Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with South Western Railway on the delivery of new stock.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Department officials meet regularly with South Western Railway (SWR) to hold it accountable for performance, safety, and fleet. The rollout of the new Arterio trains is continuing with great progress being made. Since transferring to public ownership, the number of trains in service has quadrupled with 28 now in service.
In addition to the new Arterio fleet, SWR is currently in the process of refurbishing its Class 158 and 159 diesel fleet, which will benefit customers using the West of England line. Collectively, the enhancements will improve comfort, connectivity and productivity for customers travelling on these trains.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will provide additional funding to help mitigate ongoing soil moisture deficit effects for railway companies.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport funds Network Rail to operate, maintain, and develop the nation's railway infrastructure. As the climate changes, we expect to see hotter, drier summers, and therefore we will expect to encounter more instances of soil moisture deficit. To plan for the changing climate, Network Rail is undertaking a programme of adaptation pathways across the network to develop a long-term strategic adaptation plan and identify priority areas for further adaptation investment. This approach will help identify those parts of the network which may require work to increase resilience to enable safe and reliable services to continue in the future climate. Adaptation pathways consider different climate hazards, including those which affect earthworks, such as soil moisture deficit and heavy rain. This work is already informing discussions for future funding periods.
The soil moisture deficit was particularly disruptive for South Western Railway’s West of England line customers this summer, with a reduced timetable having been in place since August.
South Western Railway and Network Rail closely monitored the ground conditions, and as soon as it was safe to do so, the track repairs were made. I am pleased to confirm that the usual timetable will be reinstated from Saturday 29 November.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure communities can access local railways.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure communities have access to the local railways, this Government is committed to improving accessibility, customer support, and helping to remove barriers to travel for all users of public transport.
Accessibility is an important part of ensuring communities can access local railways, which is why we will soon be publishing an Accessibility Roadmap that sets out how we will deliver a more accessible railway in the lead up to Great British Railways.
The Government also looks to connect communities directly with their local train operators through initiatives such as the Customer and Communities Improvement Schemes which aims to fund community-led projects that deliver a positive social impact in local communities across the country.
The Department also provides support for the Community Rail Network and Partnerships. Community Rail initiatives take many forms across Great Britain, united by a common goal of improving accessibility, connecting people, and bringing the railway into communities. Community Rail Partnerships deliver projects which bring benefits to local communities through social, environmental and economic growth.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support local authorities to provide more rail-bus links.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows that public transport needs to be better integrated in order to improve the experience for passengers, providing access to services and keeping communities connected. We also know that in rural areas, bus services can be a lifeline for many and can be the only means of accessing services, including other modes of transportation such as rail links. The Government is taking action to help improve local bus services and encourage greater integration between transport modes.
We have introduced the Bus Services Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 October, to put the power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders, including in rural areas. In addition, the Government has confirmed over £1 billion for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. Somerset Council has been allocated £6.8 million of this funding, helping to improve bus services and connectivity across the area.
The Government also intends to publish its long-term strategy for transport to set the vision for domestic transport across England. It will focus on creating a transport network that works well for people, including those in rural areas.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve access to electric vehicle charging for disabled people.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
To address the specific barriers disabled EV drivers face when using public chargepoints, the Government co-sponsored the publication of the Publically Available Specification (PAS) 1899:2022 standard, which provides specifications on designing and installing accessible public EV chargepoints and considers chargepoints in the context of their wider built environment. The Government continues to work with industry and other parties to ensure effective implementation of PAS1899 and to support the 24-month review of the PAS, which is being led by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and concludes early in 2025. The Government will continue to monitor progress to assess whether further intervention is needed on accessibility over time.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has carried out an impact assessment of ending the £2 bus fare cap.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Delivering reliable and affordable public transport services for passengers is one of the government’s top priorities as we know how important this is for passengers and for local growth. The government is looking at the future of the £2 fare cap as a matter of urgency and is considering the most appropriate and affordable approach for the future of the scheme.
The Department also published an interim report in September 2023 setting out emerging trends in key outcomes from the first two months of the scheme. The report is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-2-bus-fare-cap/2-bus-fare-cap-evaluation-interim-report-february-2023.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to improve rail connections in Somerton and Langport in the context of the cancellation of the Restoring Your Railway Fund.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department is undertaking a capital spend portfolio review. The review will consider a number of projects under the former Restoring Your Railway programme.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has for the funding of (a) the Bus Service Improvement Plan and (b) BSIP Phase 2 after the next financial year.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Improving bus services is a key part of this Government’s growth mission. We are determined to deliver better services, grow passenger numbers and drive opportunity to under-served regions. The Government will empower local transport authorities and reform funding by giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding and allowing them to plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities. We will work closely with local authorities and mayors to understand what is needed to improve and grow their bus networks by learning from their experiences and building on their successes, and we will announce our future bus funding plans in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support he is providing for public transport in Somerset.
Answered by Anthony Browne
The Government recognises the importance of high quality, affordable public transport and is committed to working with local authorities to support and improve services for passengers. We have taken action to help improve public transport in Somerset, including providing over £13 million to help deliver better bus services, and as part of the MetroWest Programme and May ‘23 Timetable, increased rail services are now running to and from the area.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that rural communities can access DVLA services after the end of the DVLA contract with the Post Office on 31 March 2024.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Post Office Ltd currently provides a limited range of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) services, with the current contract recently being extended.
The vast majority of those licensing vehicles already do so online or via the DVLA’s automated telephone service, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.