Written Questions: February 2016

2 Mar 2016 | Featured, Parliament, Parliamentary Questions

1^st February

Cycling

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of 19 January 2016, Official Report, column 1364, what the evidential basis is for his statement that his Department will go further still in raising cycling spending per head.
Mr Robert Goodwill: Under the previous Government, spend on cycling increased to £6 per head from the £2 inherited in 2010. This Government has made clear its intention to make this country a cycling nation and our commitment to the publication of a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy is evidence of our support to go further in supporting cycling on a longer term basis. The strategy will set out our objectives, activities and the funding available for cycling and walking in England in the long term and will be published in the summer following a consultation in spring.
We are also going further by making sure that provision for cyclists is now embedded into wider transport programs.
Through the Road Investment Strategy, Highways England has committed to provide a safer, integrated and more accessible strategic road network for cyclists and other vulnerable road users, with a plan to invest £100m between 2015/16 and 2020/21 to improve provision for cyclists on and around the strategic road network.
At a local level, a record £6 billion is being allocated to local authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, and from 2018/19 the plan is to change the allocation formula so that it takes into account footways and cycleways as well as the roads, bridges and street lighting that it is currently based on. Once implemented, around 9% of the funding will be based on footway and cycleway lengths.

Cycling: Safety

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release of 13 January 2016, entitled Transport sector all geared up for winter weather, what plans his Department has to ensure safety of cyclists in the event of bad weather.
Mr Robert Goodwill: We would advise all road users including cyclists to take extra care when cycling in wet or icy conditions. In particular when it is icy, cyclists should to stick to treated roads wherever possible.
The responsibility for the treatment and maintenance of the road network rests with the relevant highway authority. Section 41a of the Transport Act 1980 as amended, places highway authorities “under a duty to ensure as far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow and ice”.
In this respect, in October last year I wrote to the leaders of all local highway authorities reminding them of their responsibilities regarding preparation for winter and the need for robust contingency plans in place to mitigate against any significant weather we may encounter over the winter period.
The Department for Transport (DfT) also continues to play its part to ensure we stay through the 2015/16 winter season well prepared. This includes continuing to maintain a substantial national emergency salt reserve, first set up by the Coalition government, and having a robust distribution process in place, if for any reason this salt of last resort is needed to be allocated.
The Department has also published a small amount of additional guidance for highway authorities in Local Transport Note 1/12 “Shared Use Routes for Cyclists and Pedestrians”.
 
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to monitor and evaluate levels of cycling and attitudes to cycling in (a) London, (b) the Cycle Cities and (c) the rest of the UK.
Mr Robert Goodwill: Transport is largely a devolved matter in the UK, and the delivery of scheme-level monitoring and evaluation is the responsibility of the transport authority implementing the intervention. In London, transport is the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). The Department has no direct involvement and therefore does not undertake monitoring and evaluation of cycling levels or attitudes in London; this work is the responsibility of Transport for London.
Outside of London, there are a number of work-streams that the Department is involved in which directly or indirectly monitor uptake of and / or attitudes to cycling. These are listed below. Much of this monitoring and evaluation work applies to England only; where the work expands geographically, this is clarified below.

• The Department is working with the Eight Cycle Cities on the Cycling Ambition to capture evidence on levels of cycling and attitudes to cycling.

• Active Lives Survey (formerly known as the Active People Survey) publishes data on cycling by adults in England. This is available at Local Authority level, and DfT is currently funding a temporary boost in numbers of people completing the survey in Cambridge, Norwich and Oxford.

• On attitudes to cycling, we fund a specific transport module on the British Social Attitudes survey.

• The National Travel Survey (NTS) also captures information on uptake of cycling. From 2013 onwards, the National Travel Survey has covered England only.

• The Department will deliver an analysis of programme-level findings (also known as a ‘meta-analysis’) from the twelve Large Projects from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) 2011 -15. We estimate around a third of LSTF funding is invested in cycling interventions. An interim meta-analysis was published in November 2015 and a final meta-analysis is due Spring 2017.

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the correlation between cycle usage and household income.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The number of cycle trips and distance cycled per person per year for different household income levels (based on data for households in England in 2014) are given in the table.

 
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent analysis his Department has made of levels of cycling among different age and gender groups.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The number of cycle trips per person per year for different age and gender groups are given in the table (based on data for England in 2014) are given in the table.

