Bus | Average commute (miles) by Train |
(b) North East | 5.5 | N/A |
(c) England | 5.4 | 22.1 |
Source: 2009 - 2018 National Travel Survey for English residents travelling in Great Britain
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents involving horses on public highways were recorded in (a) each of the last 10 years and (b) the last 12 months.
Answered by George Freeman
Data on personal injury road accidents reported to the police held by the Department for Transport includes information on horses either as a vehicle (when they are ridden) or as a carriageway hazard for the accident (when they are not ridden and in the carriageway). When they are involved in an accident as a carriageway hazard, horses cannot be separated out from other animals.
The number of accidents involving ridden horses and where ‘animal (excluding ridden horses) in carriageway’ was recorded as a carriageway hazard on public highways in Great Britain is shown in the tables below.
By year, 2009-2018
|
|
|
Year | Accidents involving ridden horses | Accidents where ‘animal (except ridden horse) in carriageway’ was recorded as a carriageway hazard |
2009 | 102 | 834 |
2010 | 126 | 864 |
2011 | 135 | 851 |
2012 | 127 | 804 |
2013 | 108 | 734 |
2014 | 115 | 692 |
2015 | 101 | 610 |
2016 | 103 | 556 |
2017 | 84 | 477 |
2018 | 73 | 376 |
|
| Source: DfT, STATS19 |
By month, 2018
|
|
|
Month | Accidents involving ridden horses | Accidents where ‘animal (except ridden horse) in the carriageway’ was recorded as a carriageway hazard |
January | 3 | 23 |
February | 3 | 31 |
March | 8 | 22 |
April | 9 | 27 |
May | 6 | 38 |
June | 7 | 27 |
July | 5 | 30 |
August | 4 | 43 |
September | 12 | 33 |
October | 8 | 36 |
November | 2 | 33 |
December | 6 | 33 |
|
| Source: DfT, STATS19 |
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to incentivise people to use public transport since 2010.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Bus Services Act 2017 provides the tools local authorities need such as Enhanced Partnerships and Franchising to improve local bus services and increase passenger numbers. Our forthcoming Bus Open Data Digital Service will transform the experience for passengers by making it easier for them to work out the best options available.
The Government has committed to provide £150 million of funding to support the delivery of smart and integrated ticketing across local transport and rail services in the north. Transport for the North, working closely with my Department, is in the final stages of procuring a digital platform that would make data on fares available online.
The Government has introduced a requirement for new franchises to introduce ‘one-click’ automated Delay Repay compensation, to make it easier for passengers to claim compensation when they have suffered delays.
The Government has also rolled out smart ticketing on rail - smart tickets are now accepted at rail stations across almost all of the network, with all franchised operators offering smart cards and/or barcode ticketing.
We now want to ensure that across regional and urban commuter areas, smart ticketing can deliver the kind of pay-as-you-go structure that is used in London and make journeys easier.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the integration and cooperation of bus and train services.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Decisions on how best to co-ordinate bus and rail services are best tackled locally. The needs of all public transport users must be taken into account when considering how to manage the different public transport networks. Changes at one station or location may benefit passengers there but may be a disadvantage to passengers further along the route.
The Department is currently in the process of building the Bus Open Data Digital Service which will serve as a platform for bus operators to provide their route, timetable, location, and fares data. This data can then be used by application developers to build products and services to help passengers plan their journeys, including onward journeys from railway stations.
The Williams Rail Review is looking at how strategic planning can be improved, including at the local level, so train services and stations can be integrated with local bus services and cycling routes.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made by the Government on the proposed re-opening of the Ashington, Tyne and Blyth train line in Northumberland.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The re-introduction of passenger services on the freight only line between Ashington and Newcastle to improve connectivity between communities in South East Northumberland is being promoted by Northumberland County Council and they have recently agreed to fund further scheme development work by Network Rail.
The Department for Transport and Transport for the North (TfN) are happy to provide advice to the council to refine their business case.
We have recently published details of our new approach for rail network enhancement proposals and guidance for promoters and investors on market led proposals. We will be taking TfN’s advice on the priorities for the North of England. Further information is available on the GOV website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/invitation-for-investors-to-invest-in-rail-infrastructure
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for work commencing on the proposed duelling of the A1 road between Morpeth and Ellingham in Northumberland.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
As part of the Development Consent Order process, the Statutory Consultation for the Morpeth to Felton dualling is scheduled to start in June 2018 and Statutory Consultation for the Alnwick to Ellingham dualling, is scheduled to start in 2019. Highways England’s latest Delivery Plan commits to start of works on both schemes in 2019/20.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the capital spend on transport was per head of population in (a) the North East, (b) Northumberland and (c) Wansbeck constituency in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Figures on public sector spend per head of population at a regional level are available as part of the government’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics. However, the benefits from this spend on transport interventions will often accrue to motorists or passengers far beyond the residents of the immediate local area or region. This is particularly the case for spending on motorways, trunk roads, and the railway which connect cities and regions across the country. Although the CRA attempts to allocate expenditure on the basis of the regions that benefit from the spend, rather than where it is made, inevitably allocations are not always precise.
The latest CRA statistics (2016) for the North East of England suggest that in 2015-16, total government expenditure on transport per head of population was £182. This information is available for government office regions only, and therefore is unavailable for Northumberland or the Wansbeck constituency.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken by the Driver and Licensing Agency to reissue driving licences which have been withdrawn on medical grounds.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) deals with more than 600,000 medical cases every year. The length of time taken to deal with an application depends on the medical condition and whether further information is required from medical professionals.
The DVLA has made major improvements in this area, including introducing an electronic service which allows drivers to notify the DVLA online about certain medical conditions. The DVLA has recruited 100 extra casework staff as well as more doctors to deal with complex cases. Three nurses have also been employed to help deal with certain cases and further recruitment is underway.
A dedicated team has been put in place which is responsible for continuous improvement of medical driver licensing services and communications. Letters to customers and medical professionals have been improved, helping to ensure that the DVLA receives the information it needs as quickly as possible.
These changes have produced significant and sustainable improvements. A licensing decision took an average of 37 working days to be made between April and December 2016 for all medical cases. This is down from 53 working days between April 2015 and March 2016.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on England's roads.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The British Road Safety statement sets out the Department for Transport’s vision, values and priorities in relation to British road safety. This has led to a significant programme of activity including, providing £175 million to improve England’s 50 most dangerous roads, increasing penalties for drivers using hand held mobile phones, consulting on allowing learner drivers on motorways and improving motorcycle training. The statement can be viewed on gov.uk.