Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory public inquiries being undertaken by his Department.

Answer (Chris Heaton-Harris)

The Department will, as a matter of course, publish any inquiries it is required to do so as part of the terms of reference for that inquiry. For those where publication is not a requirement, Ministers will take a decision to publish on a case-by-case basis.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reopening the Maid Marion Line to passengers in Selston and the rural parts of Ashfield.

Answer (Chris Heaton-Harris)

I can confirm that the Department for Transport has received the expression of interest for the Maid Marian line for the Restoring Your Railway Ideas fund. Full applications now need to be submitted by the deadline of 19 June 2020. All bids will be assessed on their merit.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to protect train conductors from abuse and harassment in their work environment.

Answer (Chris Heaton-Harris)

The question of workplace safety and wellbeing is a matter for rail employers to address with their staff. However, the Department works with the British Transport Police (BTP), including on joint initiatives such as the secure stations scheme, to tackle crime on the railways in Great Britain.

As part of its work to tackle violent crime, BTP also undertakes activity to address violence against staff specifically and holds a work place violence group with industry representative to identify and share best practice on a national basis. This includes supporting the use of Body-Worn Video (BWV) by front line staff and establishing consistent conflict awareness training for staff.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve bus services in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) the UK.

Answer (Kelly Tolhurst)

The bus market outside London is deregulated and decisions regarding service provision are primarily a commercial matter for bus operators. However, the Bus Services Act 2017 provides the tools local authorities need to improve local bus services and increase passenger numbers.

The Government provided £1,002,539 for Nottinghamshire County Council during 2018/19 to support vulnerable services.

In addition, we have announced a further £30 million for less commercial services. Nottinghamshire County Council has been allocated £648,608 which will be available from April 2020 if the funding requirements are met. This is from the £220 million Better Deal for Bus Users package to transform bus services. The Government’s ambition is to secure a long term, sustained improvement in bus services underpinned by a National Bus Strategy for England which will be accompanied by a long-term funding settlement.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-better-deal-for-bus-users/a-better-deal-for-bus-users

On 11 February 2020, the Prime Minister announced there will be £5 billion of new funding to overhaul bus and cycle links for every region outside London which may benefit bus services serving Ashfield.