 
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase cycling among (a) women and (b) older people.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government remains committed to its manifesto target to double the number of journeys made by bicycle. In order to achieve this, all potential cyclists’ needs must be considered, including women and older people.
The Government recently reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking, with SR2015 announcing funding support of over £300m. In addition, Highways England has committed to provide a safer, integrated and more accessible strategic road network for cyclists and other vulnerable road users.
By improving existing cycle provision and ensuring that cyclists are considered when designing and building new infrastructure then our roads will be more appealing to cyclists of all ages and ability.
The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to be published in summer 2016, will fully explain the Government’s investment strategy for cycling and walking.

Cycling and Walking

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will undertake a survey of existing cycling and walking infrastructure in English local authorities.
Mr Robert Goodwill: On a local level, provision of cycling and walking infrastructure is for local authorities. The Department encourages them to ensure cycling and walking are considered as part of the process of planning new development. The Government will continue to support sustainable transport with a new £580 million ‘Access’ fund. This will build on the legacy of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund and support growth in both cycling and walking.

Pedestrians: Accidents

Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce accidents involving pedestrians and (a) cyclists, (b) motorcyclists, (c) cars and (d) heavy goods vehicles.
Andrew Jones: The Government has a Manifesto commitment to reduce the number of cyclists and other road users killed or injured on our roads every year. The British Road Safety Statement, published on 21 December 2015, sets out the Government’s vision, values and priorities for improving the safety of Britain’s roads for all road users.
The Government is committed to cycling and walking and making it easier for people to choose them as sustainable travel options. The Government laid an amendment to the Infrastructure Bill that would place into law a commitment of the Government to produce a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). On 17 December 2015, the Government published a CWIS overview document outlining the timescales and work plan for production of the various elements of the investment strategy which is online on GOV.UK The full CWIS is due to be published this year. By ensuring that cycling and walking are the first consideration of any new street design or maintenance programme, we will ensure our streets are safer for our most vulnerable road users.
My Department issued revised guidance in January 2013 aimed mainly at local traffic authorities who are responsible for setting speed limits on local roads. Traffic authorities are asked to keep their speed limits under review with changing circumstances, and to consider the introduction of more 20 miles per hour limits and zones, over time, in urban areas and built-up village streets that are primarily residential, to ensure greater safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Roads: Finance

Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totes): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to use the (a) £175 million cycling, safety and integration fund and (b) £75 million air quality investment fund referred to in the Government’s Road Investment Strategy for the period 2015-16 to 2019-20.
Mr Robert Goodwill: a) £175 million cycling, safety and integration fund
Highways England is developing a programme of initiatives to improve the safety of the network and to also improve facilities for cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians, identifying further opportunities for improved integration with wider transport networks such as Park & Ride.
This fund supports their ambition to reduce the number of casualties on the strategic road network and encourage walking and cycling as an everyday mode of travel, as set out in the DfT Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
(b) £75 million air quality investment fund referred to in the Government’s Road Investment Strategy for the period 2015-16 to 2019-20.
Highways England’s Delivery Plan commits them to start 10 air quality pilot studies in the first 2 years of this road investment period.
These studies are designed to identify new and innovative solutions that will be funded using the air quality designated fund, to improve air quality alongside the strategic road network and support delivery of the major improvement schemes identified in the Road Investment Strategy. Highways England’s work in relation to air quality, and the use of the £75million air quality designated fund (2015 – 20), is in support of the Government’s National Air Quality Plan.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22808, what Network Rail maintenance, renewal or enhancement works that were planned to be carried out under blockade the 2015-16 Christmas and New Year period were deferred.
Claire Perry: Detailed information of this kind is an operational matter for Network Rail.
Level Crossings: Eaglescliffe
Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what reasons there are for the recent and proposed closures to road traffic at Allen’s West Level Crossing at Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, and what action they plan to take to minimise any future unplanned and planned closures.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Network Rail operates at arm’s-length from the Department for Transport and is not expected to involve Ministers in its regular operational decisions such as its proposals for works at level crossings.
 

2^nd February

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the statement on page 1 of Network Rail’s report, Replanning the Investment Programme, published on 25 November 2015, that there will be a reduction in renewals activity in Control Period 5, what renewal works Network Rail intends to defer into Control Period 6; and what the planned expenditure was on those works in Control Period 5.
Claire Perry: The Office of Rail and Road’s Final Determination for Control Period 5 assumed that Network Rail would spend £12.1bn on renewals between 2014-2019. Network Rail is reviewing its plans for the coming financial year and will publish an updated Delivery Plan in March containing detailed forward plans for the delivery of operations, maintenance and renewals up to 2019.

