Asked by: Rob Roberts (Independent - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of 20 April 2023 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Official Report, column 366, what estimate he has made of the timescale for the electrification of the north Wales Mainline.
Answered by Huw Merriman
In the Transport Decarbonisation Plan the government committed to deliver a net zero rail network by 2050. To do so we will electrify additional lines and deploy battery and hydrogen trains on lines where it makes economic and operational sense.
In relation to individual railway routes, the Great British Railways Transition Team will bring forward costed decarbonisation options for Government to carefully consider in terms of overall deliverability and affordability. No decision has yet been taken on the North Wales Mainline.
Asked by: Rob Roberts (Independent - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent on heavy rail infrastructure in (a) England and (b) Wales in each of the last five years up to and including the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Between 2018-19 and 2021-22, £46.7bn was invested on High Speed Two infrastructure; Network Rail Operations, Maintenance and Renewals; and the Rail Network Enhancements Portfolio. Figures are sourced from DfT and NR published accounts and Network Rail reporting is consolidated for England and Wales. By its nature, expenditure on the railway in any one particular part of the country is likely to also benefit passengers from outside that immediate area who use that railway.
An annual breakdown is included in the table below:
2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
10.3 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 14.4 |
*Figures are in £billions, in nominal prices
** Rail Network Enhancements Portfolio figures do not include 3rd party-funded delivery
*** 2022-23 outturn data is provisional and excluded
Asked by: Rob Roberts (Independent - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on implementing the recommendations of the Union Connectivity Review.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport, Department for Transport officials and I have regular discussions with colleagues across Government about Lord Hendy’s of Richmond Hill’s independent Union Connectivity Review. We are engaging with the devolved administrations and with other stakeholders to consider his recommendations and will publish our response as soon as is practicable.
I also recently made visits across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to meet with key stakeholders and visit a wide variety of transport connectivity projects.
Asked by: Rob Roberts (Independent - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps she has taken to increase (a) the number of driving instructors and (b) practical driving test availability.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) licenses approved driving instructors for them to provide paid tuition.
To help increase practical driving test availability, the DVSA is recruiting more than 300 driving examiners across Great Britain. The DVSA’s examiner recruitment campaigns continue to be successful but, like many employers, the DVSA is finding the job market extremely competitive. As it moves through each recruitment campaign, the DVSA will continually review and make changes and improvements to its recruitment and selection process, and training courses.
The DVSA is working hard to provide as many practical driving test appointments as it can, with several measures in place to do this.
These include: