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 Baroness Maclean of Redditch
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.
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 Baroness Maclean of Redditch
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.
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
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.
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
There have been 157 suspected suicides on the rail network during period 2020/21 (182 during corresponding period 2019/20).
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many collisions there have been at Junction 7 on the M11 in each of the last three years; and what has been the nature of those collisions.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The number of reported personal injury road accidents on junction 7 of the M11 for the past three years can be found in the table below.
Reported personal injury road accidents on junction 7 of the M11, 2016 to 2018 | |||
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Year | Fatal | Serious | Slight |
2016 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
2017 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
2018 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Source: DfT, STATS19 | |||
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3% by March 2021. Department for Transport (DfT) has currently achieved 1.3% of the total staff employed within the department for 2020/21. Given this target is a percentage of the total workforce, the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations over time therefore making it challenging to predict when a department will meet it. The data for 2018/19 can be found here. The data for 2019/20 will be released on gov.uk by the end of September 2020. Due to the diverse nature of our work, the central department (DfTc) and our executive agencies (DfT Group) have developed localised strategies to allow us to continue towards the Government target. In September 2020 DfTc additionally transitioned to a cohort-based model of recruitment for apprenticeships; further strengthening our ambition for apprenticeship recruitment, and providing economies of scale to improve quality of provision and overall employee experience for the apprenticeship community.
Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3% target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.
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 support people who had their driving tests cancelled as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Practical car driving tests in England resumed on 22 July 2020. From 16 July 2020, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) began inviting candidates by email, who had a test cancelled and put on hold owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, to choose their preferred location, date and time. For those candidates whose email address failed, the DVSA sent them a text message, where the agency had a mobile number for them.
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 meet the public sector apprenticeship target.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department remains fully committed to the Government’s apprenticeship agenda and is actively encouraging both the recruitment of apprentices externally, through proactive outreach and the utilisation of apprenticeships to develop internal capability and strengthen talent pipelines.
Due to the diverse work of the department, DfT core and each of its executive agencies (DfT Group) have developed localised strategies to support ongoing work against public-sector apprenticeship targets, and improve the overall quality of the apprentice experience.
For mainstream recruitment, we have embedded a process standard across DfT Group requiring vacancy holders to consider recruiting apprentices as the default resourcing option to fill vacant roles. This is alongside work with the policy, HR, project delivery, finance and other technical operational professions to actively encourage apprenticeship uptake to support skills and capability growth and talent retention.
From Autumn 2020 we plan to move to volume-based recruitment and apprenticeship management. Alongside this, we will continue to focus on developing our corporate support offer for apprentices and their line-managers, and strengthening supplier engagement to drive quality of provision.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance he has issued on when driving instructors can return to work as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
As the health and safety of staff and customers is key, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working closely with the Department for Transport to prepare for a safe return to testing. It will announce details of resumption in due course.
In the meantime, approved driving instructors (ADI) should continue to limit driving lessons to critical workers who are preparing for an emergency driving test.
The DVSA’s priority remains to protect the public and save lives. Driving lessons and tests have not yet been able to restart because the risk of transmission of the virus in vehicles is higher.
On 15 June 2020, the DVSA’s Chief Executive wrote to all ADIs updating them on the planning it is doing to help return to life that is as close to normal as possible, as quickly and fairly as possible, in a way that avoids a second peak of infections. That letter can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-letter