Cycling and Walking

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 66 of his Department’s Road Investment Strategy Investment Plan, how much of the five ring-fenced investment funds totalling £675 million has been allocated to cycling and walking infrastructure projects.
Mr Robert Goodwill: Highways England has committed to provide a safer, integrated and more accessible strategic road network for cyclists and other vulnerable road users such as pedestrians. Through the first Road Investment Strategy for Highways England, £175 million has been made available between 2015 and 2020 to improve the safety of the Strategic Road Network and improve conditions for cyclists and other road users.
The Highways England delivery plan states that £78 million will be used to improve conditions for those cycling alongside and crossing the Strategic Road Network.
The remaining £97 million will be used to enhance the safety of our network, with £20 million of this specifically targeted at improving facilities to provide a more accessible and integrated network, which will also benefit pedestrians.

Cycling

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding for cycling (a) London and (b) each of the cities which received Cycle City Ambition Grants received in 2014-15; and what the average level of such funding other areas received in that period.
Mr Robert Goodwill: CYCLE FUNDING FOR LONDON
The Department for Transport provides the Greater London Authority with a substantial transport grant for Transport for London (TfL). It is for TfL and ultimately the Mayor of London to decide how best to prioritise spending the grant.
CYCLING CITY FUNDING

In 2014-15 the Department for Transport awarded the Cycling Cities Ambition grants to improve and develop cycling facilities and infrastructure. Some of the cities received their funding upfront in 2013-14 under the Cities Deal arrangement. Only four cities received funding in 2014-15.
REGIONAL FUNDING

The 2014-15 figures include some funding streams, such as the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, which benefit a range of locations across England and cannot be easily disaggregated. The figures above therefore contain elements of funding which also benefit the eight cycle cities.
Cycling: Accidents
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will estimate the number of deaths and serious injuries of cyclists that were attributable to poorly-maintained local roads since 2010.
Mr Robert Goodwill: There were 211 pedal cyclist KSIs (killed or seriously injured casualties) in reported road accidents allocated the contributory factor “Poor or Defective road surface” on local roads (for England) or all non-motorway roads (for Scotland and Wales) from 2010 to 2014. A local road has been defined as a road maintained by the local authority. The following table shows the totals for each of the separate years:

¹ Includes A roads maintained by Transport Scotland and the Welsh Government.
² Includes C and unclassified roads.
The contributory factors reflect the reporting officer’s opinion at the time of reporting and are not necessarily the result of extensive investigation. Moreover it is recognised that subsequent enquires could lead to the reporting officer changing their opinion. It is important to note where some factors may have contributed to a cause of an accident it may be difficult for a police officer attending the scene after the accident has occurred to identify these factors.

Roads: Safety

Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of changes in local authority funding announced in the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015 on road safety strategies in local authorities.
Andrew Jones: Local authorities are responsible for road safety on the local road network.
They are required by statute to promote road safety which will involve undertaking collision/casualty data analysis and to devise programmes, including engineering and road user education, training and publicity that will improve road safety.
It is up to individual authorities to determine how they meet their “statutory duty”.
Following the 2015 Spending Review the Government will continue to provide funding through the Integrated Transport block for local highway authorities to support small-scale initiatives, including road safety schemes. This funding is not ring-fenced and gives local authorities the freedom to develop and implement solutions which best suit their localities. Funding for local safety schemes is also available through both the Local Growth Fund and the Government’s Cycle City Ambition Grants.
 

3^rd February

British Transport Police: Finance

Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the financial contribution of Transport for London to the British Transport Police budget is for (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.
Claire Perry: Transport for London (TfL) is expected to make a total financial contribution of £63,833,000 to the British Transport Police budget in the year running to 31 March 2016, which is around 10% higher than the contribution made in 2010/11. TfL’s contribution for 2016-17 is to be confirmed in the near future.
Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 20570, when the budget for the British Transport Police in 2016-17 will be established.
Claire Perry: The British Transport Police Authority set a budget of expected expenditure and income for the year 2016-17 on 28 January 2016.
 

4^th February

Office of Rail and Road

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects his Department’s review of the Office of Rail and Road to conclude.
Claire Perry: The Rail Regulation Call for Evidence which was published on GOV.UK on 10 December 2015 stated that the project would be ‘run in parallel with the Shaw Report and conclude by March 2016’.

