Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve road (a) maintenance and (b) conditions in the North West.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 4 October 2023 the Prime Minister announced an unprecedented increase of £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance over the period from 2023/24 to 2033/34 to help fix the blight of potholes on our local highway networks up and down the country.
As part of this, local highway authorities in the North West of England will receive in total a minimum funding uplift of £1.269 billion between 2023-24 and 2033-34. This includes an additional £19 million in both the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years to allow local highway authorities across the North West to make an immediate start on improving road conditions. Funding allocations for individual local highway authorities are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help simplify the rail ticketing system.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Plan for Rail proposes the biggest shake-up of rail in a generation. We have already made progress on fares and ticketing reforms, for example introducing flexible season tickets, expanding single leg pricing to most of London North Eastern Railway’s (LNER) network and committing to Pay As You Go (PAYG) in urban areas across the country.
In February we announced that PAYG pilots in both Manchester and the West Midlands are due to be launched in 2025, expanding pay as you go to an additional 92 rail stations. We will also be extending contactless PAYG ticketing to 53 additional stations in the South East.
In addition, on 16 January this year, LNER began selling tickets for its two year long “Simpler Fares” pilot, for travel from 5 February. This pilot involves removing the old off-peak which led to some very quiet “peak” and very busy “off-peak” services, simplifying the fares and ticketing system to smooth out demand and reduce crowding, making travel more comfortable for passengers.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support those commuting by car between towns and cities in the North West.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Plan for Drivers, published last year, shows that the government is on the side of drivers, including measures to promote smoother journeys and cracking down on inconsiderate driving. We are also investing significantly in the strategic and local road network, including £8.5m allocated to roads across the North West from the third round of the Safer Roads Fund in March 2024, and £1.3bn investment through the Road Investment Strategy in enhancing, renewing and maintaining the Strategic Road Network in the North West in the period 2020 - 2023. In addition, the Network North announcement included an additional £3.3bn long term road surfacing fund for the North for the period 2023-2033. This is in addition to the local transport funding already allocated at the last Spending Review and to what local authorities were already expecting in the future.
Another significant step we have taken to support commuting by cars is, no increase in the main fuel duty rate since January 2011. Furthermore, recognising fuel price volatility, we cut five pence off fuel duty in March 2022. This was extended for another year in March 2023. This cut, along with the fuel duty freeze, saved the average car driver around £100 in 2023/24.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has provided for transport projects in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry in each of the last three years.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has spent £8.4 billion on transport in the West Midlands region over the last three years, improving connectivity, shortening journey times, reducing congestion, and transporting people and goods.
Figures are not available at the level of individual local authorities. However, in Coventry, recent Government investment includes;
Coventry also stands to benefit from allocations to West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) including
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on public funding for the Euston development corporation and associated civil engineering works.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government remains committed to delivering a privately financed HS2 Euston station as part of a transformed ‘Euston Quarter’ outlined in the Network North paper. The Department is working alongside partners to deliver comprehensive regeneration across the ‘Euston Quarter’ which is set to be led by a Development Corporation or similar. The Government’s ambition remains to make best use of funding from alternative sources to enable the delivery of HS2 to Euston, and the creation of a transformed ‘Euston Quarter’, while ensuring that funding is underpinned by contributions from those people and businesses this development supports.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help support women in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency to return to work after a career break.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local Jobcentre teams are supporting residents into work and helping those in work to progress to higher paid jobs. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), recruitment days, Job Fairs, and work trials, all of which can help support women to return to work after a career break.
In addition, one to one support from a Work Coach and Contracted Employment Programmes, the department also offers help with CVs and employability skills, mentoring circles for people aged 50 plus and support with childcare costs. Where a Work Coach identifies a barrier to securing or progressing in employment, they can use the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) to procure clothing, tools, digital devices, and to help with travel to work costs.
In Haringey, we are working with the Construction Youth Trust to support more women into construction roles, with referrals made by Jobcentres across the borough, and funding available to support women who want to work in this sector.
To help facilitate signposting discussions with claimants, staff have access to a database of national and local support information, the District Provision Tool as well as the new Managed Jobs and Opportunities which ensures that claimants can access tailored support where required. This includes provision aimed at women across London such as Dress for Success, a service that supports women to improve their confidence when attending interviews and Smart Works, a UK charity that provides high quality interview clothes and interview training to unemployed women.
We are also working with Transport for London and the College of North East London on their Women into Transportation and Engineering provision. This provides two weeks of pre-employment training, covering CV writing, and workplace skills, plus a Smart Works coaching and styling appointment designed to give participants the confidence to apply for the roles offered within the programme
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Director General of the Road Transport Group in his Department is responsible for co-ordinating Network North.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Directors General across the Department are responsible for looking at transport in an integrated way and from the perspective of the places and public they serve, with each Director General having cross-cutting responsibilities. The unit that provides a central co-ordinating function across the many projects and policy areas included within Network North reports to the Director General of the Road Transport Group.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, by how much (a) Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits and (b) Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits will be reduced following the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2 in each affected Department; and if he will publish in which Departments these savings will be made.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government has committed to re-invest every penny that is saved from the cancelled phases of HS2 into alternative transport projects through Network North.
This means that every penny of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in the North; every penny of the £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg will be reinvested in the Midlands; and the full £6.5 billion saved through our rescoped approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country.
Departmental Expenditure Limits in 2024-25 are published at the relevant Estimates in the usual way. Departmental budgets beyond 2024-25 will be set as part of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to provide compensation to town and parish councils for time spent on (a) applications and (b) other work linked to sections of the HS2 that have been cancelled.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Policy changes are a common feature of Government and there is no mechanism or precedent for compensating local authorities or councils for abortive costs incurred as a result of changes in Government policy. Providing compensation in this instance would create wide-ranging and repercussive consequences for the taxpayer. Whilst abortive costs are unfortunate, they should be seen in the context of a broader package of support for local authorities that the Government is providing through Network North. For instance, a new £2.5 billion fund for local transport across all areas in the North outside the six city regions – smaller cities, counties, towns and countryside and as well as a new £3.3 billion fund for road resurfacing in the North.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 4.12 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, whether recent funding allocated to pothole repairs will be used to help motorists report potholes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has announced, as part of the Prime Minister’s Network North plan, that an additional £8.3 billion will be provided to local highway authorities across England over the period 2023/24 to 2033/34 to enable them to maintain and resurface local roads. £150 million of this additional funding has been made available to local authorities in 2023/24 and a further £150 million will be made available in 2024/25. This uplift, in additional to the £200 million funding increase announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, means that local highway authorities across England, including North Northamptonshire, are receiving around 30% more highway maintenance capital grant funding in the 2023/24 financial year than in the previous financial year.
The funding is for the resurfacing of carriageways, cycleways and footways to prevent potholes and other road defects from occurring, as well as to help keep local bridges and other highway structures open and safe. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend it to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980.
Motorists can already report potholes and other road defects through their respective local highway authority websites. The additional funding will enable local authorities to do more to tackle potholes and other problems reported by motorists. The Department has asked all local highway authorities to publish details of how the additional funding is being spent, and these reports should already be on authorities’ websites. This will help raise awareness of highway maintenance issues and may encourage more road users to report potholes.