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Written Question
Travel: Finance
Monday 6th December 2021

Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will announce the next round of successful bids to the Active Travel Fund.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

My Department has been rigorously assessing the bids submitted by local authorities. I will be announcing the 2021/22 active travel capital allocations in due course.


Written Question
M11: Accidents
Tuesday 9th November 2021

Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce traffic accidents on the M11 between junction 6 and junction 8.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Safety is the Department and National Highways’ main priority on all sections of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), comprised of England’s motorways and principal A-roads, including the M11 between junctions 6 and 8.

National Highways routinely monitors the M11, and accidents are analysed to understand cause and identify trends. National Highways completed several maintenance and improvement schemes since its 2018 accident study on the this stretch. These have improved the road surface, drainage and road markings.

National Highways has also contributed financially to the building of the new junction 7a by Essex County Council. The new junction will not only support growth around the Harlow constituency, but will improve the safety of those driving between Harlow and the M11.

Pursuant to the answer to Question 151672, total project costs for this scheme, including construction and widening of local link roads, is estimated to be around £81 million, with an agreed funding contribution from National Highways of £41.7 million which was provided to Essex County Council. Additionally, through the Department’s Large Local Majors programme, the scheme received £1.5 million of early development funding in 2017. The remainder of the project costs are being funded by Essex County Council and partners.


Written Question
M11: Finance
Tuesday 9th November 2021

Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding the Government has provided to new M11 junction 7a.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Safety is the Department and National Highways’ main priority on all sections of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), comprised of England’s motorways and principal A-roads, including the M11 between junctions 6 and 8.

National Highways routinely monitors the M11, and accidents are analysed to understand cause and identify trends. National Highways completed several maintenance and improvement schemes since its 2018 accident study on the this stretch. These have improved the road surface, drainage and road markings.

National Highways has also contributed financially to the building of the new junction 7a by Essex County Council. The new junction will not only support growth around the Harlow constituency, but will improve the safety of those driving between Harlow and the M11.

Pursuant to the answer to Question 151672, total project costs for this scheme, including construction and widening of local link roads, is estimated to be around £81 million, with an agreed funding contribution from National Highways of £41.7 million which was provided to Essex County Council. Additionally, through the Department’s Large Local Majors programme, the scheme received £1.5 million of early development funding in 2017. The remainder of the project costs are being funded by Essex County Council and partners.


Written Question
Commuters: Costs
Monday 8th November 2021

Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce (a) the cost of commuting and (b) train fares.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Passengers deserve punctual and reliable journeys at a fair price, which is why we are investing billions into modernising the network. The new Great British Railways structure also aims to tackle the previous overspecification, gold-plating and disconnected decision making that inhibited improvements for passengers and pushed up costs across the sector, which were ultimately reflected in rising fares.

There are a number of railcards available that offer discounts against most rail fares. We have saved a generation of passengers at least a third off their fares through the 16-17 and 26-30 railcards and went even further in November 2020 by extending these savings to former servicemen and women through a new Veterans Railcard.

We also recognised the need to accommodate more flexible work and travel patterns due to the impact of COVID-19 on commuters. This is why we have introduced flexible season tickets across England this year, tickets launched on 21 June and became available for use on 28 June.

Buses are at the centre of our public transport network, helping to connect people to places of employment. Our Bus Back Better strategy set out that we want to see more low, flat fares in towns and cities, lower point-to-point fares elsewhere, and more daily price capping everywhere. At the Budget we announced £1.2 billion of new dedicated bus funding to deliver improvements in fares, services and infrastructure over this Parliament.


Written Question
Railway Stations: Harlow
Monday 8th November 2021

Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding the Government is providing to improve railway stations in the Harlow constituency.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Greater Anglia has budget allocation to maintain and renew its portfolio of stations. Decisions on how to allocate that funding is made by Greater Anglia. The Department is aware of recent works to renew wooden fascias and the refurbishment of the waiting room at Harlow Town.


Written Question
Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme
Monday 28th June 2021

Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will match the support given to retail and hospitality sectors by extending the Airports and Ground Operators Support Scheme to offer relief equivalent to full, uncapped business rates in 2021.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The aviation sector is crucial to the UK’s economy and businesses across the industry have drawn on an unprecedented package of economic measures which we have put in place. This includes support through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Airport and Ground Operations Scheme. In total, we estimate that by the end of September 2021 the air transport sector will have benefited from around £7bn of Government support since the start of the pandemic.

The Airport and Ground Operations Scheme provides eligible commercial airports support towards their fixed costs. The Scheme originally opened in January to provide support to airports for the 2020/21 financial year. In the March Budget, the Chancellor announced a six-month renewal to the scheme from April, initial payments will be made towards the end of the summer.

The caps on the support strike an appropriate balance between supporting airports and ground handing companies in financial distress while protecting the interests of the taxpayer.

The support will help airports and ground handlers following the introduction of international travel restrictions designed to protect the public. We continue to take a flexible approach and keep all impacts and policies under review.


Written Question
Large Goods Vehicles: Safety
Monday 14th June 2021

Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency enforces effectively the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulation 1986.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not have any statutory powers to enforce adherence to these regulations. The police can take action if a vehicle being used on the road is found to be in breach of the regulations. Construction and use requirements are also enforced through the annual MoT test that applies to most vehicle types and checked at the roadside and during other enforcement checks by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

All vehicles used on the public roads in the UK must have the relevant type approval (unless an exemption applies to the vehicle type) and comply with the technical and general use requirements of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. Type approval details are recorded on the DVLA’s records when the vehicle is first registered. The registered keeper of the vehicle is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.


Written Question
M11: Construction
Tuesday 16th February 2021

Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to the construction of the new Junction 7a on the M11.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

Total project costs for the Junction 7a M11 scheme, including construction and widening of local link roads, is estimated to be around £81 million with an agreed funding contribution from Highways England of £41.7 million, which was provided to Essex County Council. Additionally, through the Department’s Large Local Majors programme, the scheme received £1.5 million of early development funding in 2017. The remainder of the project costs are being funded by Essex County Council and partners.


Written Question
Felixstowe Port: Standards
Monday 30th November 2020

Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to urgently help resolve the delays at Felixstowe port.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Officials and I have actively engaged with the Port of Felixstowe, the port sector, and wider freight sectors, to understand the challenge of a global peak in container traffic, and the steps they are taking to address the demand surge impacts in the UK.

We will continue to monitor the situation, including convening a meeting of all relevant freight trade associations, to encourage all parties to work collaboratively to take the steps needed to resolve any remaining challenges.


Written Question
Railways: Suicide
Thursday 26th November 2020

Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have died by suicide on the railways in 2020.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

There have been 157 suspected suicides on the rail network during period 2020/21 (182 during corresponding period 2019/20).