Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce (a) disposable and (b) non-recyclable waste on aviation services arriving to or departing from the UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The majority of airlines are privately owned and the responsibility of disposable and non-recyclable waste reduction on services arriving to and departing from the UK is a matter for the companies concerned.
The Government has adopted a target of zero avoidable plastic waste by the end of 2042. The Aviation Strategy consultation paper highlights examples of best practice in waste reduction. As the Department continue to develop this strategy, it will be working with the aviation industry to help set out ambitions and share best practice to reduce levels of plastic waste produced by the sector still further, in order to ensure that the Government is able to achieve its 2042 goal.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what advice and support his Department is providing to consumers affected by the failure of Wow Air.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Wow Air was an airline based in Iceland operating under an Icelandic Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) and was not regulated in the UK by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). In line with previous insolvencies of non-UK regulated airlines, both the CAA and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have issued advice for affected passengers on their websites.
Given the number of consumers affected, the CAA believes that there is sufficient capacity available in the market for passengers to make their own travel arrangements. The CAA has put in place comprehensive consumer advice to support this. The majority of passengers will be able to recover costs through their credit /debit card bookings, or from travel insurance.
The Department recognises that this is a disruptive time for passengers, and the Government’s immediate priority is to support those affected. The Government will continue to monitor the situation and work with the CAA and industry to ensure the correct advice is easily available to those UK citizens affected by the Insolvency of Wow Air.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the the value of written-off assets held by his Department in each of the last two financial years.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Department did not make any write-offs of permanent fixed assets in financial years 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The Department records an annual write-down of infrastructure assets in the financial statements. These write-downs represent notional accounting adjustments arising from the different valuation bases which are applied at different stages over an asset’s life in accordance with HMT’s financial reporting rules, and do not represent write-offs of actual permanent assets.
Write-offs may also arise in respect of other asset categories such as debt, investment or inventory balances. These write-offs are included within Losses as reported by the Department. Where such write-offs individually exceed £300,000, they are separately disclosed as Losses in the Parliamentary Accountability Report within the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish any guidelines his Department has produced for rolling stock companies on re-purposing displaced rolling stock.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department does not intend to publish any guidelines. Rolling stock is generally privately owned and it is a matter for the owners to determine the future opportunities for their assets once they are no longer in passenger service.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of trains are (a) wholly re-purposed, (b) partially re-purposed and (c) scrapped in each of the last three years.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department does not hold this information. Rolling stock is generally privately owned and it is a matter for the owners to determine the future opportunities for their assets once they are no longer in passenger service.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of cyclists killed in a road traffic collision were not wearing a safety helmet.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The table below provides figures for 2017 for Great Britain on the number of pedal cyclist fatalities who were wearing a helmet, not wearing a helmet, and where helmet status was not known. This table shows that more than a half (58%) of pedal cyclist fatalities with helmet status known were not wearing one. These statistics do not show whether the helmet was worn correctly, when worn.
Number and proportion of pedal cyclist fatalities by helmet worn, Great Britain: 2017 | |||
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Number of pedal cyclist fatalities |
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Helmet worn1 | Helmet not worn | Not known2 | Proportion of cyclist fatalities not wearing a helmet where known |
27 | 37 | 37 | 58% |
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1. These statistics do not indicate whether the helmet was worn correctly when worn. | |||
2. Includes pedal cycle fatalities for police forces which did not provide any data on helmet worn or not worn for their pedal cyclist fatalities in 2017. In 2017, there were 27 police forces providing data on whether helmet was worn for reported pedal cyclist fatalities. | |||
Source: DfT STATS19 |
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Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a mandatory requirement for companies to allow mobility scooters to carried on their carriages as a condition of application to operate future rail franchises.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Currently all train operating companies will carry mobility scooters which can be folded. Most can also carry unfolded mobility scooters, provided that they do not exceed the measurements of the ‘reference’ wheelchair and can meet certain manoeuvrability criteria - such as turning circle and the ability to safely propel (or be propelled) on to the train via a boarding ramp. Decisions on the safe carriage of mobility scooters, which may depend on individual platform widths and heights, are best made by the train operating company and communicated to passengers via its mandatory Disabled People’s Protection Policy.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals for the mandatory 30-day retention of CCTV footage from train and bus services.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department for Transport refers transport operators to the Information Commissioner’s Office code of practice on matters of CCTV surveillance. This code includes guidance on data retention. It does not prescribe any specific minimum or maximum retention period, but rather states that retention should reflect the organisation’s purposes for recording the information and how long it is needed to achieve this purpose. The guidance also notes that the data should not be kept for longer than is necessary, and should be the shortest period necessary to the organisation’s purpose.
The Rail Delivery Group guidance to industry on CCTV recommends that data should be retained for 31 days, as requested by British Transport Police. DfT’s bus and coach security guidance also recommends a 31 day retention period.
The Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s office is responsible for providing advice on the effective, appropriate, proportionate and transparent use of surveillance camera systems.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many coach companies have had their operating licences revoked in the last five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The data held by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner does not differentiate between operators of coaches, buses or minibuses in Great Britain as all of the vehicles are regarded as Public Service Vehicles (PSV), which are generally vehicles that have nine or more passenger seats.
The figures in the table below show the number of PSV licences revoked at a public enquiry. There are licences that have been revoked outside of a public enquiry, but these numbers cannot be provided due to disproportionate costs.
Year | No. of PSV licences revoked at a public enquiry |
2017 - 18 | 86 |
2016 - 17 | 78 |
2015 - 16 | 75 |
2014 - 15 | 97 |
2013 - 14 | 75 |
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department plans to allocate to dedicated cycle networks similar to London's cycle superhighways in (a) cities and (b) towns throughout the UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government’s statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in April 2017, outlines £1.2 billion of funding that may be invested in cycling and walking in England over the period to 2021. Funding for cycling infrastructure in the rest of the UK is a matter for the devolved administrations. Since the Strategy’s publication, the Government has made further support available for cycling and walking infrastructure in England, through the National Productivity Investment Fund, Transforming Cities Fund and Clean Air Fund. Decisions on allocating funding for dedicated cycle networks are for local authorities, who allocate and/or bid for funding alongside other local priorities. In addition, the Department for Transport is providing 44 local authorities in England with access to expert support to assist in the development of ten-year Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans. This support will enable authorities to map their future cycle networks and to prioritise future investments.