Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve access at railway stations for disabled people in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Kidsgrove.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Government has made £350 million available to make accessibility improvements at a further 209 stations through the Access for All programme, including Kidsgrove. We also require the industry to comply with current accessibility standards whenever they install, replace or renew station infrastructure.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the condition of roads in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Department for Transport is providing (a) Stoke-on-Trent with over £5.5 million and (b) Staffordshire with over £37 million through the Transport Infrastructure Investment Fund this financial year. It is for each Council to decide on how this funding is utilised based on their highway asset management strategy, needs, and priorities.
In addition, Stoke-on-Trent council were successful in their £5 million ‘Keep Stoke Moving’ key corridor Challenge Fund bid in February this year. In February Staffordshire County Council also successfully bid for £2.35 million to upgrade Chetwynd Bridge, a historic Grade II* structure.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve rail connections in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department is working to improve rail connections across the network including at Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire through both the HS2 and Midlands Connect schemes. Plans are being developed for the Midlands Engine between the Department for Transport and Midlands Connect, which include proposals to increase the frequency of trains between Stoke-on-Trent and Crewe.
Avanti West Coast currently run an hourly service calling at Stoke-on-Trent between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly.
West Midlands Trains also run an hourly service between Birmingham New Street and Crewe, calling at Stafford, Stone and Stoke – on – Trent. From December 2020 the timetable will be uplifted so this service includes calls at Penkridge, meaning an extra hourly service at this station in addition to the calls made by the existing Birmingham New Street – Liverpool Lime Street service.
HS2 services are expected to serve Stoke-on-Trent once the railway is operational. No final decisions have been made on the exact HS2 train service, however, and the Department has appointed West Coast Partnership Development to analyse passenger demand on the route and present options for train service patterns that best allow this demand to be met with the available infrastructure. The Secretary of State will decide on the preferred option, once it has been subject to wider consultation, nearer to the time that HS2 opens.
In January 2020 the Secretary of State announced the £500 million Restoring Your Railway fund to deliver our manifesto commitment and start reopening lines and stations, reconnecting smaller communities. Meir station was successful in the first round of the Ideas Fund and is currently on track to progress to the next stage of the Restoring Your Railway process.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve disabled access at Kidsgrove Railway Station.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Construction of an accessible route, including a footbridge and three lifts at Kidsgrove station is due to begin next Spring and be completed by Autumn.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
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 covid-19 outbreak on the adequacy of the level of funding for urban transport authorities.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
On 23 May, the Transport Secretary announced a further £283 million to help increase bus and light rail services across England as quickly as possible as we begin to re-open our economy. This is in addition to the £397 million the Government announced on 3 April 2020 to keep England’s buses running to serve those who need to rely on them.
The Government has agreed a £1.6 billion funding and financing support package for Transport for London to enable them to continue operating essential services, transporting passengers safely and protecting staff during the pandemic and supporting the capital’s gradual recovery from COVID-19.
The Department will continue to work with transport authorities to understand how public transport services can adapt to any ‘new normal’ that emerges from the Covid-19 outbreak so that a sustainable long-term recovery can be made.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more people to switch to electric vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government is investing?around?£2.5bn?,?with grants available for ultra-low emission vehicles, as well?as funding?to support charge point infrastructure at homes,?workplaces,?on residential streets?and across the wider roads network. The Government is consulting on bringing forward an end to the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans, from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible, including hybrids for the first time. This will help inform our thinking on what further appropriate measures to achieve a faster transition will need to be. The Transport Secretary has also announced that the government will consult on measures to improve the consumer experience of using the public charging network so that charging an electric vehicle is as straightforward as refuelling a conventional vehicle today. Go Ultra Low is a joint Government and industry campaign designed to educate individuals and businesses about the benefits of switching to an electric vehicle. The campaign provides facts and information across high reach channels such as paid media (cinema, radio, digital), PR and events.