Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the haulage industry since the beginning of 2021.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Secretary of State for Transport has met with representatives of the road haulage industry five times during 2021.
Transport Ministers have also held an additional thirteen meetings with the haulage industry in 2021. This includes a roundtable on addressing the driver shortage jointly held by Minister for Transport Baroness Vere and Employment Minister, Mims Davies MP.
In addition to these meetings, representatives of the road haulage industry meet with Departmental officials on a biweekly basis.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the total amount spent by his Department to research the impact of ending free movement on the haulage industry.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Department for Transport has regular discussions with the road haulage industry. We are working together to address the current HGV driver shortage, which is an issue common to many European countries.
The Government has already taken firm action, including through training for jobseekers, additional funding for apprenticeships, and taking measures to increase lorry driver testing capacity to bring new drivers into the industry as soon as possible.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to ensure that HS2 Phase 2b delivers a net gain in biodiversity; and how that net gain will be quantified.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
In June 2021, the government announced its commitment that HS2 will aim to deliver a net gain in biodiversity for the HS2 Crewe-Manchester phase, going beyond the existing target to deliver no net loss of biodiversity.
HS2 Ltd reports to DfT on quantification of biodiversity delivery. HS2 Ltd is employing a Defra metric-based approach ('the HS2 Metric'). This metric was last updated in 2020 for Phase 2b to capture the functionality incorporated in the latest Defra biodiversity metric tool at the time (Biodiversity Metric 2.0).
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to introduce a specific support package for the coach industry during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
We are encouraging coach operators to make use of the wide range of support measures the Chancellor announced. These amount to £330 billion of loans and guarantees for businesses. We are continuing to engage with the coach sector to understand what the ongoing risks and issues are, and how these could be addressed in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to electrify the Lakes Line between Oxenholme and Windermere.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
A decision on whether to proceed with developing the next phase of a potential battery electric traction scheme is currently under consideration.
It should also be noted that the local stakeholder priority is for a passing loop to enable a two-trains per hour service using the current new build rolling stock rather than either battery trains or electrification with the current service pattern.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to introduce a stop for High Speed Two at Oxenholme station.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department has awarded the West Coast Partnership franchise to First Trenitalia. As well as operating existing conventional services, they are also acting as the Shadow Operator for HS2 services. In this role they will provide advice to the Department regarding the optimum train service that should operate on the West Coast Main Line once HS2 opens, to best serve towns and cities on the route, based on their knowledge and analysis of passenger demand. A final decision on train services will not be made until the appropriate timetable development process begins.