British Transport Police

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 2 of the actions of the meeting of the Rail Delivery Group National Taskforce of 30 September 2015, what the effect of the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015 is on the funding of the British Transport Police.
Claire Perry: Funding for the British Transport Police is not derived directly from a specific Government grant but from holders of police service agreements. However, during the recent spending review, the Department has made clear to the British Transport Police Authority that it considers that appropriate efficiencies should be identified and made. However, it has also emphasised that any efficiencies should not materially impact on the operational policing capability of the British Transport Police, including in relation to counter-terrorist activity.

Railways: Repair and Maintenance

Caroline Ansell (Eastborne): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on improved responsiveness for emergency repairs; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry: I have regular discussions with senior Network Rail and rail industry colleagues about the need to improve performance across the network, which includes improving the recovery time from incidents. I have been paying particular attention to performance on the Govia Thameslink Railway network, and response times are being reviewed with the operator and Network Rail colleagues in order to improve response times when possible.

Cycling and Walking

Chris Green (Bolton West): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the level of planned investment by local enterprise partnerships in cycling and walking infrastructure through the local growth fund.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department estimates that an investment of at least £270m is planned for cycling infrastructure and an investment of at least £250m is planned for walking infrastructure, totalling at least £520m across the current Growth Deal period. This figure is derived from self-reported figures provided by Local Enterprise Partnerships to the Department in January 2016; the final figure for spend is therefore likely to be higher.

Roads: Construction

Lord Jopling: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 8 June 2015 (HL105), what trunk road improvement schemes there have been in the last five years, and for each of those, what was (1) the original target cost, and (2) the estimated completed cost.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The table below provides details of the major scheme on trunk roads opened in the last five financial years (from April 2011 to the present), together with the original target cost and latest outturn forecast (to the end of December 2015, and subject to closure of final accounts):

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many vehicle testing kits are available to the government agencies responsible for checking whether vehicles comply with EU emission standards.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Emissions type approval of new vehicles in the UK is carried out at commercially operated laboratories. There are five of these, as well as approved laboratories at manufacturers’ premises. The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) manages the approval testing of vehicles in the UK.
Additional testing which is currently being undertaken on the road uses portable emission measurement systems (PEMS). The VCA owns two PEMS kits and can hire three additional PEMS kits from the commercial laboratories.
 

5^th February

Driving under the Influence: Drugs

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department spent on advertising to raise awareness of the dangers of drug driving in 2014-15.
Andrew Jones: In 2014-15 the Department’s THINK! Drug Drive campaign supported the drug drive legislation change by informing an ‘all adult’ audience about the new law and its consequences using PR and local press ads. In addition, we targeted those most likely to drug drive (young males aged 17-34) to challenge and deter them from drug driving, using radio, digital display, video on demand and outdoor advertising.
The total spent on advertising was £1.4m.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many camera sites that contain speed cameras there are on (a) the Strategic Roads Network, and (b) the trunk road network in England.
Andrew Jones: The number of permanent sites that contain speed cameras on the strategic road network is 206. Of these, 76 camera sites are on the motorway network and 130 camera sites are on all-purpose trunk roads.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many local authorities have applied for funding from the permanent pothole fund since the announcement of that fund in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015; and how many applications for such funding his Department expects to be approved in (a) 2015-16 and (b) the 2015-20 Parliament.
Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport is providing over £6.1 billion funding to local highway authorities in England between 2015 and 2021 for local highways maintenance. This includes repairing roads that might be damaged due to severe winter weather. This funding includes £50 million per annum from 2016 to 2021 for a dedicated Pothole Action Fund as announced in the recent Spending Review.
The Department for Transport is currently working up criteria on how the Pothole Action Fund will operate and an announcement will be made in due course on this. Therefore no applications have yet been submitted nor have any decisions been made on how this funding will be allocated.
 

British Transport Police

Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of police officers in the British Transport Police in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.
Claire Perry: I refer the Honourable Member to my answer of 11 January 2016 to the Hon Member for Dewsbury (Paula Sheriff), UIN 20568 http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=20568.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

John Mc Nalley (Falkirk): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on new emissions tests for cars.
Andrew Jones: I have held regular discussions with my ministerial colleagues on the new European emissions tests for cars. The Government strongly supports the ‘Real Driving Emissions’ agreement, which is expected to reduce significantly real world oxides of nitrogen emissions from diesel cars.

