Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions her Department has had with representatives of (a) the Rail Delivery Group, (b) the Office of Rail and Road and (c) Train Operating Companies on wider roll-out of (i) Driver Only Operation and (ii) Driver Controlled Operation.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Department has ongoing discussions with these organisations on a range of matters, including Driver Only Operation and Driver Controlled Operation.
Trains have operated safely in the UK for many years as driver only, or driver controlled. The Office of Rail and Road as the independent safety regulator has scrutinised this approach.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on which recent dates (a) she and (b) officials in her Department have met with representatives of the Rail Delivery Group to discuss industrial relations.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Officials meet generally at least weekly with senior representatives from industry including from Rail Delivery Group (RDG) to discuss industrial relations.
The Secretary of State has also met representatives of RDG since taking up office.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, (a) what recent discussions and (b) on what dates (i) she and (ii) officials in her Department have had with representatives of (A) the Rail Delivery Group, (B) the Office of Rail and Road, (C) London TravelWatch and (D) Transport Focus on the potential closing or repurposing of ticket offices.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) sets out the process which train operating companies must follow to commence proposals for changes to the opening hours of ticket offices, including public and industry engagement.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any future National Rail contracts will contain a requirement for operators to close or repurpose ticket offices.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There are no requirements in any of the Department’s National Rail Contracts for train operating companies to close or repurpose ticket offices.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any current National Rail contracts contain a requirement for train operating companies to close or repurpose ticket offices.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There are no requirements in any of the Department’s National Rail Contracts for train operating companies to close or repurpose ticket offices.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review the design of the proposed shelter for Platform 2 of Dore & Totley station in response to concerns that it is too small and has not been futureproofed for future commuter and leisure travel.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I understand that Northern has responded directly to the Honourable Member on this matter.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to implement covid-19 test and isolate measures for incoming passengers at airports and ports.
Answered by Robert Courts
International arrivals from countries, territories or regions not on the Travel Corridor list (“non-exempt” places) are required to self-isolate in the UK for 10 days after leaving the non-exempt place. The Government implemented the “Test to Release for International Travel” (TTR) scheme on 15 December. Arrivals from non-exempt places can book, pay for, and take a privately provided test on the fifth day after leaving the non-exempt place, and if the result is negative, cease self-isolating.
TTR provides much stronger public health protection than a test upon arrival at a port or airport, as the long incubation period of COVID-19 would mean many cases would be missed if travellers were tested earlier than 5 days after leaving the non-exempt place.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent on improving railways in the (a) Sheffield, (b) Leeds and (c) Manchester city regions in each of the last 30 years; and how much his Department plans to spend on railways in each region over the next 10 years.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Figures on public sector expenditure at national and regional levels are part of the Government’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics. These provide statistical allocations of public spending according to where the benefits of that spend are accrued. Unfortunately, spend at city specific level is not available.
The CRA statistics include spend on transport by all public sector organisations including the Department for Transport, Local Authorities, Public Corporations (in the case of transport, this is mainly spend by London Underground) and other government departments including devolved administrations.
Table 1: Public expenditure on the railway in the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber, by all public sector bodies (£ million)
| North West | Yorkshire and the Humber |
2015-16 | 1,499 | 885 |
2016-17 | 1,289 | 677 |
2017-18 | 1,593 | 668 |
2018-19 | 1,859 | 770 |
2019-20 | 1,784 | 716 |
These expenditure values are in nominal terms and have not been adjusted for inflation. In 2014, Network Rail was classified as a Central Government Body and thus spending on the railways before and after Network Rail’s reclassification are not comparable.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2020
The Spending Review confirmed that the Government will continue to support the railway, investing in ambitious improvements to modernise our railway, committing over £40bn. This includes over £2 billion of funding confirmed in 2021-22 for rail services, building on the estimated £12.8 billion of support for transport services that the government has already committed to provide in 2020-21.
We continue to deliver ambitious enhancements to the rail network, investing in key priorities including the Transpennine Route Upgrade, restoring lines and stations closed during the Beeching cuts and in HS2, with an unrelenting focus on levelling up our country and ensuring all communities have the connections they need to support growth and prosperity.