Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 2 October 2019 to Question 290331 on Department for Transport: Energy Supply, and to the Answer of 1 October 2019 to Question 290324 on Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Energy Supply, if he will introduce the same policy as the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and switch to an electricity provider that supplies electricity solely from renewable resources within the next 12 months; for what reason his Department has not already ensured its electricity is supplied solely from renewable resources.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department’s response of 2 October 2019 to Question 290331 covered over 1,200 sites and not just our main headquarters building. However, I can confirm that the electricity supplied to our headquarters building has been sourced from solely renewable sources since 2010. The Department will consider further opportunities for increasing the proportion of energy that is sourced from renewable sources as and when contracts are renewed. We are encouraging our ALB’s to switch to renewable sources where they haven’t already.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve rail safety standards, (b) reduce the number of trains which pass through red signals and (c) mitigate the risk of collision when trains pass through red signals.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
While the UK has one of the safest rail networks in the world, my Department continues to work closely with the rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, and the rail industry, who have primary responsibility for setting standards, to improve the systems and measures in place that protect workers, passengers and the wider public.
The Department is supporting the Rail Safety Standards Board in its work to reduce the safety risk of signals passed at danger, which will be a priority for ORR’s inspections in 2019-2020 and will focus on improving driver vigilance. To enable the roll out of the latest standards of train protection and digital signalling, which will bring even greater levels of safety, we are also developing the East Coast Digital Programme and supporting Network Rail’s Digital Railway Long-Term Deployment Plan.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which provider supplies energy to his Department; how much CO2 was emitted through his Department’s energy consumption in the latest period for which figures are available; whether the criteria his Department uses to selecting an energy supplier includes how environmentally friendly the supplier is; and what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce CO2 emissions from its energy use.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The total emissions from energy use for the Department for Transport as reported in the 2018-19 Greening Government Commitments amounts to 88,292.68 tCO2e (tCO2e = tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents).
The Department has taken a number of measures to reduce emissions from its energy use including:
Moving to LED lighting when offices are refurbished or lighting systems are beyond economical repair;
Consolidating our estate holdings wherever possible;
Introducing renewable energy sources where it is feasible and economical to do so; and
Improved energy efficiency of street lighting
A number of different Crown Commercial Services suppliers provide energy to the Department for Transport. This is procured directly by the Crown Commercial Services and the Department for Transport has no involvement in the selection process.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the final package of support was that Thomas Cook UK requested from the Government prior to its collapse.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The Thomas Cook Group wrote to the government to request support for its recapitalisation of the business on 18 September, in advance of its board meeting on 22 September 2019. This was a high level request, with numerous outstanding issues still to be resolved, and depended on agreement of multiple stakeholders of the company.
Following a review of this request, the government considered that it would not be financially responsible or deliver value for the taxpayer to accede to that request in the circumstances. Thomas Cook’s financial problems were substantial, long-standing and well documented and government financial assistance would not have resolved them. If the government had given the company up to £250m, there would have been no guarantee that the company would not go into insolvency in the future and the government would still have needed to fund a repatriation.
Aviation is an open and competitive marketplace which offers consumers significant choice and value in terms of the destinations on offer and the fares that they pay. Sadly, this will on occasion mean that the operators, such as Thomas Cook, will be forced to withdraw from the market.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department’s has made on the commitment in the loneliness strategy to explore with seven mobility centres in England how the Government can help to identify signs of loneliness or lack of social connections.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
In May this year, the Government provided a grant of £250k to enable seven of the thirteen Mobility Centres in England to trial an expansion of their services to disabled people who do not or can no longer drive, and need support to access public transport. This includes Mobility Centre staff identifying and acting on signs of loneliness amongst their clients. The trial will commence by the end of the summer.
Transport has a key role to play in tackling loneliness and the Department is very active in the cross-Government efforts to tackle loneliness and works closely with stakeholders to ensure transport's role is fully aligned to the wider strategy.
Government has engaged closely with the Loneliness Action Group in the development, and now implementation, of its loneliness strategy, and regularly attend the quarterly Loneliness Action Group meetings, to share updates and hear views from the group.
