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Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a standardised tender process for local authorities to install electric vehicle charging points.

Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I agree entirely and as part of our £381 million Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, officials are working to deliver exactly this.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the electric vehicle (a) chargepoint and (b) infrastructure grant to include the installation of cross-pavement cable gullies.

Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As part of the Plan for Drivers, the Government announced its intention to expand the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant as a trial to support the installation of safe cross-pavement solutions. This measure would apply across the UK and is intended to make EV ownership a more practical option for those without off-street parking.

The Government will closely monitor this trial, once implemented, to determine the success of the rollout and decide on future policy accordingly.


Written Question
Transport: Apprentices
Monday 6th March 2023

Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the availability of apprenticeships across the transport sector.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Department regularly reviews the availability of apprenticeships within the transport industry. It is committed to working with arm’s length bodies and industry partners to create high quality apprenticeships, so that the sector has the skilled workforce in place to build, maintain and run the UK transport system. For example, the HS2 programme is expected to create 2000 apprenticeships. The Transport Employment and Skills Taskforce, established in 2022, is considering what more IT can do to promote apprenticeships and other training routes across the industry.


Written Question
Railways: Modernisation
Monday 6th March 2023

Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of whether railways require modernisation.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Last month my Right hon. Friend Mark Harper MP, Secretary of State for Transport, delivered his vision for rail and set out his plans to modernise the rail industry and progress vital reforms to ensure the railways are fit for purpose.

He confirmed his ambition for a customer-focussed, commercially led industry, with the creation of Great British Railways as the new guiding mind for the sector.


Written Question
Railways
Tuesday 17th January 2023

Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will bring forward a revised rail reform White Paper which includes the role of private sector operators.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

We recognise that reform is needed to create a railway fit for the 21st century and that the private sector has an important role. We are engaging with the sector and will set out our plans for delivering this much needed reform shortly.


Written Question
Railways: Costs
Wednesday 23rd November 2022

Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to enable private train operators to increase revenues to help reduce the cost of the railway to the taxpayer.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rail industry faces a more challenging financial position. The Department has developed and implemented an annual business planning process for all train operators which ensures the industry delivers for passengers while also improving financial performance and driving revenue growth in order to reduce the cost of the railway for taxpayers.


Written Question
Passports
Tuesday 18th October 2022

Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of airline companies on the validity for travel of UK passports with less than six months remaining until their expiry date following the UK’s departure from the EU.

Answered by Katherine Fletcher

The Secretary of State speaks regularly to airline stakeholders on topical issues.

All relevant information on passport validity requirements is published on the travel advisory pages of GOV.UK which are regularly updated.


Written Question
Travel: Business
Monday 4th July 2022

Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help increase the public's confidence in domestic and international travel for business in the context of recent disruption in the railway and aviation sectors.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The Department and the rail industry worked together ahead of planned industrial action to ensure plans were in place to minimise disruption. This allowed freight and passenger services to remain operational where possible and included working with other Government Departments on mitigations for impacts on critical supply chains.

A Statutory Instrument has now been laid, under the terms of which businesses will be able supply workers to replace striking workers. This will also allow trained staff with transferrable skills to move around the industry to cover for striking staff to keep the railways running. We are working at pace to see how any potential legislative change could be delivered, including looking at the introduction of Minimum Service Level legislation, which would provide a mechanism for a minimum level of train service during those times periods of strike action.

On 30 June, the Secretary of State set out 22 measures the Government is taking to support the aviation industry, including to help recruit and train staff, ensure the delivery of a realistic summer schedule, minimise disruption, and support passengers when delays and cancellations are unavoidable.

We have eased the burden on background checks carried out by the industry through changing the law to allow certain training to be undertaken while background checks are completed. We have helped speed up recruitment times by allowing HMRC employment history letters to be used as a suitable form of reference check. We are working with industry to ensure they give passengers the best support and will be launching a new Aviation Passenger Charter, a one-stop guide to help passengers understand their rights, responsibilities and what they can reasonably expect of the aviation industry when flying.


Written Question
Railways: Pay
Monday 27th June 2022

Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the average salary of (a) train guards, (b) train drivers and (c) signalling staff as of 21 June 2022.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Rail staff salaries are managed and set by the individual Train Operating Companies and Network Rail in line with their annual budgets.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) report that in 2021 median gross annual pay for train and tram drivers in the UK was approximately £59,000. The ONS does not specifically report on the pay of train guards and signalling staff but do publish pay estimates of wider groupings of which they are a part. Rail Travel Assistants (including train guards) had average gross median pay of circa £33,000 in 2021. The equivalent for Rail Transport Operatives (including signalling staff) was circa £49,000.


Written Question
Railways: Strikes
Monday 27th June 2022

Asked by: Stephen Hammond (Conservative - Wimbledon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the rail strikes on the economy.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The Government regrets that the trade unions have chosen to go ahead with the strikes. These strikes are impacting local businesses and the ability of the general public to get to school, hospital and work.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has estimated the cost to the economy of the three days of strike action to be at least £91 million.

The Secretary of State is frequently updating Cabinet about the impact of the strikes. The Government and rail industry, including Network Rail, have worked together and continue to work together to ensure plans are in place to minimise disruption allowing for freight and passenger services to remain operational where possible. The Civil Contingencies Secretariat is also convening ministers daily during the strike period to assess operational response and impact.