Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to provide financial support to companies that need to replace their fleets in order to comply with the requirements of low emission zones.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Local authorities in England can bid for funding from the Government’s £286m Clean Air Fund (CAF) to provide support measures for individuals and businesses impacted by local air quality plans implemented as part of the 2017 UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations. These measures can include support for individuals and businesses to upgrade their vehicles to comply with the requirements of charging Clean Air Zones. £57.5m funding from the CAF has already been allocated including for vehicle upgrade schemes. Air quality is a devolved policy issue in the UK.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how long it should take for a licence to be returned following a D2 application when all medical evidence has been submitted to the Driver Medical Team at the DVLA.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency expects it to take around 15 working days following receipt of a D2 application for a licence to be returned to the customer. This is provided that the medical information declared on the accompanying D4 medical report confirms the applicant meets the required medical standards and no further medical information is required.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the cost of installing audio-visual equipment on (a) mid- and (b) late-life buses.
Answered by George Freeman
In 2018 the previous Government consulted on proposals for requiring the provision of audible and visible information on-board local bus and coach services in Great Britain. In particular, it sought evidence on the impact of installing audio-visual equipment on different vehicles.
Responses were received from a range of stakeholders, including representatives of smaller operators. We are finalising our response to the consultation and will announce our next steps in due course.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding was allocated to installing audio-visual equipment on buses in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by George Freeman
Alongside publication of its 2018 Inclusive Transport Strategy, the previous Government allocated £2 million to help smaller local bus and coach operators provide audible and visible information on board their services.
This money will be made available to operators in England, Scotland and Wales through a funding competition later this year, and further information on how they can apply for it will be made available in due course.
Equalities policy is devolved in Northern Ireland and operators there are not covered by this scheme.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the waiting time for a Group 2 licence for applicants who are required to have a medical assessment.
Answered by George Freeman
Driving entitlement for Group 2 drivers must be renewed at regular intervals from age 45. The DVLA sends a reminder to the driver three months before the entitlement expires, enabling them to apply in advance.
To improve the time taken to deal with these applications, the DVLA has recruited additional staff to process them. This includes increasing the number of doctors and introducing nurse caseworkers to deal with specific conditions.
The time taken to deal with applications can depend on the information needed by the DVLA from medical professionals. The DVLA is working with medical professionals to reduce the time taken to receive the information it requires to make licensing decisions.
The DVLA continually reviews its processes and has a dedicated team responsible for the improvement of its medical driver licensing services and communications.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the DVLA’s target time is for carrying out a medical review of a person’s heavy goods vehicle license; and how many and what proportion of those reviews met that target in each of the last five years.
Answered by George Freeman
In cases where a medical condition is identified, the DVLA will carry out an investigation. The length of time taken to carry out an investigation depends on the medical condition involved and whether information is needed from medical professionals. The target is to complete 90 per cent of all medical investigations within 90 working days.
The table below shows the figures for the number and proportion of Group 2 medical cases that met the target in the last five years.
2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 (to 3 Sept) | |
Number within target | 73,402 | 75,114 | 72,422 | 91,761 | 33,340 |
Proportion within target | 81.90% | 88.00% | 87.9% | 90.94% | 90.35% |
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in what circumstances would the DVLA seek a medical review of a person’s heavy goods vehicle license.
Answered by George Freeman
All drivers are required by law to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) at any time about the onset or worsening of a medical condition affecting safe driving. When a driver first applies for a Group 2 (lorry or bus) licence they must submit a medical report regarding their fitness to drive which must be completed by a doctor.
Group 2 licences are valid for five years. At each renewal, drivers under the age of 45 must make a declaration about whether or not they suffer from a medical condition that may affect their fitness to drive. Drivers renewing their driving entitlement at the age of 45 and over must include a medical report completed by a doctor. At the age of 65, renewals are required annually and must be supported by a doctor.
The DVLA will investigate a person’s fitness to drive if an application, report or a third party notification indicates that they may have a medical condition that affects safe driving.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many medical staff are employed by the DVLA to carry out medical reviews of people with heavy goods vehicle licences.
Answered by George Freeman
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) employs 99 staff, including three nurses, who exclusively deal with medical cases from Group 2 (lorry or bus) drivers. In addition, the DVLA employs 35 doctors, who deal with the most complex medical cases for drivers of all vehicles.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) average and (b) median waiting time is for a person whose heavy goods vehicle licence is subject to a medical review in each of the last five years.
Answered by George Freeman
The table below shows (a) the average time and (b) the median time it took the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to issue a driving licence to Group 2 (lorry or bus) drivers who were subject to a medical investigation. Information on the median time for 2015 to 2017 is not available.
2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 (to 3 Sept) | |
(a) Average time days | 61 | 43 | 37 | 33 | 34 |
(b)Median time | n/a | n/a | 15 | 17 | 16 |
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2019 to Question 260045 on Department for Transport: Post Office, what the cost to the public purse was for this contract in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The information is considered to be commercial in confidence. To disclose information about fees, financial costs and any payments made would be likely to affect the commercial interests of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the Post Office Ltd.