Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of bus services in England are community-run.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In England, as of 20 June 2018, 827 community bus services are registered by holders of section 22 Community Bus Permits. This represents nearly five per cent of all local bus services that are registered with the Traffic Commissioners. The Department does not have figures for the number of bus services provided by section 19 permit holders, since these do not have to be registered.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequate provision of safe parking spaces for heavy goods vehicles.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Department is aware that there is a shortage of formal overnight lorry parking spaces in some parts of the country. The Department is presently considering a range of measures to help improve the situation, including measures related to planning, a greater role for Highways England, standards for facilities and tackling illegal parking.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of heavy goods vehicles using residential roads.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The responsibility for traffic management on local roads rests with local authorities as they are best placed to consider how local needs can be met effectively. Local traffic authorities have powers under Sections 1 and 2 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to restrict or prohibit the use of Heavy Goods Vehicles on any road for a wide range of safety and environmental reasons.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what financial assessment he made of Carillion before agreeing a contract for HS2 development with an SPV of which Carillion was a composite part.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
HS2 Ltd undertook due diligence on all bids prior to the Main Works Civils Contract Award in July. Each of the joint venture parties individually and collectively were covered. The CEK joint venture has provided HS2 Ltd with assurances that in the event of any member of the group being unable to deliver on its responsibilities, the remaining members, now Eiffage and Kier, would fill the gap.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he received reports of market short-selling in relation to Carillion when he offered a contract for HS2 development to an SPV of which Carillion was a composite part.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Secretary of State did not award the contract himself, he delegated authority to do so to HS2 Ltd. The Secretary of State did not receive reports on the shorting of Carillion shares prior to the award, by HS2 Ltd, of the two Main Works Civils Contracts to the unincorporated Joint Venture.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidelines on the remit of the HS2 Phase 2a Bill he plans to provide the Select Committee about the Crewe Hub.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
It is for the House to agree any instruction to the Select Committee which will consider the High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) Bill and there is a motion on the order paper which relates to that instruction. Furthermore, we have recently consulted on proposals for a Crewe Hub and expect to publish our response shortly.