Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that cycle lanes are not a danger to (a) visually impaired and (b) blind pedestrians.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Design guidance for cycle infrastructure issued by the Department for Transport sets out that there should be separation of pedestrian and cycle infrastructure wherever possible. This guidance was developed in collaboration with stakeholders, including disability groups.
The Department for Transport established Active Travel England (ATE) to up-skill local authorities, enabling the installation of changes that are well thought through for all modes of travel, and disseminating best practice. As part of this, ATE has recently published a suite of design assistance and scheme review tools to support the development of accessible active travel schemes. The agency has also commissioned West Midlands Combined Authority to undertake research into crossing detection systems.
ATE will continue to work with organisations representing blind and visually impaired people to improve standards and further reduce the rare occasions that collisions occur.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he has made an assessment of the potential merits of altering the legislation to enable the Civil Aviation Authority to allow drones to be operated out of the line of sight by the (a) police and (b) armed forces.
Answered by Anthony Browne
Legislation already allows for police to fly drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) when certain conditions are met. Additionally, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council are considering developing a regulatory framework to support police drone use, and the Department for Transport will consider any recommendations they have, including whether any changes to legislation are appropriate.
The armed forces’ use of drones is a matter for the Ministry of Defence to comment on, as it is outside of the remit of civil aviation.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that blind and partially-sighted people continue to have access to ticket offices at railway stations.
Answered by Huw Merriman
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 disabled passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider all equality related needs and make this clear in their consultation.
Together with the 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.
Station staff will still provide face-to-face services on the railways, which assists those who need additional support, and cannot or do not want to use contactless or mobile tickets. All staff in customer facing roles or with managed responsibilities undertake enhanced disability awareness training and TOCs are already required to provide this. These reforms will not affect these arrangements.
The Department recently hosted roundtable discussions with industry and accessibility and transport groups to discuss this matter and ensure their views are understood. We continue to engage with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee through the process.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will issue guidance to local authorities on tackling the cloning of vehicle number plates for use in criminal activity; and if he will take steps to require the relevant authorities issuing motoring penalties to provide (a) photographic evidence and (b) contact information.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is currently working closely with the National Police Chiefs Council, Trading Standards, local authorities and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.
The police are responsible for on-road enforcement of vehicle offences, including cloned plates. Local authorities have procedures in place to deal with number plate cloning and registered keepers are advised to return any fines they receive to the issuing authorities along with any evidence to show that their vehicle was not in the area at the time. Registered keepers may also request photographic evidence and other information from the relevant authorities who have issued the penalty.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is considering extending grandfather rights to all those who possess a full driving licence in order to increase the number of potential HGV drivers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Acquired rights (grandfather rights) for car drivers who passed their test prior to 1 January 1997 allowed drivers with a Category B (car) licence entitlement to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes (Category C1). We have no existing plans to amend the requirements for acquiring a C1 licence.
Drivers wishing to obtain a Category C or C+E licence for heavy goods vehicles are required to complete the driving test for that category of vehicle.