Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the backlog in practical driving test availability in (a) Canterbury and (b) Kent; and what steps he is taking to tackle that backlog.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
To clear the backlog of car practical driving tests, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has put in place a number of measures to increase test slots. These include offering overtime and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays). The DVSA has also started a recruitment campaign to increase the number of examiners.
The aim is to increase testing capacity and reduce the backlog as quickly as possible, whilst maintaining a COVID-secure service for customers and examiners.
The forward booking dates for car practical driving tests in (a) Canterbury is 9 weeks, and in (b) Kent is 13 weeks.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the Government taking a financial stake in Eurostar, in response to the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
As is the case with businesses in other sectors, Ministers and officials have closely monitored the financial impact of Covid-19 on the international transport sector, including Eurostar, since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Department continues to work closely with Eurostar to consider all commercial financing options available to the company, which include drawing on existing support schemes where eligible and appropriate. We are also in discussions with the French Government regarding Eurostar’s financial situation.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the eligibility of the disabled person's bus pass to cover peak services.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Under the terms of The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme a holder of a concessionary bus pass is able to travel between 09.30am and 11.00pm on weekdays and all day at weekends and on Bank Holidays.
This area is kept under review. The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme costs around £1 billion annually so any changes, such as extending the concession to include morning peak time travel, would need to be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
Local authorities in England have the power to offer additional local concessions, such as extending the hours of the concession, and three quarters of authorities already do so.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vouchers have been claimed under the Fix Your Bike scheme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
As of 3 November, 62,101 Fix Your Bike vouchers have been allocated to members of the public.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the next trance of repair vouchers under the Fix Your Bike scheme will be released.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department plans to release a further batch of vouchers shortly. The release of vouchers is being staggered to prevent repairers from being overwhelmed and to ensure that people can get their bikes fixed without significant delay.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of Eurostar on the restoration of Eurostar services at (a) Ebbsfleet International and (b) Ashford International.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department has been engaging extensively with international rail operators, including Eurostar, on a regular basis since the beginning of the outbreak to monitor closely the impact of Covid-19 and to support the continuation of important international rail connections.
The Government recognises the unprecedented circumstances currently faced by the international travel industry including Eurostar as a result of Covid-19. Whilst the stopping of services is a commercial decision for the company in response to Covid-19, Eurostar services continue to provide important benefits and connections and the Government is keen to see the reinstatement of services once international travel recovers and it is commercially viable to do so.
The Department will continue to engage closely with Eurostar on this important matter.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential financial effect of the withdrawal of Eurostar services from (a) Ebbsfleet International and (b) Ashford International on the economy of Kent until 2022.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Eurostar has announced that it will no longer be stopping at Ashford and Ebbsfleet International stations until 2022, due to the unprecedented impact of Covid-19. This was a commercial decision taken by Eurostar in response to the severe decline in passenger numbers.
As this is a commercial decision taken by Eurostar very recently, the Government has not undertaken an economic analysis of the impacts of these changes. Nevertheless, the Government is keen to see the reinstatement of services once international travel recovers and it is commercially viable to do so.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have (a) departed from and (b) arrived in the UK at (i) Ebbsfleet International and (ii) Ashford International in each of the last five years.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Department publishes annual data on international rail traffic via the Channel Tunnel, including passenger services via Eurostar and Eurotunnel Le Shuttle. This data is available here (link). The Department, however, does not hold disaggregated data for passenger arrivals and departures by international rail station.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential effect of the ending of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on levels of job losses in the international rail transport sector.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Government fully recognises the significant financial challenges facing international rail operators as a result of Covid-19 and the unprecedented circumstances currently faced by the international travel industry. The Department has therefore been working closely with international rail operators to access business support schemes, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), where appropriate, while operators have also been able to access equivalent schemes in other countries. Cabinet Ministers are in close contact over this issue.