Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in what languages he plans to display electronic road signs on road closures on A-roads and motorways.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Using foreign languages on Variable Message Signs (VMS) to provide roadworks information was piloted in early 2019 for a limited time on the M6 and A66 in Cumbria. There are no current plans to roll out the use of foreign languages on VMS in any other parts of the country.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department plans to spend on displaying electronic road signs in foreign languages on A-roads and motorways.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Using foreign languages on Variable Message Signs (VMS) to provide roadworks information was piloted in early 2019 for a limited time on the M6 and A66 in Cumbria. There are no current plans to roll out the use of foreign languages on VMS in any other parts of the country.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in which parts of the UK his Department plans to install road signs on road closures in foreign languages.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Using foreign languages on Variable Message Signs (VMS) to provide roadworks information was piloted in early 2019 for a limited time on the M6 and A66 in Cumbria. There are no current plans to roll out the use of foreign languages on VMS in any other parts of the country.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the DVLA Medical Advisory Panel has plans to update guidance for drivers with diabetes on insulin on using FreeStyle Libre and Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) devices to monitor their blood glucose levels.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is currently amending the Assessing Fitness to Drive guidance on the use of new monitoring technologies for people with diabetes. The revised guidance is due to be published in February. This will allow the testing of interstitial fluid for driving licensing purposes for people with diabetes who drive cars or motorcycles. Drivers of goods vehicles and buses must continue to monitor blood glucose levels.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has received representation from the DVLA on the use of (a) FreeStyle Libre and (b) Continuous Glucose Monitoring devices to monitor blood glucose levels for people with diabetes.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is currently amending the Assessing Fitness to Drive guidance on the use of new monitoring technologies for people with diabetes. The revised guidance is due to be published in February. This will allow the testing of interstitial fluid for driving licensing purposes for people with diabetes who drive cars or motorcycles. Drivers of goods vehicles and buses must continue to monitor blood glucose levels.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the average time taken for a freight carrier to pass through a UK port in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017 and (d) 2018.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
None. This information is not held centrally.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have died as a result of vehicle pursuits by ambulance and police services in (a) 2017 and (b) in each month since January 2018.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
There were 5 fatalities in accidents where the contributory factor ‘emergency vehicle on a call’ was reported in Great Britain in 2017.
The Department collects data on personal injury road accidents reported to the police, including contributory factors which the police select when they attend the scene. This does not assign blame for the accident but gives an indication of factors the attending officer thought contributed to the accident.
Not all accidents are included in the contributory factor data; only accidents where the police attended the scene and reported at least one contributory factor are included. A total of 72 per cent of accidents reported to the police in 2017 in Great Britain met these criteria.
Published table RAS50007 provides information on casualties in reported road accidents by contributory factor and severity in Great Britain: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/743101/ras50007.ods.
Figures for 2018 will be published in 2019.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Association of Policy and Crime Commissioners and (b) the National Policy Chiefs Council on changes to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s guidance on driving and diabetes.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
No formal discussions have been held with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners or the National Police Chiefs’ Council about changes to the guidance on driving and diabetes. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) did hold informal discussions with police representatives in Autumn 2017 before clarifying its guidance for drivers with insulin-treated diabetes who drive emergency vehicles as part of their employment.
The DVLA’s guidance was also amended in January 2018 to implement changes to European legislation. A targeted consultation was carried out with key stakeholders specialising in diabetes care or advice, before the changes were made.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many properties purchased by the Government from people affected by High Speed 2 are now (a) let, (b) empty and (c) sold.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
As at 31 May, 923 properties have been acquired, 553 of which are let. 1 has been sold and the remainder are empty, i.e. either seeking letting or have been transferred to the works contractors for construction.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason compensation was awarded to people affected by the route of High Speed 2 before that route was finalised.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Although HS2 will benefit the whole country, the Government understands the impact and anxiety that its proposals had on property owners affected by route proposals. As with other large-scale infrastructure projects, once route proposals are published, it is not uncommon for local properties to experience the effects of generalised blight. That is why the Government launched a suite of HS2 non-statutory property compensation schemes between 2010 and 2017 in advance of and at route phase announcements to address those impacts. In addition, qualifying owner-occupiers have a statutory entitlement to apply to the Government to have their property purchased where a proposed route is protected from conflicting development through the issuing of safeguarding directions.