Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Lord Grayling
To date, the Department has allocated £74m specifically to ‘no deal’ preparations. As we further our preparations for EU Exit, we may allocate additional resources for no deal contingencies.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's paper entitled, Future of Mobility : Urban Strategy policy paper, published on 19 March 2019, when his Department plans to publish information on local limited trials of micromobility vehicles, including e-scooters; and if he will publish the trimeframe for the proposed trials for e-scooters.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
No trials of this kind have taken place. The Department is presently determining the scope and timing of the regulatory review announced in the Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy.
Officials have had introductory meetings with representatives from leading e-scooter hiring companies. However, active travel methods remain the best option for short urban journeys, and the Government is keen to stress the importance of these methods of travel.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions officials in his Department have had with representatives of providers of e-scooters.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
No trials of this kind have taken place. The Department is presently determining the scope and timing of the regulatory review announced in the Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy.
Officials have had introductory meetings with representatives from leading e-scooter hiring companies. However, active travel methods remain the best option for short urban journeys, and the Government is keen to stress the importance of these methods of travel.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to reform taxi and private hire licensing laws.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The former Minister for Transport, Sir John Hayes, set up a working group to consider how private hire vehicle and taxi licensing authorities use their powers, and produce focussed recommendations for action. The Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing considered the regulation of the industry in their discussions. The report of the Task and Finish Group was published on 24 September 2018.
On 12 February 2019 we published the Government’s response to the report of the Task and Finish Group which sets out which of the recommendations the Department proposes to take forward. Many of the short-term recommendations made by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group in his report are for licensing authorities to make full use of their extensive existing powers and these are a matter for licensing authorities to consider.
Work has already started to take forward some of the recommendations, for example the Department launched, on 12 February, its consultation on draft statutory guidance to be issued to licensing authorities on the use of their powers to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm which will run until 22 April. Those reforms that require legislative change, for example national minimum standards, will be made through primary legislation when time allows.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 13 February 2019 to Questions 218813 and 218814, what estimate his Department has made of the journey times to Heathrow Airport from stations in the London Borough of Sutton after the opening of a Southern Rail Link.
Answered by Andrew Jones
A new Southern rail link to Heathrow forms part of our long term aspiration to make travelling to and from the airport quicker and easier for millions of air travellers and we recognise the benefit that new connectivity can provide. This project is in the early stages of development and stopping patterns and therefore journey times are not yet known at this stage.