Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to help deliver (a) reliable and (b) timetabled bus services for (i) school and (ii) college students in (A) Stratford-on-Avon constituency and (B) Warwickshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows how important reliable and affordable bus services are in enabling people to access education, and is committed to delivering better buses throughout the country, including for school and college students.
The Government introduced the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill on 17 December as part of our ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill will put passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of the industry by putting the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England.
As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government allocated £955 million to support and improve bus services in 2025/26. This includes £712 million for local authorities, this can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people. Warwickshire County Council was allocated £8.7 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is considering the potential merits of extending concessionary bus fare schemes to people aged 19 to 25 in (a) encouraging public transport use and (b) establishing long-term sustainable travel habits.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as expanding the eligibility criteria to people aged 19-25, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
The government is committed to delivering better bus services and growing patronage, and as part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, allocated £955 million to support and improve bus services in 25/26. This includes £712 million for local authorities, this can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people. Warwickshire County Council has been allocated £8.7 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, which could include introducing new fares initiatives to reduce the cost of bus travel for 19-25 years olds.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Access for All programme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Since April 2024, 21 Access for All projects have been entered into public service, with a further 7 projects due to complete by the end of March. This will be the most stations completed in a single year since the programme began in 2006.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to help tackle speeding in (a) Stratford-on-Avon constituency and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The traffic authority for this area is Warwickshire County Council, which has the responsibility of making decisions about the roads under its care, based on its knowledge of the area and taking into account local needs and considerations. This includes traffic management and road environment measures as well as setting local speed limits.
Law enforcement, including enforcement of road traffic offences, is an operational matter for local Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables/Commissioners. It is for the police to enforce road traffic legislation and investigate road traffic incidents using their professional judgement. Any general policy within a force is a matter for the force’s Chief Officer, who will decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of graduated driving licences on levels of deaths of young drivers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, the Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. We absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are considering measures and their potential impacts to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the closure of small training airfields on (a) local rural economies and (b) the availability of aviation training.
Answered by Mike Kane
We recognise the role small airfields play in General Aviation as a gateway for individuals to develop their career aspirations in the aviation sector. Ministers do not routinely intervene in local planning and any consideration of directions to modify local plans including the closure of airfields will be made by the local planning authority in accordance with relevant legislation.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the independent aviation safety regulator and as part of their role oversee the approval of training organisations who may operate from small training airfields. In circumstances where a flying training organisation ceases operation, the CAA would work with affected trainees to find new training solutions for each of them where required.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to require local authorities to use the same licensing regulations for (a) private hire vehicles and (b) taxis.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which licensing authorities in England administer the taxi and private hire vehicle licensing regime. Under this system licensing authorities have the flexibility to set standards they consider appropriate.
The Department for Transport has however issued statutory and best practice guidance to assist licensing authorities with this function, to promote safe and accessible services through proportionate regulation. This should increase consistency in requirements and policies for taxis and private hire vehicles.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing (a) fines and (b) other sanctions on companies that use automated software programs to buy driving test appointments.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests, often at significant profit. The agency encourages all customers to book a test through the official channel on GOV.UK where customers can book, change and cancel tests. The agency does not license any service to resell test slots.
DVSA is deploying enhanced bot protection on its public facing booking system to stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing and DVSA continues to take steps to block cancellation services from accessing the booking system.
DVSA has had a number of external reviews of its bot mitigation methodology and approach. To date, none of the reviews have indicated any improvement was necessary or suggested changes in approach.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on preventing automated software programmes from buying driving test appointments.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests, often at significant profit. The agency encourages all customers to book a test through the official channel on GOV.UK where customers can book, change and cancel tests. The agency does not license any service to resell test slots.
DVSA is deploying enhanced bot protection on its public facing booking system to stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing and DVSA continues to take steps to block cancellation services from accessing the booking system.
DVSA has had a number of external reviews of its bot mitigation methodology and approach. To date, none of the reviews have indicated any improvement was necessary or suggested changes in approach.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps with Chiltern Railways to reinstate direct rail travel between London and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Chiltern’s current timetable offers a service between London and Stratford Upon Avon with one change.
Whilst noting that this is not a direct service, timetable decisions are for operators to make, balancing passenger demand, track availability, infrastructure constraints, and operational considerations. With these considerations in place, the operator has no current plans to offer a direct service from London Marylebone.