Asked by: Richard Graham (Conservative - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department is making on negotiations with the French government on the recognition of UK Blue Badges in that country.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains committed to confirming the status of UK issued Blue Badges for motorists visiting Europe. Twenty countries have already committed to recognising Blue Badges and are listed on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-badge-using-it-in-the-eu/using-a-blue-badge-in-the-european-union
Discussions continue with a number of countries. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the progress of discussions while they are on-going.
Asked by: Richard Graham (Conservative - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
What steps he is taking to increase rail capacity in Gloucester.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
In the new timetable starting on 15 December Great Western Railway increases the frequency of through train services between London Paddington and Gloucester from every two hours to hourly. There will also be earlier first and last trains.
The new through trains will be operated by new Intercity Express Trains, providing far more capacity than the shorter local diesel trains they replace.