Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost in (a) 2019 prices and (b) today after being adjusted for inflation of HS2 as estimated by CEO of HS2 Ltd in his preliminary report to her Department.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Mark Wild is leading a comprehensive reset of the programme to deliver the remaining works at the lowest reasonable cost. As part of this work, he will advise the Department on a revised cost estimate for HS2.
As Mark Wild set out in his letter, HS2 Ltd’s unassured estimate of the maximum cost of HS2 excluding Euston in June 2024 was £61.8bn in Q3 2019 prices, however he identified the programme was facing significant additional pressures which he will assess as part of the reset.
Once a revised cost estimate is agreed, this will be expressed in an updated price base and better capture the inflation incurred since 2019, following a commitment made by the Department to the Public Accounts Committee in December.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the June 2025 Statement of Funding Policy, published on 11 June, and the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Wales during the oral question on Devolution: Crown Estate of 11 June, Official Report, column 958, whether the East-West rail project is classified by her department as carrying a 100% comparability factor for Wales.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The East-West rail project is classified as an England and Wales project. This approach applies to investment in heavy rail by the Department for Transport, including HS2 and East-West Rail, and is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of car driving test slots.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.
As of 26 February 2024, there were 518,517 car practical driving tests booked, and 136,868 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.
The DVSA has deployed all eligible managers and administrative staff back on the front line to do driving tests from the beginning of October until the end of March, which will create around 150,000 additional test slots.
To further increase the number of available test slots, it is conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.
Since April 2021, measures put in place by the DVSA to reduce waiting times for its customers, together with the ongoing recruitment of driving examiners, is creating on average over 48,300 extra car test slots each month.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the construction of the HS2 station at Old Oak Common on the mainline services from south Wales to London terminals.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Construction of the Old Oak Common conventional station will involve a number of partial and complete closures of the Great Western Main Line during the period up to 2030 which will impact passenger services and freight operations. My department is working with Network Rail, HS2 Ltd and the train operating companies to minimise the impacts of disruption and ensure the continued operation of rail services between south Wales and London.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring further traffic commissioner functions relating to licence applications to the Traffic Commissioner for Wales in the context of enabling access to forms relating to licence applications in Welsh and in English.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
The operator licensing system is a GB function responsible for the licensing and regulation of large commercial vehicles. Traffic commissioners are appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport and are deployed by the Senior Traffic Commissioner to eight traffic areas, one of which is Wales. There is a full time Traffic Commissioner for Wales, partly funded by the Welsh Government to carry out specific work for the benefit of Wales.
As the Traffic Commissioner for Wales is already responsible for the licensing and regulation of PSV and goods vehicle operators in Wales, there are no current proposals to transfer any further functions. The recent MoJ review of the traffic commissioner functions confirmed existing arrangements, although the need to review existing fees was acknowledged.
The traffic commissioners place a great deal of importance for their responsibility in ensuring the compliance with the relevant Welsh language legislation and in promoting the use of the Welsh language. An operator based in Wales is able to choose to correspond in the Welsh language. In 2016, the DVSA launched a new online business system for operators to apply and manage their licences online. Specific development work was carried out to ensure that this service was available both in Welsh and English.
Where manual forms are still required, these are available in the Welsh language, as are the majority of guidance forms produced by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. Further work is being undertaken to update further guidance and in making them more easily accessible.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure on Network Rail operations was on (a) operating costs, (b) traction electricity, industry costs and rates, (c) renewals, (d) enhancements and (e) all other expenditure in (i) England and (ii) Wales in each of the last 13 years.
Answered by Huw Merriman
The requested information can be found in the attached Excel document. Note for context that NR spend on the Wales and Borders route is between 4% and 5% of the GB total so far in CP6, whilst Network Rail’s Wales and Borders route makes up circa 4% of the entire GB rail network in terms of train miles in CP6.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average cost is of the medical assessment that is required to obtain an (a) ENG1 and (b) ML5 certificate in each (i) nation and (ii) region.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
The ENG1 fee for medicals conducted in the United Kingdom is set by the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018 at £115. Overseas approved doctors charge a range of prices reflecting the geographical locations of the doctor.
The ML5 fee is not set and evidence suggests this fee can range from £65 to £250. There is no evidence that there are significant differences between nations and regions.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average train journey time from (a) Glasgow to London and (b) Bangor to London (i) is and (ii) will be following the completion of HS2.
Answered by Huw Merriman
HS2 services will provide needed additional capacity on the West Coast Mainline with increased reliability and significantly faster journey times.
Journey times between Glasgow and London will fall from the current 4 hours 30 minutes to an estimated 3 hours 48 minutes with the completion of HS2. Bangor to London is currently 3 hours 20 minutes. Faster journeys could be available when HS2 services begin via Crewe if passengers were willing to change trains. For example, the current journey time from Bangor to Crewe is 1 hour 33 minutes, with Crewe to London an estimated 55 minutes when HS2 is operational. The journey times will be dependent on the final timetable when HS2 services become operational.
No decisions have been made on the timetable that will operate when HS2 services begin. These decisions will be made nearer the start of services and will be subject to public consultation.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the requirement for seafarers to have either ENG1 or ML5 medical certificates in order to continue working at sea after November 2023, what assessment he has made of whether it is appropriate to include questions relating to BMI in the application process seafarers must undertake in order to obtain a ML5 medical certificate.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
The use of body mass index (BMI) is included in the International Labour Organization/International Maritime Organization’s Guidelines of the medical examinations of seafarers. Body mass index is a useful indicator of when additional assessment is needed. It does not form the sole basis for decisions on capability. There is no upper limit on BMI value for the assessor to issue a medical certificate and any restrictions or unfit decisions are usually based on other medical conditions and issues with physical capability rather than the BMI number itself.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the requirement for seafarers to have either ENG1 or ML5 medical certificates in order to continue working at sea after November 2023, what the cost implications will be for seafarers who are denied an ML5 medical certificate and appeal the decision.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
There is no cost to the seafarer to exercise their right to appeal against failure or restriction for an ENG1 certificate other than the cost of travel to the appointment with the referee if the review takes place face to face. There is no cost to the seafarer for referral for an ML5 certificate. The costs of appeal or referral are borne by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.