Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Gatwick Airport expansion on the (a) capacity and (b) reliability of the rail network serving that airport; and what steps she is taking to mitigate potential disruption to (i) passengers and (ii) local communities.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In her letter of 27 February 2025, my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport indicated that she was minded to approve the proposed development of the Gatwick Airport Northern Runway Project based on the principles of the requirements set out by the Examining Authority in its report. It is now for the applicant to respond. Both the letter and the report are published on The Planning Inspectorate’s website - https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/TR020005 .
The effects of the proposed development on the rail network, its users and local communities will be taken into account in the final decision, though my Right Honourable friend will note both Network Rail and rail operators were consulted as part of the application and have not objected to the proposals. However as this remains a live planning application with the Department, I cannot comment further on those issues at the current time.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of the cost of railcards; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure rail travel remains affordable for (a) young people, (b) older passengers and (c) people on lower incomes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The price of most railcards increased by £5 from 2 March 2025, except the Disabled Persons Railcard. Railcards still offer significant savings on rail fares with the average railcard holder saving up to £158 annually. In many cases, the price of railcards has not increased in a decade, during which time the cost of running the railway and the subsidy provided to the railway by the taxpayer has increased significantly. This small price increase helps to balance the funding for the railway between passengers and taxpayers.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department has spent on infrastructure upgrades for (a) ports and (b) airports in preparation for the implementation of the Entry/Exit System.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
EES will need to be implemented at the juxtaposed controls in the UK. In general, ports are expected to provide infrastructure relating to border controls without government funding. Given the specific issues caused by the need to implement EES, the previous Government awarded a £3.5m grant to each of Port of Dover, Eurotunnel and Eurostar to assist with achieving the optimum implementation models at these juxtaposed controls.
My Department, National Highways and Kent County Council are working with Port of Dover on minor capacity improvements to the A20/Union Street junction to support the port’s new Western Docks EES processing facility. This is being led by Kent County Council.
British airports, and maritime ports other than Port of Dover, will not be implementing EES, as these ports do not host juxtaposed controls.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will have discussions with East Sussex County Council on ensuring timely progress on (a) the Bishopstone Junction and (b) other key infrastructure improvements.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Integrated National Transport Strategy will be published later this year following collaborative and open engagement with our stakeholders and will meet the manifesto commitment to develop a “long-term strategy for transport”.
Regarding the A259 South Coast Road Corridor scheme, all future spend is subject to the Spending Review and until that is completed, I am unable to provide assurances on any individual project. Local authority scheme promoters will be updated on the future of schemes in due course.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to (a) publish her long-term transport strategy and (b) make a decision on the Major Road Network project put forward by East Sussex County Council.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Integrated National Transport Strategy will be published later this year following collaborative and open engagement with our stakeholders and will meet the manifesto commitment to develop a “long-term strategy for transport”.
Regarding the A259 South Coast Road Corridor scheme, all future spend is subject to the Spending Review and until that is completed, I am unable to provide assurances on any individual project. Local authority scheme promoters will be updated on the future of schemes in due course.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will conduct a feasibility study into the restoration of the Wealden railway line from Lewes to Uckfield; whether an impact assessment has been conducted since 2008 on restoring that line; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of restoring that line on (a) rail connectivity and (b) net zero targets.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Successive studies over the last two decades have indicated that the significant costs associated with re-instating the line between Lewes and Uckfield would exceed the benefits to passengers across Sussex. As such, our current focus remains on improving the performance and reliability of existing infrastructure and services.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring all drivers to complete a DVLA eye test.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All drivers have an ongoing legal responsibility to ensure that they meet the vision standards for driving, which includes being able to read a number plate from 20 metres, wearing glasses or corrective lenses if needed. Drivers must notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) at any time of a change in their health or vision which may affect their ability to meet the appropriate standards.
The Department for Transport supports the National Health Service’s recommendation that adults should have their eyes tested every two years and the DVLA encourages drivers to regularly check their own vision by reading a number plate from 20 metres and arranging a formal vision test when required. There are no current plans to introduce mandatory eyesight testing of all drivers.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities in improving road safety on rural roads; and if she will take steps with East Sussex County Council to help improve road safety on the C7 road between Newhaven and Lewes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department recognises that the majority of road fatalities (according to the latest statistics) occurred on rural roads (60%) with fewer fatalities on urban roads (35%) and motorways (5%).
We have awarded local authorities £185.8 million of funding between 2017 and 2024 through the Safer Roads Fund to improve the safety of England's most high risk 'A' roads. To date, it has funded 445.3 miles of rural roads which make up 62.4% of all funded routes.
My Government is developing a road safety strategy, the first in over ten years, and we will set out more details in due course.
East Sussex County Council is responsible for making decisions about roads in their area and as such, is best placed to bring forward proposals to improve safety on the C7 road.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the cost of consultancy to (a) negotiate and (b) implement new cross-border transport arrangements with the EU since January 2020 by (i) consultancy firm, (ii) contract value and (iii) month of contract award; and what scrutiny mechanisms exist for those consultants.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No estimate has been made of the cost of consultancy by my department used during negotiation and implementation of new cross-border transport arrangements with the EU since January 2020.
Since the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement came into effect on 31st January 2020, and subsequent application of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement from 1 January 2021, there has been an extensive programme of work across numerous government departments to facilitate implementation of our new relationship with the EU and ensure the continued flow of people and goods.
Most cross-border impacts of EU Exit for transport relate to border checks such as immigration controls, checks on goods and security arrangements on which other departments lead. The National Audit Office has produced a number of reports on EU Exit preparations including one on borders last year: The UK border: Implementing an effective trade border - NAO report.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for driving tests in (a) rural areas and (b) urban areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at all driving test centres (DTC), include the recruitment of new driving examiners (DE), conducting tests outside regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from DEs.
DVSA also continues to deploy DEs from areas with lower waiting times into those where waiting times are longer.