Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to limit vehicle speed to 20 miles per hour in residential areas.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department believes that local highway authorities are best placed to set local speed limits based on the circumstances of the area and the views of local people. The Government has no plans to consider making 20mph limits the default speed limit in residential areas.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that public transportation meets the needs of disabled people in towns and cities.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government is committed to ensuring disabled people, including those with less visible disabilities such as autism, have the same access to transport and opportunities to travel as everyone else.
In July 2018 the Department published the Inclusive Transport Strategy. Its ambition is to create a transport system that provides equal access for disabled people by 2030. It is ambitious and comprehensive, and sets a clear direction of travel, helping to create a society that works for all and will enable disabled people in our towns and cities to travel confidently, easily and without extra cost. The Department is making good progress delivering the many commitments set out in the Strategy, and will be reporting to Parliament on this in the summer.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2019 to Question 246956 on Transport: Stoke-on-Trent, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the frequency of daily train services between Stoke-on-Trent and London.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The West Coast Partnership is due to be awarded shortly and as per the ITT, the current Inter City West Coast service between London Euston and Stoke on Trent has been protected as a minimum requirement.
The incoming franchisee will also be responsible for the implementation of a timetable recast associated with the introduction of HS2 services, which will involve consultation with relevant stakeholders for the provision of future services.
There is no change to the overall number of direct LNR trains between Stoke-on-Trent and London Euston in the forthcoming timetable change from 20 May 2019.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of fines issued under regulations 98 and 107 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 in 2018.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department does not keep a record of fines issued under Regulations 98 and 107 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. Local Authorities are responsible for enforcement of these offences, but they are not required to pass information on their use to the Department.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to impose limits on the amount of time an engine can be left running if a vehicle is stationary in traffic.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Regulation 98 of The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 already makes it an offence to leave an engine running unnecessarily if a vehicle is stationary, with an exception when this is “owing to the necessities of traffic”.
The Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations 2002, sets out how these offences should be enforced and guidance is provided to Local Authorities on the practicalities of enforcement. This guidance is currently being updated and the Department is planning to send this out to Local Authorities in the coming months.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a cycling indemnity for people using their bike to get to work.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department encourages all cyclists to take out some form of insurance and many do through cycling organisations (which provide insurance through membership) or as an extension of their household insurance.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that reasonably-priced travel options remain available to passengers travelling from Stoke-on-Trent to London.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Government regulates the existence and price of certain rail fares. We protect passengers by setting the maximum amount by which regulated fares can increase year-on-year. The Government has ensured regulated fares can rise by no more than inflation since 2014.
Passengers travelling from Stoke-on-Trent on the West Midlands Rail franchise now benefit from live train crowding information, compensation for people delayed by 15 minutes or more, smart ticketing and, from next year, better value tickets for part-time workers. These changes modernise rail fares for those travelling from Stoke-on-Trent and offer fare payers the choice and flexibility they expect of a modern railway.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure cycling in UK cities becomes safer and more child friendly.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Around £2bn of funding is being invested in cycling and walking projects between 2016/17 and 2020/21, which will help make cycling safer for everyone. This includes £50m for Bikeability training for school children, which has allowed around four hundred thousand children to be trained during the 2018/19 academic year.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the consultation process prior to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) decision that drivers must disclose if they have an autistic spectrum disorder.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) formulates its guidance for drivers with medical conditions, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD), in conjunction with the relevant honorary medical advisory panel. In this instance, an attempt by the DVLA to clarify the guidance caused confusion and concern. The advice for both drivers and medical professionals has now been amended to make clear that a driver who has an ASD only needs to tell the DVLA if the condition could affect their driving.
The DVLA has undertaken to engage fully with relevant stakeholders and the appropriate honorary medical advisory panel over the guidance for drivers with ASD.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what financial and other support he plans to allocate to the Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency to build the required infrastructure identified in the area local cycling and walking infrastructure plan.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) are used by Local Authorities to identify and prioritise investment for cycling and walking schemes from local funds and relevant national funding streams, such as the Highways Maintenance Fund, Integrated Transport Block, Transforming Cities Fund, Future High Streets Fund, and Housing Infrastructure Fund. The Department has been supporting Staffordshire County Council in the development of its LCWIP.
Decisions on future funding for cycling and walking will be made in the context of the forthcoming Spending Review.