Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department takes steps to ensure that audio-visual announcements on buses are available for those who require them and not turned down or off.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There has been progress in increasing the number of vehicles on which audible and visible information is provided. Since 2016/17, the percentage of buses using an Audio-Visual information system to provide route, direction, next stop and diversion information to passengers has almost doubled, from 18% to 34% in 2020/21 across Great Britain. However, there is a large variation in usage by region.
At present there is no legal requirement for operators to provide audible and visible information or to maintain volume levels at a particular level. However, we plan to require the provision of audible and visible information on local bus and coach services across Great Britain, and intend to introduce the Accessible Information Regulations shortly. The Regulations will incorporate requirements to ensure that audible information can be heard by passengers.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress his Department has made on installing audio-visual announcements in buses.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There has been progress in increasing the number of vehicles on which audible and visible information is provided. Since 2016/17, the percentage of buses using an Audio-Visual information system to provide route, direction, next stop and diversion information to passengers has almost doubled, from 18% to 34% in 2020/21 across Great Britain. However, there is a large variation in usage by region.
At present there is no legal requirement for operators to provide audible and visible information or to maintain volume levels at a particular level. However, we plan to require the provision of audible and visible information on local bus and coach services across Great Britain, and intend to introduce the Accessible Information Regulations shortly. The Regulations will incorporate requirements to ensure that audible information can be heard by passengers.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the number of speed-related traffic accidents.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Figures for Great Britain’s traffic fatalities per million population have been among the lowest in the world for many years. In 2021, Great Britain had the fifth lowest rate of road fatalities per million people among European countries with a population over 1 million.
The Government believes that any form of dangerous or inconsiderate driving behaviour is a serious road safety issue. All available research shows a link between excessive speed and the risk of collisions.
We expect all drivers to observe the speed limit, and enforcement is a matter for the police. Policing of our roads, and how available resources are deployed, is the responsibility of individual chief officers, taking into account the specific local issues.
The Government is progressing a four-year review into roads policing and traffic enforcement. The Department for Transport will be looking at this with the Home Office, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. We aim to identify ways of increasing capability and capacity across a range of agencies. This review will not only highlight where police forces are doing good work: it will show what more can be done to improve road safety.
The Department has also announced plans to set up a Road Safety Investigation Branch to identify the underlying causes of road traffic collisions. This will bring roads into line with modes such as rail, which have long benefitted from an accident investigation branch.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of speed-related traffic accidents in each month in 2022.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Statistics on road collisions reported to the police for 2022 are scheduled for publication in September 2023.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the potential merits of training local police forces to become vehicle examiners so that they could purchase decibel meters to enable enforcement against vehicles that create excessive noise.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
It is for the Home Secretary to determine matters of police resourcing.
To support enforcement efforts, the Department for Transport has commenced further research to understand if the latest 'noise camera' technology can be an effective tool for the police and local authorities that will enable more targeted and efficient enforcement.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) local authorities and (b) the police on ensuring those bodies have the resources to enforce rules on vehicles which create excessive noise.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
It is for the Home Secretary to determine matters of police resourcing.
To support enforcement efforts, the Department for Transport has commenced further research to understand if the latest 'noise camera' technology can be an effective tool for the police and local authorities that will enable more targeted and efficient enforcement.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to progress the roadside noise camera trials; and what plans he has to extend the pilot to a wider rollout.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department is working at pace to understand if noise camera technology can be used to automatically detect excessively noisy vehicles. The current roadside trials commenced on 18 October and will be completed in early 2023. If the trials prove to be successful, noise cameras may be considered for wider rollout, should funding be available.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail on communities in the North of England.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will transform the railways of the North of England. NPR will see journey times cut and passenger capacity increased between the North’s major economic centres, bringing people and places closer together.
The impact of different options for NPR on communities has been, and will remain, a key criteria in assessing different choices to deliver out commitment to it.
The Government will continue to work closely with leaders across the North as it confirms further details on this transformational programme.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish a plan to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail; and when (a) a new line between Leeds and Manchester, (b) signal upgrades and electrification across the whole of the North will be delivered.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Prime Minister has made clear the Government’s commitment to delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail in full, including a stop in Bradford. Plans will be set out in due course including potential opportunities for acceleration. We will engage closely with local leaders and MPs in reaching detailed decisions on the options to deliver this.
In the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, published July 2021, the government committed to deliver a net zero rail network by 2050. This will include electrifying additional lines and deploying battery and hydrogen trains on lines where it makes economic and operational sense.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities have the funding required to introduce adequate road safety measures to reduce speeding.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government believes that any form of dangerous or inconsiderate driving behaviour is a serious road safety issue. All available research shows a link between excessive speed and the risk of collisions.
We expect all drivers to observe the speed limit, and enforcement is a matter for the police. Policing of our roads, and how available resources are deployed, is the responsibility of individual chief officers, taking into account the specific local issues.
Responsibility for making decisions, and prioritising works, about the roads under their care rests with local traffic authorities based on their knowledge of local needs. This includes introducing measures to tackle dangerous roads and reduce speeding.
The Department for Transport provides guidance to support local councils on the implementation of various traffic management issues.
In addition, the Department for Transport provides funds directly to local authorities which may be used for road safety purposes.
This includes the £170 million the Department is providing in 22/23 to local highways authorities in England, outside London and City Region areas, through the Integrated Transport Block for small scale transport schemes, including road safety measures. The Integrated Transport Block is not ring-fenced, allowing authorities to spend their allocations according to their own priorities. It is therefore for each authority to decide how it allocates its resources and which transport improvement projects to support.
It also includes the £5.7 billion City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) provide consolidated, long-term capital funding to improve the local transport networks of eight city regions across England through five-year settlements from 2022/23. This funding combines new and existing funds, including Highways Maintenance, Integrated Transport Block, Potholes fund and final year Transforming Cities Fund.
The Safer Roads Fund was established to treat the 50 highest risk local A road sections in England with remedial road safety engineering interventions. As a result, £100 million has been committed by the Department for Transport across 48 schemes.