Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of outstanding (a) driving licence applications, (b) short-term medical driving licence applications and (c) applications to exchange a foreign driving licence from people in (i) Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, (ii) Oxfordshire and (iii) England.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The information requested in questions 58489 and 58490 is not readily available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost as it would involve scrutinising each application that is awaiting processing. Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has a rapid response corporate services team to engage key stakeholders, including trade associations. Formal four-weekly review meetings take place where stakeholders can raise issues/concerns and provide feedback from members. The DVLA has regular contact with key stakeholders to resolve issues and address concerns quickly. This includes providing information on timescales for processing applications, working to prioritise urgent applications where they are business-critical or employment is at risk and also provided a dedicated contact point for fuel companies to progress vocational licence applications.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of safety cameras at level crossings that have been turned off and are still off in (a) Oxfordshire and (b) Oxford West and Abingdon constituency (i) since 1 January 2021 and (ii) to date.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
No cameras deployed on level crossings within Oxfordshire or the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency have been switched off, or remain off, since 1 January 2021.
This reflects that the safety of users of level crossings in Oxfordshire and across the Network Rail estate are of paramount importance.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has allocated to each tier 1 local authority in South East England for cycling in each of the last five years.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
On 7 February 2020, the Department published a detailed breakdown of annual investment in cycling and walking from 2016/17 to 2018/19 alongside the first report on progress made towards delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). This includes information on how much funding each local authority received over that period. Copies of the report and other associated information are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investment-schedule-in-cycling-and-walking-interventions. An update including a detailed breakdown of annual investment in 2019/20 and 2020/21 will be published in due course. In the meantime, local authority allocations under the Active Travel Fund in 2020/21 are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-active-travel-fund-local-transport-authority-allocations/emergency-active-travel-fund-total-indicative-allocations.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department will publish the latest timetable for the construction of the Lodge Hill diamond junction of the A34 in Abingdon.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department is not in the lead on this project, which is being promoted and progressed by Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) and funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Highways England is working closely with OCC on the design and modelling of this interchange.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) deaths and (b) injuries on the B4044 in the last (i) six months, (ii) 12 months and (iii) five years.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The number of deaths and injuries in reported road accidents on the B4044 for the last 12 months and last 5 years for which data is available can be found in the tables below.
Casualties in reported road accidents by month and severity, on the B4044, 2019 | ||||||
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Month | Fatalities | Injured casualties |
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January | 0 | 0 |
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February | 0 | 0 |
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March | 0 | 3 |
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April | 0 | 0 |
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May | 0 | 0 |
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June | 0 | 1 |
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July | 0 | 2 |
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August | 0 | 1 |
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September | 0 | 1 |
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October | 1 | 0 |
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November | 0 | 0 |
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December | 0 | 0 |
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Total | 1 | 8 |
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Source: DfT, STATS19 |
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Casualties in reported road accidents by severity, on the B4044, 2015-2019 | ||||||||
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Year | Fatalities | Injured casualties |
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2015 | 0 | 14 |
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2016 | 1 | 11 |
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2017 | 0 | 5 |
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2018 | 0 | 17 |
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2019 | 1 | 8 |
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Source: DfT, STATS19 |
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Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received a bid from Oxfordshire City Council for a walking and cycling path on the B4044 as part of the tranche 2 emergency active travel fund.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Oxfordshire County Council’s bid for funding from tranche 2 of the Emergency Active Travel Fund did not include a bid for funding for this particular scheme. Details of how this scheme is being taken forward can be found on Oxfordshire County Council’s website at https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/roads-and-transport/roadworks/major-current-roadworks/botley-road-phase-1 .
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for the future of the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway project.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government confirmed in March, as part of the second Road Investment Strategy, that further development of this scheme has been paused. This is while we consider how roads investment, alongside other transport investment, can best support the Government’s ambition for the Oxford to Cambridge Arc, and benefit people who live and work there.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2019 to Question 28460 on A34: Oxfordshire, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) deaths and (b) injuries on the A34 in (i) 2018 and (ii) 2019.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The table below shows the number of fatalities and all casualties in reported road accidents on the A34 in Oxfordshire in 2018.
Number of fatalities and all casualties in reported road accidents on the A34 in Oxfordshire in 2018:
Fatalities | All casualties1 |
1 | 79 |
Data for 2019 will be published on September 30 2020.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to allocate emergency covid-19 funding to providers of school transport that have reduced commercial viability as a result of social distancing regulations in (a) England, (b) Oxfordshire, (c) Oxford, and (d) Abingdon.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
On 8 August, the Department for Transport announced a further funding package for bus operators with rolling funding at up to £27.3 million per week until a time when the funding is no longer needed. Also on 8 August the Department for Education announced a new £40 million funding package for local authorities to support home to school transport. This funding can be used for a variety of transport types/providers as appropriate, including coaches, bus vehicles, community transport vehicles, taxis and private hire vehicles, and SEND (Special Educational Needs Disability) transport.
In addition, the Department for Transport has provided support and grants totalling £7.25 million to local authorities to develop a Travel Demand Management Plan to understand school and work travel patterns and ensure there is safe and sufficient transport for schools.
While the Government will do what we can to support local authorities, solutions must be locally led, with local authorities working closely with transport operators and schools/colleges to identify local area needs and decide the best way to increase capacity, while ensuring value for money of this new funding.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2020 to Question 60658 on Renewable energy, what plans his Department has to install more solar panels and wind turbines on its buildings in the next five years.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
As part of improving the sustainable performance of our estate, the Department is looking at the feasibility of introducing further renewables to support the decarbonisation process. All options for the introduction of renewables will be explored particularly where they can act as a replacement for systems/functions which currently rely on a fossil fuel source. The additional renewables will form part of our next estates operational sustainability strategy which is being developed to align with the latest Greening Government Commitments framework of targets and also the development of a trajectory towards Net Zero.