Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the recruitment and retention of adequate numbers of bus drivers nationally.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
My Department is working closely with industry to continuously monitor the driver shortage situation in order to better understand the extent of the problem and the challenges causing this issue. The Government is committed to encouraging new entrants to the bus driving profession and reducing barriers to entry. There is regular engagement within my Department, across Government and with industry, to proactively take measures to alleviate the situation, including ways to boost recruitment within the sector.
There are no delays for bus and HGV provisional driving licence applications, which are currently being issued in around five days – these applications are being prioritised and further work is being done to speed up processes even further.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people completed PCV training in 2020.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not hold the data on how many people completed their passenger carrying vehicle (PCV) training in 2020. PCV training is delivered by third-party training providers.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has contingencies in place to ensure that HGV drivers are available to deliver school meals during the period of driver shortages and supply chain issues.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department for Transport is committed to finding solutions to mitigate the effects of the HGV driver shortage and has already taken 25 proactive actions in recent weeks.
The Government routinely considers contingency arrangements and expects schools and catering companies supplying them to do the same.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State of 17 March 2021, Official Report, column 446, what transport infrastructure has been considered for (a) Tyne and Wear and (b) Durham.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
As I stated in my oral contribution on 17 March 2021, Official Report, column 446, delivering high-quality, world-class transport infrastructure in northern England and following through on our commitments to level up remain a top priority for the Government. This is certainly the case for Tyne and Wear and Durham.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department has endeavoured to provide the necessary support to local transport operators in Tyne and Wear and Durham, with the Bus Services Operators Grant paid at pre-Covid levels to maintain essential services. Furthermore, Tyne and Wear Metro have received over £33 million from light rail support packages throughout the pandemic.
In keeping with our ambition to build back better, Nexus will receive £20 million of capital funding to deliver infrastructure renewals for the Metro in 2021/22. Furthermore, early last year the Department announced the £500 million Restoring Your Railway fund, to start reopening lines and stations, reconnecting people and communities. We received a bid for development funding for the Leamside Line in round 3 of the Ideas Fund, which closed on 5 March 2021. The Department is currently assessing the bid and we expect to announce outcomes in the summer.
Further to the above, Transport North East was the recipient of £198.4 million in tranche 2 of the Transforming City Fund, which will support transformational projects like Metroflow and the regeneration of Durham Bus Station. As well as this, £13.5 million from the Active Travel Fund was made available to the North East, along with a share of the £4.7 million Rural Mobility Fund delivered to local authorities across the North to help connect isolated communities.
The Department recognises that existing highways infrastructure needs constant improvement, hence £82.9 million was allocated to the North East to support highways maintenance, pothole repairs and local transport measures in 2021/22. This planned investment follows the delivery already well underway, for example on the transformational improvements to the A19 at Downhill Lane and Testo’s roundabout, which will vastly improve traffic flow through this vital corridor when completed later this year.
Finally, subject to the creation of appropriate governance arrangements to agree and deliver funding, the North East will have access to a share of the £4.2 billion intracity transport fund over the next five years from 2022/23. This is in addition to the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund that areas across the country can bid into, demonstrating our commitment to all regions of the UK including Tyne and Wear and Durham.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the economic benefits of High Speed Two for Wearside; and what funding his Department plans to allocate for rail in Wearside.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
HS2 presents a significant opportunity for businesses of all sizes across Wearside, and the North East, with HS2 Ltd’s supply chain consisting of up to 400,000 contract opportunities.
HS2 has a very extensive supply chain and can therefore only monitor critical contracts as a result. 24 suppliers on critical contracts across the North East have won work on HS2, 2 of which are based in Wearside. The contracts for the suppliers in Wearside have been for services including, but not limited to, Land Surveying and Engineering services. £12bn worth of supply chain contract opportunities are available to businesses across the United Kingdom in the coming months and years.
The Department for Transport is currently considering the recent Restore Your Railway Ideas Fund Round 3 bid, co-sponsored by the Hon Member, for reinstatement of local passenger services on the Leamside line. We are also contributing, through the Transforming Cities Fund allocation for the North East, to the redevelopment of Sunderland station
Subject to the creation of appropriate governance arrangements to agree and deliver funding, the North East will have access to a share of the £4.2 billion intracity transport fund over the next five years from 2022/23
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for the long-term capacity of the East Coast Main Line between Berwick and Northallerton.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands – which is looking at how best to deliver High Speed 2 Phase 2b, Northern Powerhouse Rail and other Network Rail programmes – will be published soon. The Department recognises the strategic importance of the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and is working with Network Rail to identify the infrastructure upgrades needed to increase capacity between Northallerton and Newcastle. Network Rail is also preparing an assessment of the Newcastle to Edinburgh section of the ECML and, together with the Integrated Rail Plan, this will help the Department assess the long-term capacity requirements of the route.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the North East receives equitable investment as part of the Integrated Rail Plan; and what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) Tyne and Wear Metro can maintain services as passenger levels remain affected by the covid-19 outbreak and (b) the Leamside rail line is re-opened.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Ahead of finalising the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), Ministers are fully considering the evidence from all stakeholders, including those from the North East, as well as the NIC's Rail Needs Assessment, to ensure that the benefits of investment in rail infrastructure are delivered to passengers and communities more quickly, levelling up and spreading greater prosperity across the country.
Government is committed to investing nearly £340m to upgrade the Tyne and Wear Metro fleet and secure its future for decades to come. The first new trains arrive from 2022 and enter passenger service in 2023.The Government has invested £317m in a major Metro renewals and refurbishment programme to 2020/21 and has supported the running costs with a £256m revenue grant over the same period. We have confirmed £20m of capital funding for renewals this year and £27.1m to support operations.
The proposal to reinstate the Leamside Line is being examined by Transport for the North to inform the design of Northern Powerhouse Rail, and, as such, is being considered as part of the IIRP. Its forthcoming publication will therefore inform the Department’s planning for the long-term future of both the East Coast Main Line and additional rail routes throughout the North East.