Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ending Birmingham’s Highways PFI contract earlier than planned on future infrastructure planning in that city.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has funded Birmingham City Council’s Highways Maintenance contract at £50.3 million a year for 13 years and will continue to do so, maintaining the current level of funding to the council at £50 million a year for the remainder of the current spending review period until 2023/24.
After this time, West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will become eligible for an additional share of the £8.3 billion as the £151 million for WMCA did not previously include an allocation for Birmingham City Council’s roads. This is part of the £2.2 billion wider funding for East Midlands and West Midlands.
This is in addition to the £1bn of CRSTS funding to WMCA up to 2026/27, and CRSTS 2 indicative funding of over £2.6billion over 5 years from 2027/28 to 2031/32.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2023 to Question 4015 on Roads: Midlands, if he will make a comparative estimate of the (a) additional funding for the West Midlands and East Midlands referenced in that Answer and (b) impact of shortening Birmingham's Highways PFI contract to one year on the funding available for highways maintenance.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has funded Birmingham City Council’s Highways Maintenance contract at £50.3 million a year for 13 years and will continue to do so, maintaining the current level of funding to the council at £50 million a year for the remainder of the current spending review period until 2023/24.
After this time, West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will become eligible for an additional share of the £8.3 billion as the £151 million for WMCA did not previously include an allocation for Birmingham City Council’s roads. This is part of the £2.2 billion wider funding for East Midlands and West Midlands.
This is in addition to the £1bn of CRSTS funding to WMCA up to 2026/27, and CRSTS 2 indicative funding of over £2.6billion over 5 years from 2027/28 to 2031/32.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the causes for the backlog in issuing medical paper driving licences at the DVLA; and what steps he is taking to resolve that backlog.
Answered by Karl McCartney
The length of time taken to deal with an application for a driving licence where a medical condition must be investigated depends on the condition(s) involved and whether further information or clinical tests are required from medical professionals. The receipt of information from NHS professionals has been impacted by pressures on the NHS. Delays in this area were also exacerbated by six months of industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union, which was targeted at the areas that would have the most impact on the motoring public.
To reduce waiting times for customers, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has recruited more staff and opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham which are focused on medical applications. DVLA staff also continue to work overtime at evenings and weekends. These measures are having a positive impact and the DVLA expects to return to pre-pandemic levels for medical applications in September.
It is important to note that most applicants will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing they meet specific criteria. More information can be found online here.