Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) financial and (b) logistical support (i) has been and (ii) will be provided to port operators and port health authorities for potential changes in (A) throughput and (B) volume of trade at UK border control posts after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department for Transport has put in place £30M of funding for ports, Local Resilience Forums, and road & rail links.
Financial support is provided for sixteen ports across England who will receive a share of funding to help their preparations for Brexit on 31 October and beyond. The successful bidders of the £10m Port Infrastructure Resilience and Connectivity (PIRC) competition offers ports up to £1m each to deliver important infrastructure upgrades to help keep traffic and trade flowing smoothly across the border.
The fund PIRC is part of a wider £30m government package to support ports across England to operate efficiently post-Brexit. DfT is providing up to £5m to four Local Resilience Forums (LRF) outside Kent with the highest volumes of accompanied road freight traffic with EU ports. A further £15m will go towards the development of longer-term projects to boost road and rail links to ports.
Arrangements and support for Port Health and border operations are a matter for the responsible Government Departments.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of unlicensed pedicabs on London's reputation as a tourist destination.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport has received representations from a number of businesses located in the West End of London who are concerned about the impacts of pedicabs on their customers, mainly in respect of congestion and anti-social behaviour. We are working with Transport for London to develop legislation to allow the Mayor of London to regulate the pedicab trade.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Transport for London on regulation of pedicabs.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Ministers and officials have regular meetings with representatives of Transport for London at which various subjects are discussed, including pedicabs. The Department has been working closely with Transport for London on proposals for legislation to enable the Mayor of London to regulate the pedicab trade.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with Transport for London on the (i) timetable and (ii) provisions of legislation on pedicabs in London to ensure that they are able to regulate swiftly once primary legislation is in place.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The need for urgent action on pedicabs was discussed at the Secretary of State’s meeting with the Mayor on 13 June, and at Lord Ahmad’s meeting with the Deputy Mayor for Transport on 16 June. Officials from the Department for Transport have had regular meetings with their opposite numbers in Transport for London to ensure that TfL are ready to respond as soon as the necessary primary legislation is enacted.