Large Goods Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on his evaluation of the potential for low carbon HGVs.
Andrew Jones: The Government has implemented measures to encourage cleaner and more fuel efficient HGVs through a 10-year duty incentive for road fuel gases, increasing potential rewards for gaseous fuels under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, our £25m Advanced Biofuels Demonstration Competition and the £11m Low Carbon Truck Trial.
The Department for Transport is making good progress on its review of options to further reduce CO2 emissions from the freight sector and expects to report to Ministers later this year.

Motor Vehicles Exhaust Emissions

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to evaluate the progress of his Department’s ultra-low emission vehicle communications strategy.
Andrew Jones: The Go Ultra Low campaign, which we run in conjunction with eight major vehicle manufacturers and that is intended to explain the benefits of ultra low emission vehicles to fleet and consumer audiences, is subject to a programme of ongoing evaluation. We survey the campaign’s audiences at key campaign milestones to test its performance. To date, Go Ultra Low has exceeded government and industry campaign benchmarks on key measures. Of those surveyed who recalled seeing campaign activity, 71% have taken action as a result of having seen our advert, and the campaign’s website is now averaging 51,000 visitors a month following a four-fold increase in 2015 compared to 2014. The Go Ultra Low campaign is an important part of the UK’s programme to support the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, leading to market growth of 94% in 2015.

Railways: Accidents

Jacob Rees Mogg (North East Somerset): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents have occurred on trains involving slam doors in each of the last five years.
Claire Perry: The number of passenger accidents over the years 2011 to 2015 that involved slam-door stock, broken down by injury degree, is set out in the table below:-

8^th February

Driving Under the Influence: Scotland

Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government on the results of that government’s lowering of drink-drive limits; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Jones: I am intending to discuss with the Scottish Minister about the experience of the lower limit in Scotland and about the timescales to get access to robust evidence of the road safety impact. It is important to base our decisions on evidence and the Scottish experience will be crucial to that before we consider any possible changes to the limits in England and Wales. This Government’s current position however remains to focus resources on enforcing against the most serious offenders.

Cycling: Safety

Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which particular measures his Department has included in its Road Safety Statement of 21 December 2015 to help reduce the number of cyclists killed and injured every year.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The government has a manifesto commitment to reduce the number of cyclists and other road users killed or injured on our roads every year and we published our British Road Safety Statement, setting out our priorities in achieving that goal on 21 December 2015.
The Statement describes a series of actions to be undertaken across government over the short, medium and long term. Several of these contribute specifically to cyclist safety, including:

• Continue with £50 million investment to deliver Bikeability training in schools, providing the next generation of cyclists with the skills and confidence to cycle safely on local roads
• Consult on dangerous in-car mobile phone use with a view to increasing penalties for offenders
• Consult on legislative changes on HGV sideguards
• Encourage development and implementation of improved HGV design
• Develop and test new Hazard Perception Test materials to improve learner drivers’ awareness of developing hazards in varying weather and lighting conditions, and broaden the scope of scenarios providing experience of real life situations such as encountering vulnerable road users
• Our commitment to produce a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy setting out our objectives, activities and funding available for cycling and walking in England in the long term. The Strategy will be published in the summer and will include details of how the £300m committed in the recent Spending Review will be invested to support cycling and walking.

Transport: Skilled Workers

Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from the road haulage sector and hauliers on the Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy.
Andrew Jones: The department has regular meetings with the road haulage sector trade bodies and hauliers on a wide variety of issues, including skills, at both Ministerial and official level. These have not focused specifically on the Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy, which addresses the technical, engineering and construction skills needed to deliver the department’s unprecedented infrastructure investment.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has recently approved the Logistics Trailblazer Apprenticeship Standard and the department will be working with colleagues to support the industry in rolling out this apprenticeship.
 

