Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has considered introducing an automatic payment option for clean air zone charges nationwide, similar to the system operating in London; and whether she will review the level of penalty charges for late or non-payment to ensure they are proportionate.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Autopay, where a driver could register their vehicle with the service and payment is taken automatically when that vehicle enters a Clean Air Zone, was considered as part of the CAZ digital service user research and design phases. This is not an existing feature of GOV.UK Pay.
Autopay was not taken forward at the time because it would have added significant cost and complexity to the service and would have delayed the point at which the service (and therefore the first CAZs) could go live. Penalty Charges for late payment are a matter for local authorities.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the English Devolution Bill will include powers for local councils to tackle pavement parking.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department held a consultation in 2020 and is working through the policy options to tackle pavement parking and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government is satisfied that an optimal solution to this complex issue has been identified, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce waiting times for practical driving tests, (b) increase the availability of driving test examiners and (c) expand access to test centres in (i) South Cotswolds constituency and (ii) other rural areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain, including those in rural areas.
Further information on these actions and progress on DVSA’s 7-point plan, which was set out last year, can be found on GOV.UK.
DVSA’s 7-point plan included recruiting and training 450 driving examiners (DE). In its recent recruitment campaign, DVSA advertised for three DEs for Swindon, Cheltenham and Gloucester. DVSA’s recent recruitment activity in the area has resulted in:
Additionally, the agency has one DE transferring into Gloucester from another test centre.
Should applicants successfully complete the required training, this will increase the number of DEs working in those test centres to 28, from 20.
DVSA is committed to providing its customers, including those in rural areas, with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve the (a) availability and (b) accessibility of electric vehicle charge points in (i) rural areas and villages and (ii) the South Cotswolds.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable and accessible charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV).
The South Cotswolds constituency will benefit from both Gloucestershire County Council’s £3.7m and Wiltshire Council’s £4.4m capital and resource funding as part of the £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, to transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking in the area. The LEVI Fund is expected to leverage significant further private investment and support the installation of at least 100,000 local chargepoints across England.
LEVI funding allocations factored in the proportion of residents within the local authority that are in rural areas. This means local authorities in rural areas were allocated additional funding compared to urban ones.
A range of Government grants are also available to support the installation of charging infrastructure in homes, workplaces and schools: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/electric-vehicle-chargepoint-grants.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) prevent third-party brokers from bulk-booking driving test slots via the DVSA online system and (b) to reduce waiting times for learner drivers in rural areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
On the 18 December 2024, DVSA set out further plans to reduce driving test waiting times across the country. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners (DEs). Full details of these steps can be found on GOV.UK.
DVSA is committed to providing customers with the best service possible and continually reviews its estate, including in rural areas, to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, DVSA continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests and has announced further measures to review the driving test booking system.
On the 18 December 2024, a call for evidence was launched, seeking views on the current rules to book tests. This will lead to consultation on improving processes, with potential future legislative changes.
On 6 January 2025, DVSA also introduced tougher terms and conditions for the service driving instructors use to book and manage car driving tests for their pupils.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to tackle trends in the levels of (a) noise pollution and (b) emissions from motorcycles and cars.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government takes the impact of noise pollution on health, wellbeing and the natural environment seriously. Strict noise regulations for motorcycles and cars are harmonised at an international level and require vehicles to demonstrate compliance before being placed on the market.
Poor air quality poses a significant risk to public health. Delivering greener transport is a priority for the Department for Transport and we are committed to cleaning up our air and protecting the public from the harms of pollution.
The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate sets a clear pathway for the decarbonisation of new cars and vans and is the largest carbon saving measure across government. The Department is committed to decarbonising other vehicle categories and is exploring options for implementation that meet the needs of each segment of the market. Non-ZEV motorcycles and cars are also subject to stringent emissions standards, including strict limits on pollutant emissions such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to publish the Road Safety Strategy; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing graduated driving licences for young people in that strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers.
My Department is developing our road safety strategy and will set out more details on when it will be published in due course.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the (a) affordability and (b) transparency of train fares; and whether she plans to regulate dynamic pricing models for commuter routes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Whilst it is our ambition through public ownership to deliver a more affordable railway, any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway.
We are committed to reforming the overcomplicated fares and ticketing system to deliver simpler, easier and more flexible ways to travel and will expand ticketing innovations such as Pay As You Go in urban areas across the country.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to take steps to help Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Council reduce transport poverty in South Cotswolds constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government is committed to improving transport provision across the country. We recognise the challenges people face in accessing transport, particularly in rural areas like the South Cotswolds. This is why we are working at pace to deliver our five key strategic transport priorities, which include the transforming of infrastructure to tackle regional inequality and the delivery of better integrated transport networks. DfT officials will continue to meet regularly with the councils in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire to discuss their aspirations for transport provision and provide support to address their concerns.