Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to help support individuals that wish to donate vehicles to Ukraine.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Yes. Whilst the Government does not provide direct assistance to individuals looking to donate their vehicle to Ukraine we are supportive of efforts to make routes to donation available.
Following the Transport Secretary's letter to the Mayor of London on 31 January, the Mayor has now announced vehicles can be donated to Ukraine through TfL’s ULEZ scrappage scheme.
This will give ULEZ scrappage scheme applicants the option to donate suitable vehicles to Ukraine instead of scrapping them, and still receive the grant payment.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent fatal road accidents in (a) rural and (b) urban areas.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Britain’s roads are some of the safest in the world, but we are always looking at ways to help keep drivers and all road users safe. To date, £147.5 million has been allocated to Local Authorities (LAs) in England via the Government's Safer Roads Fund. This has been targeted at improving the safety of over 80 of the most high-risk, rural, and urban ‘A’ roads.
The Department for Transport is working closely with Local Authorities (LAs) and the Road Safety Foundation to provide tailored safety interventions specific to each road’s risk; encouraging safe system principles and improving infrastructure for active travel. This scheme is expected to save 2,200 lives over the next 20 years and is already improving safety for all road users.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the ability of the rail industry to respond to recent storm events.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is engaging regularly with Network Rail, train operating companies and the wider rail industry to ensure their seasonal preparedness plans are in place with clear mitigations outlined to minimise disruption due to storms.
Network Rail and train operators have well-established operational measures to manage services safely during incidents affecting railway operations, including extreme weather events.
In context, it has been a particularly stormy autumn and winter, with ten named storms this season so far.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of Westmorland and Furness Council's road safety policies on roads on which (a) major accidents and (b) fatalities have taken place.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport takes road safety for all road users seriously. The Department's road safety flagship project, the Safer Roads Fund focuses on treating the highest risk A road sections. To date £147.5m has been invested in helping local authorities, alongside the Road Safety Foundation, improve the safety of England’s most high risk ‘A roads.
Cumbria County Council was awarded £1.9m in 2018/19 and £7.4m in 2020/21 from the Safer Roads Fund for improvements to the A684 and A592. The Department assesses the plans submitted for this funding and monitors progress on implementation for those that have been allocated Safer Roads Funding. However, the Department has not otherwise made a specific assessment of the council’s road safety policies because the local council has responsibility for making decisions about local roads, based on its local knowledge and taking into account local needs.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of Cumberland Council's road safety policies on roads on which (a) major accidents and (b) fatalities have taken place.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport takes road safety for all road users seriously. The Department's road safety flagship project, the Safer Roads Fund, focuses on treating the highest risk A road sections. To date £147.5m has been invested in helping local authorities, alongside the Road Safety Foundation, improve the safety of England’s most high risk A roads.
Cumbria County Council was awarded £1.9m in 2018/19 and £7.4m in 2020/21 from the Safer Roads Fund for improvements to the A684 and A592. The Department assesses the plans submitted for this funding and monitors progress on implementation for those that have been allocated Safer Roads Funding. However, the Department has not otherwise made a specific assessment of the council’s road safety policies because the local council has responsibility for making decisions about local roads, based on its local knowledge and taking into account local needs.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with (a) the Rail Delivery Group and (b) train operating companies on proposals to close train station ticket offices.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Together with the rail industry we want to modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to more visible and accessible roles around the station. Department officials regularly engage with the rail industry including the Rail Delivery Group and train operating companies, to discuss a wide range of topics, including how best to operate stations and serve passenger needs in the most efficient and effective way.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed train ticket office closures on elderly people living in rural areas.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers who are disabled; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups.
Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed train ticket office closures on disabled people living in rural areas.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers who are disabled; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups.
Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed train ticket office closures on the accessibility of transport in rural areas.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers who are disabled; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups.
Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed train ticket office closures on rural communities.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers who are disabled; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups.
Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.