Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total number of minutes was by which trains were delayed in 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The ORR publish statistics on delay minutes on their website at https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/ (Table 3184). In the year ending 4 January 2025, a total of 15,897,997 delay minutes (15.9 million) were recorded in Great Britain. For context, there were a total of 7,335,930 (7.3 million) trains planned in the calendar year January 2024 to December 2024 (Table 3123).
Of these trains, 85.2% were measured as either arriving within 5 minutes at the scheduled final destination time (for London, South-East, Regional and Scotland operators) or within 10 minutes of the final scheduled destination time (for long distance operators) (Table 3113, Public Performance Measure).
Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers, we need to improve services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.
The Rail Minister is meeting with the Managing Directors of all train operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of people impacted by train delays in 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold information on the number of people affected by train delays. Rail industry data measures train delays. The Office of Rail and Road publishes quarterly and periodic (four-weekly) statistics on punctuality, reliability and causes of delay for passenger trains operating on the mainline network in Great Britain.
This data set includes the percentage of recorded station stops that were arrived at ‘On Time’ (early or less than one minute after the scheduled time). In the year ending 4 January 2025, the proportion of station stops that were arrived at ‘On Time’ was 67.1%.
These statistics can be found on the passenger rail performance data portal at https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/ .
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the powers of train conductors to tackle disruptive levels of noise on trains.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Train operating companies including their conductors can already use the Railway Byelaws to address disruptive levels of noise, and we have no plans to make changes to this currently. To ensure ease of travel and safety for everyone using the railway, the rules set out in Byelaws must be adhered to and enforcement action can be taken against those who do not comply with them.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the powers of train conductors to tackle avoidable disruptive behaviour on trains.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Train Operating Companies are already able to seek additional powers for their staff, to tackle incidents such as anti-social behaviour, via the Rail Safety Accreditation Scheme operated by the British Transport Police.
The Department does not have any plans to increase the powers available through the existing scheme. Information on the scheme can be found here: Railway Safety Accreditation Scheme | British Transport Police.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of revenue lost to train companies from fare avoidance in 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rail Delivery Group estimated in 2014 that, £240 million a year is lost due to fare evasion on Great Britain’s railways. The Department is working with its industry partners to provide an updated figure and recognises the importance of reducing fraud.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish the total cost to the public purse for the provision of diversity, equality and inclusion courses for staff in her Department in 2024.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport provides an online training course entitled “Civil Service Expectations”. The course focuses on diversity and inclusion, The Equality Act 2010, Civil Service code, and Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. This course is provided by Government Campus and is free at the point of delivery.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much was spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for people contacting the DVLA in 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the financial year 2023-24 the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency spent a total of £28,403 on translation and interpretation services, including Welsh language and sign language translations.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) average waiting time for people phoning and (b) time people spent on hold for the DVLA was in 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the calendar year 2024, the average waiting time for someone telephoning the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to be connected to an advisor was 12 minutes 8 seconds.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions for financial year 2025-26.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance Contributions costs only. This funding will be allocated to departments in the usual way, in line with the approach taken under the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating funding to the Vauxhall roundabout project in the context of the potential impact of that project on other infrastructure projects in Great Yarmouth constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The A47 Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Junction scheme was cancelled due to a combination of cost increases and poor value for money. Great Yarmouth is benefiting from the Third River Crossing, a Norfolk Council scheme funded by DfT, and the National Highways scheme to improve Harfrey’s Roundabout. Given the poor value for money for the Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Roundabout scheme, there are no immediate plans for any funding allocation. Where areas are still experiencing issues with congestion, safety and the environment, we will continue to consider these issues in the context of other pressures and priorities for investment as part of future Road Investment Strategies.