Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much (a) capital and (b) revenue funding has been allocated from which (i) local and (ii) national funding streams to (A) cycling and (B) walking projects in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
On 7 February, the Department published a detailed breakdown of annual investment in cycling and walking since 2016/17 alongside the first report on progress made towards delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). Copies of the report and other associated information have been placed in the House libraries. The Department does not hold data relating to funding allocated from local funding streams for cycling and walking.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much (a) capital and (b) revenue funding has been allocated or is estimated to be allocated from which (i) local and (ii) national funding streams to (A) cycling and (B) walking projects in England in (1) 2019-20 and (2) each of the next five years.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
In both 2019/20 and 2020/21, it is estimated that some £600 million will be invested in cycling and walking projects in England, outside London. The majority of this funding will be drawn from wider transport and infrastructure funds, including the Transforming Cities Fund, Local Growth Fund, Housing Infrastructure Fund and Highways Maintenance Fund. In both years, the Department for Transport has also allocated dedicated funding of £20 million to local authorities through the Access Fund, and £13 million for the Bikeability training programme.
Decisions on further funding from 2020/21 onwards will be made at the forthcoming Budget and Spending Review. This will also allocate funding for Conservative Party manifesto commitments, including the £350m Cycle Infrastructure Fund and to expand the Bikeability scheme. The Department does not hold data relating to funding allocated from local funding streams for cycling and walking.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2020 to Question 9041, what assumptions the National Transport Model (NTM) makes on the (a) levels of cycling, walking, rail and bus travel (i) in 2020 and (ii) after 2020; and (b) changes in those levels compared with the model’s baseline year, in order to produce NMT's forecasts of future motorised road traffic.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The National Transport Model (NTM) does not make explicit assumptions about levels of cycling, walking, rail and bus travel. To account for the influence of these modes on road traffic the NTM includes assumptions about the convenience and cost of these alternatives.
For cycling and walking this was based purely on travel time. In Road Traffic Forecasts 2018 (RTF18) assumed cycling and walking speeds were set in the model base year and remained constant in all scenario and forecast years.
For bus and rail, this included both travel time and fares. In RTF18 the assumptions around rail fares were based on current fares policy. Bus fares were assumed to grow in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus an average of historical increases.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
As of 31st December 2019, there were 219 apprentices in the Department for Transport, this is across our central department and four executive agencies (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Vehicle Certification Agency). This is 1.43% of the total staff employed within the department.
This figure is made up of apprentices who have been externally recruited, and existing employees currently undertaking an apprenticeship. This figure does not include apprentices employed or recently recruited by the Department waiting to start their apprenticeship.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimates were made in his Department’s 2018 road traffic forecasts for the volumes of cycle traffic in England and Wales in (a) 2015, (b) 2020 and (c) in future years modelled, under each of the scenarios modelled; and what the corresponding proportion changes in miles cycled were compared with 2015 levels.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The focus of Road Traffic Forecasts 2018 (RTF18) was to forecast road traffic by motorised modes and does not include forecasts of cycling traffic.
To produce the forecasts, the National Transport Model (NTM) does takes account of the travel choice between walking, cycling, rail and bus as well as car. However, the NTM is not designed to forecast cycling levels, which will be influenced by a range of factors not included in the model.
The Department has a dedicated model which has been designed to account for the specific factors which influence cycling. We plan to include a forecast of cycling demand using this model in an upcoming call for engagement document to be published as part of the Department’s work to develop a transport decarbonisation plan.
In relation to the proportion changes in miles cycled, the Department produces estimates of actual volumes of cycle traffic in Great Britain, the latest estimates for which are 2018. These show that cycling levels on roads in England and Wales increased 3.3% between 2015 and 2018. 2019 estimates are due to be published in June 2020 [Source: 2018 Road Traffic Estimates, https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/road-traffic-statistics/].
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to publish new standards for cycle infrastructure design.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department will shortly be publishing revised guidance for local authorities on designing safe and efficient cycling infrastructure, which will need to be considered when setting local standards.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to publish its recent research on the investment needed to deliver Government cycling and walking targets.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The research has been completed and the Department is planning to publish the technical report shortly, which summarises the key evidence considered, alongside the first report on progress made towards delivering the aims and ambitions set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS).
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The proportion of staff currently employed as apprentices by the Department for Transport is 1.41%, this includes apprentices from the central department and the four executive agencies. This figure is made up of apprentices who have been externally recruited and existing employees undertaking an apprenticeship.
This figure is based on headcount numbers.
This figure does not include apprentices employed by the Department waiting to start their apprenticeship.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of an underground Northern Powerhouse Rail station at Manchester Piccadilly.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department is working with Transport for the North, Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester to explore ways to integrate Northern Powerhouse Rail into an HS2 station at Manchester Piccadilly. The aim is to develop a station which can accommodate future Northern Powerhouse Rail services, and which also provides value for money to the taxpayer.
Any solution should improve journey time and service frequency between key cities in the North of England including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Hull and Newcastle.
Work to date has considered options for both an underground station and one at the surface. An update will be provided in Transport for the North’s business case for Northern Powerhouse Rail, which is due to be submitted to the Department by the end of 2018.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Department (including Central Department and Executive Agencies) currently employs 230 apprentices which equates to 1.58% of the workforce.
This is based on apprenticeship data and Departmental headcount at end of February 2018. These figures are subject to constant change due to workforce movement and apprenticeship completion.
The Department has a number of apprenticeship starts in progress which will increase the numbers of apprentices once they have been signed up by learning providers, but they are not yet registered as apprentices.