Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse was of staff diversity networks in his Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of (a) cars and (b) other vehicles used by his Department were made in Britain.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government Car service (GCS) provides vehicles to a number of Government departments. Due to logistical and operational reasons the type of vehicles deployed at each department can vary on a daily or weekly basis. The GCS fleet currently has 122 vehicles, 58 (48%) of which are vehicles made in Britain.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in Britain for use in its canteens and restaurants.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport complies with the relevant legal and regulatory framework when procuring food and drinks for use in its canteens and restaurants. Contracts include a requirement to comply with the mandatory standards of the Government Buying Standard (GBS) for food and catering services.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road traffic accidents have occurred as a result of smart motorway technology since 2019.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The latest safety data and assessment can be found in National Highways’ Third Year Progress Report, which was published in December 2023: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-work/smart-motorways-evidence-stocktake/.
Overall, the data shows that in terms of serious or fatal casualties, smart motorways are the safest roads on the Strategic Road Network (SRN).
National Highways has undertaken contributory factor analysis to help further understand which factors which lead to collisions on the SRN. This analysis can be found in the above report.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to require drivers to report collisions with cats to the police.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Although there is no obligation to report all animal deaths on roads, Rule 286 of The Highway Code advises drivers to report any accident involving an animal to the police. If possible, they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals, such as cats, and advise them of the situation. I recognise the very deep upset that losing a beloved pet can cause – but, given challenges around enforcement – there are no current plans to strengthen that requirement.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an estimate of how many road traffic accidents are caused by (a) potholes and (b) poor road conditions each year.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department publishes road casualty statistics based on personal injury road collisions reported to the police via the STATS19 reporting system.
STATS19 does not identify the cause of collisions, but reporting police officers can identify up to 6 factors which in their opinion may have contributed to the collision.
In 2022 (the most recent year for which data is available) there were 477 personal injury road collisions in which the ‘poor or defective road surface’ contributory factor was assigned.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time for a driving test was in (a) England and (b) East Midlands as of 25 March 2024.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The average waiting time for a car practical driving test in England, in February 2024, was 17.5 weeks.
The average waiting time for a car practical driving test in the East Midlands, in February 2024, was 17.6 weeks.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Home Office on tackling the matter of delivery drivers who are in the UK illegally.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DfT ministers and officials engage with the Home Office on this matter. The Department sits on the cross-government ministerial Taskforce on Immigration Enforcement, which ensures that every available power across government is utilised to support law enforcement activity to identify and reduce illegal migrants in the UK, and ensures only those eligible can work, receive benefits or access public services. The Department and its agencies continue to support the Home Office on the wider issue of illegal working in the UK.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve safety on the A16 in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The A16 is the responsibility of local highway authorities – in this case, Lincolnshire County Council through South Holland and The Deepings. It is for those authorities to assess the benefits of improvements to areas of their networks, and to seek funding, if required.
Almost £20 million from the Levelling Up Fund has been allocated to improve the A16 corridor between Boston and Spalding, and Lincolnshire County Council has recently been allocated just over £262 million from the Local Transport Fund to improve the connections that people rely on every day.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much reallocated HS2 funding has been given to Lincolnshire County Council for road resurfacing.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Lincolnshire County Council will receive a minimum additional overall uplift of £287.7 million between 2023-24 and 2033-34 as a result of reallocating HS2 funding. £4.9 million of this has already been paid out in the current financial year with a further £4.9 million to follow in 2024/25, and Lincolnshire is receiving around 30% more capital funding for highway maintenance in the current financial year than it did in the previous financial year.
Funding allocations beyond 2024/25 are a matter for the next Spending Review.