Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which of the 10 police forces which were unable to provide casualty data to his Department leading to the delay in publication of that data in November 2020 operate CRASH, the new casualty reporting system.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The publication date for Reported road casualties in Great Britain, provisional estimates for the year ending June 2020 has now been confirmed as 28 January 2021 and pre-announced via Department’s forthcoming publications schedule: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/about/statistics#forthcoming-publications
This publication has been delayed from the initially scheduled date of November 2020 in response to delays in the submission of data to DfT from some police forces whose ability to process their respective records has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, at least one month of data was missing for the following forces, none of which has adopted the CRASH system: Avon and Somerset, Derbyshire, Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, Lincolnshire, North Wales, Northamptonshire, South Wales, Thames Valley and Wiltshire.
CRASH is provided free to police forces in England and Wales who wish to use it. We continue to engage with the forces not using CRASH to understand the barriers to adopting the system. We anticipate new forces will be moving to using CRASH in 2021. However, this is a decision for Chief Constables as the Home Office does not mandate the use of specific police IT systems.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage police forces that have not yet adopted the CRASH system to do so.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The publication date for Reported road casualties in Great Britain, provisional estimates for the year ending June 2020 has now been confirmed as 28 January 2021 and pre-announced via Department’s forthcoming publications schedule: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/about/statistics#forthcoming-publications
This publication has been delayed from the initially scheduled date of November 2020 in response to delays in the submission of data to DfT from some police forces whose ability to process their respective records has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, at least one month of data was missing for the following forces, none of which has adopted the CRASH system: Avon and Somerset, Derbyshire, Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, Lincolnshire, North Wales, Northamptonshire, South Wales, Thames Valley and Wiltshire.
CRASH is provided free to police forces in England and Wales who wish to use it. We continue to engage with the forces not using CRASH to understand the barriers to adopting the system. We anticipate new forces will be moving to using CRASH in 2021. However, this is a decision for Chief Constables as the Home Office does not mandate the use of specific police IT systems.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what modelling has been undertaken on the requirements for new flexible season tickets.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department considered a range of surveys and evidence on expected commuting patterns post-COVID.
We are working closely with industry to develop a solution that offers better value and convenience for those who commute flexibly, including assessing the commercial impact of introducing the new products.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on support for (a) taxi drivers and (b) private hire companies during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government recognises the difficulties those working in the taxi and private hire vehicle sector face during the pandemic. The Department has maintained close contact with representatives from the taxi and private hire vehicle trade throughout the pandemic, including those representing local authorities responsible for the licensing of the taxi and private hire vehicle sector. Local authorities are best placed to understand local demand and driver need and we are aware that some local authorities are supporting the sector.
From 2 December councils in England in Tier 2 and Tier 3 will receive funding to provide grants to closed businesses (Local Restriction Support Grants) and to be able to run local discretionary grant schemes to provide support to affected businesses. These allocations will be published shortly and are in addition to the £2.3bn already provided to local councils since the start of the pandemic. The Local Authority administers the scheme and determines on a case-by-case basis where to allocate this funding.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the £120 million for zero emission buses in 2021-22 in the Spending Review 2020, if he will publish details of the scheme his Department will use to deliver 800 zero emission buses.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
As set out in the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and the Spending Review 2020m, the Government will invest £120 million in 2021-22 to start the delivery of the 4,000 zero emission buses announced by the Prime Minister in February.
Together with existing funding for the All Electric Bus Town, the Government funding could support the purchase of 800 cleaner, greener, quieter zero emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them.
Further details on how funding will be distributed will be announced in due course. The Department is considering all funding mechanisms in delivering the zero emission buses.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adopting the leasing model proposed by the Confederation of Passenger Transport to deliver the 800 zero emission buses committed to in the Spending Review 2020.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
As set out in the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and the Spending Review 2020m, the Government will invest £120 million in 2021-22 to start the delivery of the 4,000 zero emission buses announced by the Prime Minister in February.
Together with existing funding for the All Electric Bus Town, the Government funding could support the purchase of 800 cleaner, greener, quieter zero emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them.
Further details on how funding will be distributed will be announced in due course. The Department is considering all funding mechanisms in delivering the zero emission buses.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the £120 million for zero emissions buses in the Spending Review 2020 combined with all-electric bus towns for delivering 800 zero emission buses in 2021-22.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
As set out in the Spending Review 2020, the £120 million investment in zero emission buses, together with existing funding for the All-Electric Bus Town, will support both the introduction of 800 zero emission buses and the necessary local infrastructure. Further details on how funding will be distributed to fulfil this ambition will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing financial support to international rail operators with UK connections during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We recognise that the international rail sector, as with the rest of the international travel sector, has been significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
DfT officials have engaged extensively and supported operators across transport sectors, including the international rail sector, to make full use of the various government support schemes available where appropriate, including the Coronavirus job retention scheme.
We continue to engage regularly with international rail stakeholders including Eurostar, Eurotunnel and HS1 Ltd, and monitor very closely the impacts of Covid-19 on this sector, as well as the decisions taken by companies in response.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on (a) Eurostar’s and High Speed One’s financial sustainability and (b) the long-term consequences for UK connectivity with mainland Europe.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government recognises the significant financial challenges facing Eurostar and HS1 as a result of Covid-19 and the unprecedented circumstances currently faced by the international travel industry.
The Government has been engaging extensively with Eurostar?and HS1 since the outbreak of Covid-19 earlier?this year, closely monitoring the ongoing impact on demand for international rail services. Department for Transport officials have also worked with Eurostar to access the various Government support schemes where appropriate, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
As Rail Minister I have also recently met with both Eurostar and HS1 to discuss these challenges. The Government will continue to engage closely with Eurostar and HS1 as we move towards the next phase of our Covid-19 response, and in particular as we look to restart our travel sectors when it is safe to do so.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Eurostar and (b) HS1 on international travel (i) during and (ii) after the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government recognises the significant financial challenges facing Eurostar and HS1 as a result of Covid-19 and the unprecedented circumstances currently faced by the international travel industry.
The Government has been engaging extensively with Eurostar?and HS1 since the outbreak of Covid-19 earlier?this year, closely monitoring the ongoing impact on demand for international rail services. Department for Transport officials have also worked with Eurostar to access the various Government support schemes where appropriate, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
As Rail Minister I have also recently met with both Eurostar and HS1 to discuss these challenges. The Government will continue to engage closely with Eurostar and HS1 as we move towards the next phase of our Covid-19 response, and in particular as we look to restart our travel sectors when it is safe to do so.