Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
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 a payment plan system for those in financial hardship who have incurred fines for non-compliance with the Clean Air Zone rules.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Local authorities are responsible for the implementation and the enforcement of Clean Air Zones. Therefore, Penalty Charge Notices issued as a result of the non-payment of a Clean Air Zone charge would be an enforcement policy matter for them.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the number of ghost flights departing the UK each month.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Since the start of the pandemic, government policy has reduced the risk that airlines operate unnecessary ‘ghost flights’ just to retain historic rights to slots. Carriers must in normal times operate at least 80% of their slots during the current season to retain them for the next equivalent season, the so called ‘80:20’ rule.
The rules requiring airlines to use slots in order to retain them were fully suspended for the Summer 2020, Winter 2020/21 and Summer 2021 seasons.
For the Winter 2021/22 Season, the usage requirement was set at 50% and airlines were able to hand back slot series that they were not intending to use before the season started, to allow other airlines to use them.
For the Summer 2022 Season, the usage requirement has been set at 70% and ‘Justified Non-Use’ provisions have been expanded to provide further protection and flexibility where there are ongoing COVID-19 related restrictions.
The Government has engaged and consulted with the aviation industry and considered all the available evidence, including the potential impacts of different measures. We are considering whether further alleviation measures will be needed for the Winter 22/23 Season.
During the pandemic some flights may have operated with a low number of passengers for reasons unrelated to government policy on slots, such as carrying vital cargo such as medical supplies and helping people return home when COVID-19 related restrictions were introduced.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the backlog of applications at the DVLA on drivers with disabilities.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The DVLA is working hard to process paper applications as quickly as possible for all drivers, including those with health conditions. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham. These measures are having a positive impact and customers should continue to see an improving picture in terms of waiting times for paper applications.
The DVLA recognises the impact of delays on drivers who have medical conditions or disabilities which may require them to renew their licence more regularly and is working hard to improve the process. Drivers with diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, a visual impairment, a sleep condition or a heart condition can renew their licence online.
The DVLA has recently introduced a simplified licence renewal process for drivers with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis and is piloting this for some mental health conditions. This renewal process has significantly reduced the need for the DVLA to seek further information from medical professionals and enabled more licensing decisions to be made based on the information provided by the driver. The DVLA is looking at adding more medical conditions to this new process.
The length of time taken to deal with an application depends on the medical condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from medical professionals. The majority of those renewing their licence will be able to
continue driving while their application is being processed, providing they can meet the criteria outlined here.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of the changes to the Highway Code implemented in January 2022 on (a) motorists (b) cyclists and (c) pedestrians.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The updates to the Highway Code made on 29 January 2022 were an extension to the existing advice and guidance.
The amendments simply reinforce the good behaviours that we would expect every road user to adhere to and drivers should already be following the rules of the road. The changes will lead to improvements in road safety as they encourage more mutual respect and consideration for all road users.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government's approach to advertising and promoting changes that were made to the Highway Code in January 2022.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The changes to The Highway Code will be communicated in two phases:
- A factual awareness raising campaign that ran February to March, alerting road users to the changes as they came into effect.
- A broader behaviour change campaign later in the year, to align with seasonal increases in active travel, to help embed the changes and encourage understanding and uptake of the new guidance.
Across the campaign we will measure effectiveness by collating and monitoring:
- Campaign metrics including reach and engagement.
- Pre and post-campaign surveys to determine campaign awareness, understanding, attitudes and behaviours.
The results from the first phase are in the process of being collated. We have seen high levels of engagement and strong stakeholder support for the changes.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of blocking the future award of manufacturing contracts to CAF in the context of their tram models' recurrent faults in the West Midlands and across Europe.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We are working closely with officials from the region and West Midland Metro to monitor the situation, and fully understand the issues.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure Birmingham’s tram network is not suspended.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department was made aware of the West Midland Metro closure on 19 March 2022. Since then we have been engaging with officials from the Combined Authority to understand the evolving operational issues. We have received assurances that ticket acceptance on alternate transport modes is in place for Birmingham residents. We continue to monitor the situation, communicating with officials from the region as well as industry safety experts, to understand its potential impact to the forthcoming Commonwealth Games and to understand when services can be resumed.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that disruption to Birmingham’s tram network does not adversely affect the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department was made aware of the West Midland Metro closure on 19 March 2022. Since then we have been engaging with officials from the Combined Authority to understand the evolving operational issues. We have received assurances that ticket acceptance on alternate transport modes is in place for Birmingham residents. We continue to monitor the situation, communicating with officials from the region as well as industry safety experts, to understand its potential impact to the forthcoming Commonwealth Games and to understand when services can be resumed.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to help support Birmingham residents’ use of alternative public transport following the recurrent suspension of West Midlands Metro services.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department was made aware of the West Midland Metro closure on 19 March 2022. Since then we have been engaging with officials from the Combined Authority to understand the evolving operational issues. We have received assurances that ticket acceptance on alternate transport modes is in place for Birmingham residents. We continue to monitor the situation, communicating with officials from the region as well as industry safety experts, to understand its potential impact to the forthcoming Commonwealth Games and to understand when services can be resumed.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve access to electric vehicle charging points for public use in Birmingham.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Building on the £1.9 billion from Spending Review 2020, the Government has committed an additional £620 million to support the transition to electric vehicles to support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on-street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. The total funding committed by this Government to both electric vehicle grants and infrastructure is £2.5 billion.
To date, grant funding for both electric vehicles and their supporting charging infrastructure has been demand led so there is no specific amount of funding that has been allocated to Birmingham City Council. We encourage all Local Authorities, electric vehicle drivers and workplaces in Birmingham to apply for grant funding through the On-Street Residential Chargepoint, Electric Vehicle Homecharge and Workplace Charging Schemes to assist with the cost of buying and installing electric vehicle chargepoints on residential streets, at drivers’ homes and at workplaces.
We are considering the design of new schemes to ensure good provision across the country. Our forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will set out how the Government will intervene to address the gaps between the current market status and our vision, and how we will monitor progress going forward to 2030.