Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his department has made of the potential merits of extending the validity period of Compulsory Basic Training certification for frontline and key workers needing to commute during the pandemic whose two-year deadline has expired or is due to expire during lockdowns; and what steps he is taking to support workers who have lost their means of commuting due to a lack of extension to their certificates.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The two-year validity period of a compulsory basic training (CBT) certificate is set out in legislation. It is in place to ensure learner moped and motorcycle riders can ride safely on their own, with L-plates, while they practise for a full moped or motorcycle test. That includes critical workers. The Government has no plans, on road safety grounds, to waive that two-year validity period for any category of learner rider. Mobile emergency workers who hold a valid CBT certificate are, however, able to take a motorcycle test during the current restrictions if put forward by their employer.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Global Travel Taskforce held its first meeting.
Answered by Robert Courts
A core function of the Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) is to bring together industry and government to devise a way to implement measures to reduce quarantine while protecting public health. In its work, the GTT will therefore seek to consult representatives from across the travel sector.
Further information on the GTT can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/global-travel-taskforce
The taskforce held its first meeting on 15 October 2020.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Global Travel Taskforce will engage with representatives of the business travel industry.
Answered by Robert Courts
A core function of the Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) is to bring together industry and government to devise a way to implement measures to reduce quarantine while protecting public health. In its work, the GTT will therefore seek to consult representatives from across the travel sector.
Further information on the GTT can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/global-travel-taskforce
The taskforce held its first meeting on 15 October 2020.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will instruct the Global Travel Taskforce to work with representatives of the business travel sector to help (a) design and (b) implement a covid-19 testing regime at airports.
Answered by Robert Courts
A core function of the Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) is to bring together industry and government to devise a way to implement measures to reduce quarantine while protecting public health. In its work, the GTT will therefore seek to consult representatives from across the travel sector.
Further information on the GTT can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/global-travel-taskforce
The taskforce held its first meeting on 15 October 2020.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the (a) general publicity regarding the new covid-19 travel regulations and passenger compliance, (b) obligation on customers to wear a face covering on public transport, (c) requirement on operators to engage, encourage and explain the new regulations to their service users and (d) enforcement action against non-compliant passengers.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
When we introduced this policy, the Secretary of State was clear that the early stages would focus on communications rather than enforcement. We are working with transport operators to ensure they are disseminating key messages to their staff and passengers, including making the exemptions clear to disability groups (Safer Transport Guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-transport-guidance-for-operators/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-transport-guidance-for-operators).
Our approach has achieved high levels of compliance. ONS data for the week following implementation showed 84% saying they are wearing face coverings on public transport. Our guidance clearly sets out the role of operators, the police and TfL authorised enforcement officers. While the government expects the vast majority of people to comply with the changes, operators will be able to refuse travel or issue penalty fines for those who fail to wear a face covering
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of (a) trends in the use and (b) the effectiveness of (i) Stagecoach and (ii) other operator Journey Assistance Cards in (A) helping people who are exempt from wearing face coverings during the covid-19 outbreak and (B) making it clear to the public that the non-wearing of face coverings should not take place without adequate reason.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Our guidance sets out exemptions to mandatory face covering, including for health and disability reasons (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-transport-guidance-for-operators/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-transport-guidance-for-operators). We are working with operators to include these in their communications, and have been clear that operators should continue to assist disabled passengers as they did before the pandemic.
There are a range of assistance cards provided to disabled people independently of Government. We do not have data to assess the trends and the effectiveness of these cards. Assistance cards can be used to help passengers identify themselves, but we are clear that passengers should not have to routinely 'prove' their exemption when challenged by transport operators.
The Department is working closely with transport operators, including Stagecoach, to understand their policies and procedures around mandatory face coverings and exemptions, and how these are working in practice.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the level of risk of (a) older and (b) vulnerable people catching covid-19 as a result of passengers on public transport that refuse to cover their faces.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Protecting the public, especially older and vulnerable citizens, from Covid-19 is the government’s primary focus. Since Monday 15 June, it has been mandatory for passengers to wear a face covering on public transport in England, unless they are exempt for health, disability or other reasons (full list of exemptions can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-transport-guidance-for-operators/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-transport-guidance-for-operators#exemptions-from-mandatory-face-coverings). Operators are reporting high levels of compliance across the country.
Measures are in place to safeguard passengers from people who refuse to abide by this legislation. The regulations made under Public Health Act 1984 include powers for transport operators to deny access to a service, or direct someone to leave a service, who is not wearing a face covering. If a passenger still refuses to comply, there are new powers for the police or TfL authorised officers to issue fines.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 50 of the Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made on making 25 per cent of all cars in the central government department fleet ultra-low emission by 2022.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
It is for individual Government departments to determine how they work towards this target. In December last year the Government updated the Government Buying Standards for transport to include this new commitment. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles is also providing guidance to public sector fleet managers. We expect these steps to encourage public fleets across the country to adopt ambitious targets and deliver on them in the coming years.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 137 of the Industrial Strategy, when he expects the Rebalancing Toolkit to be in operation.
Answered by John Hayes
The Rebalancing Toolkit guidance will be published shortly alongside wider guidance to support transport business cases. The Toolkit will be in operation from the point of publication.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the introduction of alternative penalties to fines for drivers using mobile telephones.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Government increased the fixed penalty notice for using a hand held phone when driving from 3 to 6 points and £100 to £200 from 1 March 2017.
We do not plan any further measures until we have evaluated the effectiveness of these new penalties.