Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which spending programmes their Department devolves for administration to (a) local government in England and (b) other local spending bodies; and what the budget is of each such programme for each year for which budgets are agreed.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has set itself a mission that, by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal, with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution, with a simplified, long-term funding settlement. At Spring Budget, the Government announced the trailblazer devolution deals with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and West Midlands Combined Authorities (WMCA), which included a commitment to introduce single funding settlements at the next Spending Review for these MCAs. At Autumn Statement, the Government published a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GMCA and WMCA, setting out how the single settlements will work. The Government also announced an ambitious new ‘level 4’ of the devolution framework, including a single transport funding settlement for eligible institutions, and a ‘consolidated’ pot at the next multi-year SR covering two DLUHC investment themes – local growth and place, and housing and regeneration. Following successful delivery of the ‘consolidated’ pot, and learning from the trailblazers, Level 4 institutions will then become eligible to receive a single settlement from the subsequent multi-year Spending Review.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his planned timetable is for finalising the land requirement for the HS2 Washwood Heath rolling stock maintenance depot; and what recent estimate he has made of when land will be released for commercial redevelopment at the site.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Schedule 17 planning application for the Washwood Heath Depot has recently received consent from Birmingham City Council, which confirms the land required for the Depot. The design and extent of the environmental mitigation measures to the south of the depot are well underway, with a planning application likely to be submitted later this year. Once the extent of these measures are confirmed, the commercial development proposals can be matured.
The forecast timeline for the commercial development depends upon a number of factors as described above and may be subject to change. The land will be released once the depot site has been completed.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to strengthen the safety regulations on the use of e-scooters.
Answered by Jesse Norman
When parliamentary time allows, the Government intends to create a Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicle (LZEV) category that is independent of the cycle and motor vehicle categories. The first focus of this new system will be e-scooters, which we are looking to legalise for private and rental use through secondary legislation. This will require setting robust technical requirements and clear expectations on users. No decisions have been made on the details of the regulations for e-scooters, and we will consult before any new arrangements come into force.
From the start of 2020 to end June 2022, there have been a total of 17 fatalities in collisions involving e-scooters reported to the Department by police. Of these, 16 deaths were e-scooter users themselves. The STATS19 collection covers only collisions on the public highway.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many fatalities his Department has recorded relating to the use of e-scooters.
Answered by Jesse Norman
When parliamentary time allows, the Government intends to create a Low-speed Zero Emission Vehicle (LZEV) category that is independent of the cycle and motor vehicle categories. The first focus of this new system will be e-scooters, which we are looking to legalise for private and rental use through secondary legislation. This will require setting robust technical requirements and clear expectations on users. No decisions have been made on the details of the regulations for e-scooters, and we will consult before any new arrangements come into force.
From the start of 2020 to end June 2022, there have been a total of 17 fatalities in collisions involving e-scooters reported to the Department by police. Of these, 16 deaths were e-scooter users themselves. The STATS19 collection covers only collisions on the public highway.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will (a) list the spending programmes his Department devolves for administration to local government in England and other local spending bodies and (b) specify the value for each programme for every year for which budgets are agreed.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This funding will be published as part of the Supplementary Estimates later this year. The initial funding agreed has been incorporated with the Main Estimate Memorandum, which has been published at the estimate level. This can be found via the following link: Main Estimate 21-22 Memorandum (parliament.uk). The figures by individual scheme level will also be published in due course.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date his Department became aware of safety problems with the Midland Metro.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department for Transport was first made aware of safety issues regarding the tram vehicles in June 2021, but had not been informed of the impact it would have on services, (full service suspension), until 12 November 2021 when the issues re-emerged.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date his Department plans to restore Avanti trains to three services per hour between London and Birmingham.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Birmingham to London currently benefits from up to five trains per hour across three operators, and Avanti West Coast provides the most frequent services of these operators.
As the year progresses, Avanti will look into additional services to satisfy passenger demand in collaboration with other operators on this route, recognising the need to balance taxpayers’ expense and passenger capacity.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) policies and (b) grant and funding programmes his Department has introduced to provide support to individuals and organisations in response to the covid-19 outbreak; and what funding has been allocated to each of those programmes in the 2020-21 financial year.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
My department has introduced vital measures to ensure the continued safe operation of key modes of public transport throughout the pandemic. Details of the measures and costs associated have been published in the NAO’s online tracker of the Government's interventions on Covid-19. This is available online at https://www.nao.org.uk/covid-19/cost-tracker/
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will approve the business case for the East Birmingham tram.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Transport for the West Midlands (part of the West Midlands Combined Authority) has recently confirmed that the East Birmingham to Solihull tram extension scheme is in development, and it is for them to develop a business case.
As announced at Budget and confirmed in the Spending Review, the government is investing £4.2 billion in the transport networks of eight city regions across England from 22/23, including West Midlands Combined Authority area.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to approve his Department's component of the funding package for three new railway stations on the Camp Hill line; what financial contributions the project's partners will make; and what the timetable is for each partner signing off their final contributions.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Camp Hill Line in Birmingham is strongly advocated by Mayor Andy Street, as part of his economic plan for the region. The government is supportive of these plans and is willing to provide a contribution to the development of the three new stations mentioned in the question. The full business case has been received by the Department and officials are working through the funding and timetabling of the proposed scheme. The balance of the funding will be raised and approved locally, and is a matter for West Midlands Combined Authority.