Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Hayes
There have been no meetings between DfT Ministers and representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to approve hydrogen cell technology to power taxis in England.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
We recognise that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are a potentially important technology, alongside battery electric vehicles, for decarbonising road transport. The Government supports ultra low emission vehicle (ULEV) taxis through its Plug in Taxi Grant with support of up to £7,500 for a new purpose built ULEV taxi and through the Plug in Car Grant with up to £4,500 per vehicle. Both grants are technology neutral, and as long as the vehicle meets the eligibility criteria for the grant it is eligible for support.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that global opportunities for the Midlands provided by Birmingham Airport are highlighted in the Midlands connect strategy.
Answered by John Hayes
Midlands Connect is a regional partnership that is developing its transport strategy for the Midlands, due in Spring this year. In preparing the strategy, Midlands Connect has involved Birmingham Airport in discussions as part of its analysis of how Midlands travellers connect to international markets and possible initiatives to improve global connectivity for the Midlands to help drive forward the region’s economy.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to deliver an aviation strategy for the UK.
Answered by John Hayes
We have begun the process of developing a new strategy for UK aviation. This will be an ambitious programme of work, and we will be consulting widely throughout 2017, leading to publication of an Aviation Strategy White Paper in 2018.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support the growth of Birmingham Airport.
Answered by John Hayes
The Government has always made clear its view that airports, including Birmingham Airport, make a vital contribution to the growth and recovery of regional and local economies. The Government welcomes the ambition of UK’s airports which are responding to local demands and investing in their infrastructure to enable services to more destinations, and better facilities and choice for passengers.
Birmingham Airport announced at the end of last year it was investing £100 million on improvements to its facilities and infrastructure to improve the passenger experience.
A dedicated HS2 airport station will also improve surface access to the airport.
The government has also agreed that from this summer Birmingham Airport can become co-ordinated for the purposes of slot allocation, to maintain operational stability for the airport and the airlines that operate there.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of Midlands Connect.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Since attending the launch of Midlands Connect’s Picking up the Pace report in July 2016, the Secretary of State has welcomed Midlands Connect on to the Smart Ticketing Delivery Board but has had no other specific meetings.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of permanent HS2 Ltd employees are based in Birmingham.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The number of permanent HS2 Ltd employees based in Birmingham has risen to 399 (as of December 16), representing 41% of the permanent workforce. HS2 Ltd is currently advertising and recruiting a further 34 new permanent positions in their Snow Hill Offices. The number of staff based in Birmingham will increase in the coming months as HS2 Ltd continues to recruit for roles that relocate from London.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to assist the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner to establish which lessons Highways England, West Midlands Police and the relevant local highways authorities can learn following the incident on the M6 motorway between junctions five and six on 4 February 2016 and the resulting delays in reopening the motorway.
Answered by Andrew Jones
A public hearing is to be held on 18 March which representatives from Highways England will be attending to present their views on the multi-agency response to the M6 incident that occurred on 4 February. In addition, Highways England representatives will be meeting with me on the 22 March to consider a more streamlined approach by agencies when responding to similar incidents in the future.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure participation of representatives from Highways England with any public scrutiny held into the incident on the M6 motorway between junctions five and six on 4 February 2016 by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.
Answered by Andrew Jones
A public hearing is to be held on 18 March which representatives from Highways England will be attending to present their views on the multi-agency response to the M6 incident that occurred on 4 February. In addition, Highways England representatives will be meeting with me on the 22 March to consider a more streamlined approach by agencies when responding to similar incidents in the future.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment Highways England has made of the effectiveness of the response to the incident on the M6 Motorway between junctions 5 and 6 on Thursday 4 February 2016.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Highways England conducted a structured debrief for this incident on 10 February. This is standard practice for any serious incident. It identified a number of recommendations, which are subject to ongoing discussions with other agencies. Once agreed, they will be used as lessons learnt for the management of future incidents.