The Department will continue to engage widely in support of the implementation of the Government’s strategy and to ensure our transport network plays its part in this vital area.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on the commitment in the loneliness strategy to (a) create new partnerships with transport providers and community organisations who are developing ideas and initiatives for how transport can be used as a means to help tackle loneliness, and (b) use industry-wide forums to promote these.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Department for Transport is actively working with the transport sector to highlight the issue of loneliness and develop solutions.
At the UK Bus Summit in February I announced a partnership with Greener Journeys to encourage bus operators to come together to tackle loneliness. Buses are a vital means of transport for many people and I am pleased to see such a range of initiatives being trialled by bus companies over the course of the year, including Go Ahead Group’s “Chatty Bus” campaign to encourage conversation between passengers. Most recently, in July I marked ‘Catch the Bus’ week, an important event to help raise the profile of all the work that is going on.
My Department has also been working in partnership with the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP), which is raising awareness about how activities such as volunteering on our railways can help to tackle loneliness.
Along with our partners, I spoke about the importance of the transport sector supporting the loneliness agenda with a wide range of stakeholders at the Department’s Transport Communications Network on 31 January 2019.
More widely, the Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, published on 19th March, sets out clear principles to ensure that our future transport system works to overcome problems like loneliness and social exclusion. The Strategy was developed following extensive engagement with external stakeholders across the transport sector and others, and a public call for evidence, and will help frame our future engagement with the industry.
The transport sector has an important role to play in reducing loneliness, alongside government and other sectors, and we will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on the commitment, in the loneliness strategy to encourage organisations across the transport sector to develop new initiatives to tackle loneliness.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Department for Transport is actively working with the transport sector to highlight the issue of loneliness and develop solutions.
At the UK Bus Summit in February I announced a partnership with Greener Journeys to encourage bus operators to come together to tackle loneliness. Buses are a vital means of transport for many people and I am pleased to see such a range of initiatives being trialled by bus companies over the course of the year, including Go Ahead Group’s “Chatty Bus” campaign to encourage conversation between passengers. Most recently, in July I marked ‘Catch the Bus’ week, an important event to help raise the profile of all the work that is going on.
My Department has also been working in partnership with the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP), which is raising awareness about how activities such as volunteering on our railways can help to tackle loneliness.
Along with our partners, I spoke about the importance of the transport sector supporting the loneliness agenda with a wide range of stakeholders at the Department’s Transport Communications Network on 31 January 2019.
More widely, the Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, published on 19th March, sets out clear principles to ensure that our future transport system works to overcome problems like loneliness and social exclusion. The Strategy was developed following extensive engagement with external stakeholders across the transport sector and others, and a public call for evidence, and will help frame our future engagement with the industry.
The transport sector has an important role to play in reducing loneliness, alongside government and other sectors, and we will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on the commitment in the loneliness strategy to increase the numbers of drivers trained to support older and disabled passengers.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Government believes that community transport operators provide vital services that both encourage growth and reduce isolation by linking people with their communities. Most community transport operators provide vital social care services to older or disabled people as well as those most at risk of isolation.
The Department has taken steps to protect this sector. In March 2019 we clarified the scope of two exemptions to the EU Regulation on operator licensing in guidance and enacted a new additional exemption; so that community transport operators can continue to take vulnerable people to the shops, work, school, hospital and the doctor.
We have committed to fund the Community Transport Association (CTA) to enable the existing Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme (MiDAS) training to be recognised as part of the qualification for professional coach and bus drivers, thereby encouraging an increase in the numbers of drivers trained to support the needs of older, isolated and disabled passengers.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will sign his Department up to the UK Steel charter.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Department is currently assessing which aspects of the UK Steel Charter it is appropriate and relevant to commit to. However, the Charter is generally consistent with existing Government procurement policy to address barriers for UK steel producers, and the DfT bodies that use steel already comply with the key principles of this policy for in-scope procurement activity.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had discussions with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the UK Steel charter.
Answered by Michael Ellis
I can confirm that discussions have taken place between officials in the Department and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the UK Steel Charter.