Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in Coventry South constituency on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the West Midlands.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.
Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to help ensure electric cars remain an affordable option for those people planning to purchase a lower emitting vehicle.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to keeping the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) affordable for all consumers. Government grants have been in place for over a decade to help reduce the up-front purchase price of EVs. These grants remain available for the purchase of zero emission vans, trucks, wheelchair accessible vehicles, taxis and motorbikes.
Once purchased, EV owners benefit from lower operational and maintenance costs including favourable taxation policies.
The Government is also committed to ensuring EV charging remains affordable for all EV drivers. Most EV drivers charge overnight at home where they can access cheap and flexible tariffs. This is a trend that the Government expects will continue. The Government continues to support and encourage innovations to ensure that EV drivers, who do not have their own home chargers, can benefit from cheaper domestic electricity tariffs, such as cable gulleys and peer-to-peer charging schemes allowing owners to rent out their home chargepoints.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of private electric vehicle charging points that are accessible through peer-to-peer charging as of 2 December 2022; and if he will take steps to (a) incentivise and (b) increase the accessibility of peer-to-peer electric vehicle charging.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government encourages innovative EV charging solutions, such as peer-to-peer schemes, that can help to increase the range of charging options available to drivers. However, the Department does not monitor the numbers of private chargepoints which are used for peer-to-peer charging.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to promote research into electric vehicle charging road technology; and what assessment he has made of that technology's potential environmental benefits.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has committed £40 million in projects to support innovation in wireless and on-street electric vehicle charging technology
£10 million of this investment is supporting the trial of wireless charging technologies. This includes £3.4 million for charging taxis wirelessly in Nottingham, enabling drivers to “top-up” charge while waiting for their next fare. This project considers whether wireless charging can deliver additional environmental benefits for heavily utilised electric vehicles by reducing the need for large batteries or range extender engines
Wireless charging potentially has several other commercial and consumer experience benefits, including improved accessibility.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the evidence on the effectiveness of noise camera technology in reducing disruptive noise pollution; and what preventative measures the Government is taking to tackle that problem.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
The Department has recently commenced research to understand if the latest ‘noise camera’ technology can be an effective enforcement tool for the police that will enable more targeted, efficient and effective enforcement.
The research will be published in due course.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure that consumers have received refunds for cancelled flight bookings in summer 2022.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
We have a framework of laws that set out the protections available for air passengers, including the rules on when they are entitled to refunds and compensation.
The CAA, as the UK’s aviation regulator, is responsible for enforcing consumer protections in aviation, and will take enforcement action where it sees systemic breaches of those laws.
The Department took action, as part of our 22-point plan to tackle summer disruption, to remind the aviation sector over the summer of their responsibility to support passengers, to ensure passengers are promptly informed of their rights if things go wrong and are compensated in good time.
Additionally, we published the Aviation Passenger Charter in July to provide consumers with the information they need on their rights and responsibilities for each stage of their journey, from booking to if things go wrong. This included information on when they may be entitled to refunds and compensation, how to claim, and where they can get further assistance.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Guide Dogs report entitled Guide Dogs Scoot Aware, published in May 2022, what assessment she has made of the implications of the findings of that report for her policy on e-scooters; and if she will make a further assessment of the potential impact of e-scooters on people with visual impairments.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department welcomes this report and officials met with Guide Dogs on 18 August 2022 to discuss its recommendations. The Department will continue to consider how best to address the impact of e-scooters on other road users, including those with visual impairments, and will continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including through a public consultation, before any new arrangements come into force.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the Government has not yet introduced mandatory disability awareness training for taxi drivers through new national minimum standards for licensing authorities; and what his planned timetable is for all taxi drivers to have completed that training.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Effective disability awareness training can help ensure drivers have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to provide passengers with appropriate assistance, helping them to travel independently.
Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing is a devolved matter in all UK nations. The Department for Transport remains committed to introducing mandatory disability awareness training for taxi and PHV drivers in England through new National Minimum Standards for licensing authorities when Parliamentary time allows. We continue to work through the normal government channels to identify a suitable legislative vehicle and sufficient Parliamentary time to take forward this important measure.
In the meantime, we will publish a consultation on updated best practice guidance for local licensing authorities in England later in the year, including a stronger recommendation that every driver is required to complete disability awareness training.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has carried out an equality impact assessment of bereaved partners losing access to the Two Together railcard following the death of their partner; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of making a comparable discount available to such passengers.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Rail Delivery Group is the product owner of the Two Together Railcard. While railcard terms and conditions state that they are non-refundable, a partial refund can be considered on the death of a railcard holder. Cases are considered individually and I would urge anyone who finds themselves in this situation to contact the Rail Delivery Group directly.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in the context of reductions in rail passenger demand resulting in reduced services, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of resultant reduced rail use on transport emissions; and whether the Government plans to encourage the shift to rail use to help meet emissions targets.
Answered by Wendy Morton
As set out in the Transport Decarbonisation plan and the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail we are committed to increasing the use of rail by both passengers and freight to reduce transport emissions. Under our plans we will grow, not shrink the network, investing in new lines, trains, services and electrification, including £96bn through our Integrated Rail Plan alone.