Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to ensure that drivers holding a category B driving licence who tow trailers have a full understanding of the additional requirements for towing a trailer, including but not limited to, coupling and reversing procedures.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Working with the trailer towing sector, the Department for Transport and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency are developing a voluntary accredited training scheme to ensure drivers have the skills, knowledge and competencies required to tow safely.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the safety of drivers towing trailers in response to the proposed changes under the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Working with the trailer towing sector, the Department for Transport and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency are developing a voluntary accredited training scheme to ensure drivers have the skills, knowledge and competencies required to tow safely.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on road safety of there no longer being a mandatory separate driving licence category BE test for the towing of trailers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
There is currently no evidence to suggest that competence and skills will worsen if drivers do not take a statutory test to tow a trailer. We are taking a number of measures that we would expect to have a positive impact, including working with industry to consider options for accredited training that could offer a standardised non-statutory testing approach.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has received strong support for an accreditation training scheme, which is also generating considerable interest from companies who tow as part of their business. We are progressing discussions urgently.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2021 to Question 174890, when he plans to publish an updated Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline list, which was last updated on 21 October 2019.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We will be publishing an update to the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline in the near future.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) electrifying the main railway line between Bristol and Birmingham and (b) connecting Britsol to the HS2 terminus under construction at Birmingham Curzon Street.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
a) Further electrification of the rail network will play an important role in achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Electrification schemes will be developed through the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) to ensure that they represent value for money and can be delivered in a sustainable way.
b) The Midlands Rail Hub programme, currently under development, maximises the opportunities of HS2 by allowing trains from the southwest of Birmingham (including Bristol) to use Moor Street Station.
Moor Street Station is adjacent to the HS2 Birmingham Station at Curzon Street and convenient interchange is proposed between the two.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Great Western Rail on increasing the number of apprenticeships at their St Philip's Marsh depot.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Great Western Railway’s (GWR) Franchise Agreement includes targets to ensure opportunities for apprentices. Despite the pandemic, GWR recruited thirty apprentices in September 2020 which is a significant increase from the nineteen taken on in 2019. GWR plans to recruit the same number of apprentices again in 2021, with six of the thirty apprenticeships available in the engineering profession. Currently, GWR’s intention is that two apprentices will be placed in St Philip’s Marsh depot.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Hitachi Rail on increasing the number of apprenticeships at their Filton depot near Bristol.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd currently has six apprentice roles at Stoke Gifford, Bristol, four Level 3 and two Level 4 in Rolling Stock Engineering. The Department understands that Hitachi Rail Europe has a full programme currently, but would look to increase with any new orders that they receive.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of re-purposing the eastern arm of the East Coast Main Line, such as for direct travel from Bristol to east of the Pennines, after the opening of HS2.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands is considering how best to deliver schemes such as HS2 Phase 2b, Northern Powerhouse Rail and Midlands Engine Rail in the North and Midlands.
In addition, under its current franchise agreement, CrossCountry, which operates InterCity services between south-west England, Bristol, the north of England and Scotland, is required to develop proposals for timetable and capacity improvements to deliver for expected future passenger demand over the next few years.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Improving local bus services in England outside London, published on 2 October 2020, HC 577, what assessment he has made of the effect of the loss of supported bus services on (a) rural and (b) disadvantaged communities.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is committed to levelling up the country to provide equal opportunity for all and recognises the vital importance bus services have in supporting the economy and bringing society together across rural and disadvantaged areas.
The National Bus Strategy we are developing will focus on the needs of passengers, and set out how national and local government and the private sector will come together to meet the needs of local communities. We aim to publish this strategy by the end of the year.
We also committed last year in the Future of Mobility Urban Strategy to setting out our thinking on the future of rural mobility in due course.