Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether permission from her Department was required by Avanti West Coast to undertake its station rostering review.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Permission is not required to undertake a review of working practices made in the ordinary course of business. If potential staff rostering affected changes to ticket office opening hours, the train operator would need to follow the process of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement conditions and Secretary of State guidance.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will ask (a) local authorities and (b) combined authorities to undertake an audit of bus stops in order to identify those that fall below the standard.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the value that high-quality public transport infrastructure provides to passengers, including bus stops. Local authorities are responsible for the bus stops in their area, and the government has allocated over £712 million to local authorities in England outside London in this financial year to support and improve bus services. This includes capital funding which can be used to improve infrastructure such as bus stations and stops. The Department has also published Local Transport Note (LTN) 1/24 Bus User Priority which provides guidance on good practice in the design of bus stops.
The Government also knows how important safe and accessible bus stations and stops are in supporting people to make inclusive journeys on local bus services. The Bus Services (No.2) Bill, introduced on 17 December, sets out a comprehensive package of measures which will make bus travel more accessible and inclusive. This includes a requirement on Local Transport Authorities to publish Bus Network Accessibility Plans setting out an assessment of existing provision and measures to improve this in future. These plans could include an assessment of bus stops in the local area.
The Bill also introduces a power to enable the Secretary of State to publish statutory guidance on the safety and accessibility of bus stations and stops, and to require specified public sector bodies to pay regard to it when they provide new or upgrade existing facilities. The guidance will help authorities to provide infrastructure that people can and want to use, helping to ensure that they are not prevented from using bus services because of inadequate accessibility or safety.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department will make an assessment of the impact of (a) unfilled station staff vacancies and (b) use of fixed-term contracts at Avanti West Coast-managed railway stations on (i) trends in the length of delays at ticket offices and (ii) trends in the number of unscheduled closures of ticket offices.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department expects all train operating companies to use reasonable endeavours to meet their obligations for regulated staffed ticket office opening hours under Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. As such, we regularly review ticket office opening hours compliance and the causes of any negative trends, including staff vacancies.
Train operating companies are also required to achieve challenging customer experience targets across a range of measures, including ticket offices being open at advertised times. These standards are regularly and independently inspected via the Service Quality Regime and there are accountability and financial consequences for failure.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will hold discussions with Avanti West Coast on the (a) reliability and (b) speed of wifi connectivity on west coast mainline passenger railway services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State and the Rail Minister met with Avanti West Coast (AWC) in January to discuss industrial action and performance. They did not specifically discuss Wi-Fi connectivity however, officials meet with AWC regularly to discuss services for passengers, including Wi-Fi.
The Department is considering the feasibility of a range of technology options to improve passenger Wi-Fi services on the rail network. AWC recently completed a positive trial using laser window etching technology to improve connectivity and are exploring future use. The Department is also measuring the strength of mobile signals along the rail network to fully understand where interventions are needed, and the potential impacts.
Operators are required to achieve challenging customer experience targets across a range of measures, including Wi-Fi connectivity. These standards are regularly and independently inspected via the Service Quality Regime and there are accountability and financial consequences for failure.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing adequate passenger services to Reddish South railway station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department expects operators to match capacity and frequency of their services to demand, though these must also be operationally sustainable and deliver value for taxpayers. Rail North Partnership, through which the Department and Transport for the North jointly manage the contract with Northern Trains, which serves Reddish South, will assess any business case put forward, but this analysis must balance the economic and social benefits of any enhancement with the performance of existing services and the financial impact on taxpayer subsidy.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to improve Passenger Assist service for rail users in England.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We have recently invested over £10 million to enable the Rail Delivery Group to deliver the next phase of the Passenger Assist Improvement Programme. This 25-month programme will deliver a series of improvements including the capability to book a ticket, request assistance and reserve a seat in a single transaction. Importantly, it will give customers the ability to communicate directly with staff and provide a dedicated help function on the Passenger Assist App.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of Avanti West Coast’s management of Stockport railway station.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast (AWC) is responsible for the day-to-day management of Stockport Station, which includes staffing, facilities management and cleaning. The Department meets with AWC regularly to discuss these responsibilities and to ensure any issues are addressed as soon as possible for passengers.
Responsibility for repairs to the structure of the property lies with the station’s landlord, Network Rail. AWC works with Network Rail seeking improvements on behalf of passengers where this is required.
Operators are also required to achieve customer experience targets across a range of measures, including at stations. These standards are regularly and independently inspected via the Service Quality Regime and there are accountability and financial consequences for failure.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to refurbish Stockport railway station.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast and Network Rail hold the responsibility for the operations, maintenance, and refurbishment activities at Stockport station. I understand that the lift on platform 0 and the station entrance doors have recently been refurbished. More substantial work is being planned for the underpass in due course.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require train operating companies to accept cash payments for onboard catering purchases.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Catering services are a commercial matter for each train operating company. Train operators are responsible for considering the equality impacts of operational changes such as to catering payment methods, and are expected by the Department for Transport to take local needs into account.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to provide funding for step-free access at (a) Brinnington Station and (b) Heaton Chapel Station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognise the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.