9^th February

Cycling: Safety

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been allocated to cycling safety from 2015 to 2020.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department’s SR15 settlement includes over £300 million for cycling over the life of this Parliament. There is no specific budget within this funding denoted ‘cycle safety’ since a variety of cycling schemes do and will help in various ways to improve cycle safety. Several projects can however be noted:
– We are providing £50m over the next four years to support Bikeability cycle training in schools; £11m was provided in 2015/16. This funding will help to increase children’s road awareness, encourage active travel and improve future motorists’ empathy for more vulnerable road users. We expect to train a further 1 million children with the new funding settlement.
– We are spending £114m from 2015 onwards on the Cycling Ambition Cities programme which will accelerate their development of local cycling networks, including increased protection for cyclists at junctions.
– In addition, through the Road Investment Strategy, Highways England will spend £100m through to 2020/21 to make around 200 locations on our major road network more cycle-friendly.
Much more widely, however, other Government funding streams will also contribute to projects which could deliver improved cycle safety. Through the Local Growth Fund, the Department estimates that an investment of at least £270m is planned by local enterprise partnerships for cycling infrastructure. Local authorities could also use sums from the £1.3bn Integrated Transport Block to 2019/20 for cycle safety schemes.
It should also be noted that spending on road maintenance can benefit not just motorists but can also lead to safer conditions for cyclists, and a record £6.1billion is allocated to local highway authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance.
Regarding cycleway maintenance, from 2018/19 the plan is to change the formula used to allocate local highways maintenance capital funding so that it also takes into account footways and cycleways as well as the roads, bridges and street lighting, which it is currently based on. Once implemented, around 9% of the funding for local highways maintenance will be based on footway and cycleway lengths.

Cycling

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date the (a) Cycle Proofing Working Group and (b) Cycling Health sub-group last met.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Cycle Proofing Working Group met on 14 January 2016. The Department for Transport does not have a Cycling Health sub-group.
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Highways England document, Cycling Strategy: our approach, published in January 2016, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the needs of cyclists are also considered when improvements are made to the local road network.
Mr Robert Goodwill: Decisions on how best to provide for cyclists on local roads are matters for the local authority – not only do they have a duty to balance the needs of all road users when considering how to design and manage their road networks, but they also have a detailed understanding of their roads.
Our guidance in Local Transport Note 2/08: Cycle Infrastructure Design is comprehensive and allows councils to design good, safe schemes within current legislation. It already includes most of the measures highlighted as good practice by, for example, the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, and British Cycling.
Government promotes best practice through the Cycle Proofing Working Group; an advisory body to the Government on ‘cycle proofing’. They share knowledge of cycle proofing with those designing and implementing cycle infrastructure on UK roads through their website:-
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/cycle-proofing-working-group

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress the Government has made on an impact analysis and consultation on changes to current pavement parking legislation since the withdrawal of the Pavement Parking (Protection of Vulnerable Pedestrians) Bill.
Andrew Jones: I intend to convene a round table in March, the details of which are currently being finalised. The round table will discuss the topic, and help to inform the Department’s thinking and the work it plans to do later this year to examine more closely the legal and financial implications of alternative approaches.

Speed Limits: Greater London

Jim Dowd (Lewisham West and Penge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many London boroughs have implemented a 20 mph speed limit; how many attempted prosecutions there have been for exceeding such speed limits in each of the last five years; and how many such prosecutions have resulted in a conviction.
Andrew Jones: The figure for the number of London boroughs who have implemented 20mph speed limits is not held by the Department for Transport.
The Ministry of Justice do not hold data breakdown by local authority or the number of attempted prosecutions. However, they do hold data on the number of defendants proceeded against at court, prosecuted and sentenced for speeding offences; this data can be viewed on the Ministry of Justice website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014
In the link to “Motoring data tool with criminal justice area” – you will find a pivot table which contains data on court proceedings for motoring offences, including speed limit offences, in England and Wales for the 12 months ending December 2004 to 12 months ending December 2014.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

 Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of local authorities that bid for pothole funding in 2014-15 were successful.
Andrew Jones: In April 2014 English local highway authorities were invited to bid for a share of a £168 million Pothole Fund for 2014/15 to repair local roads in England as announced in the March 2014 Budget.
An announcement was made in June 2014. All local highway authorities received a share of the funding as set out in the table available at the following weblink:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321677/pothole-funding-2014.pdf
 

Bridges: Repairs and Maintenance

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent on maintenance of (1) the Clifton Suspension Bridge, (2) the Tyne Bridge, and (3) the Severn Bridge, in the last five years.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: It is important to note that the bridges mentioned in the question are not maintained by the Department for Transport. Clifton Suspension Bridge is run by Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust, the Tyne Bridge is run by Newcastle City Council and the Severn Bridge is run on a concession by River Crossing PLC.
However, I have been informed that the Tyne Bridge spent £58.016 million and the Severn Crossing spent £64.31 million on maintenance in the last 5 financial years. The department has not been given details for Clifton at this current time.
 

NHS: Motor Vehicles

Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether recent changes to Government Buying Standards to encourage the uptake of safer vehicles will apply to the NHS.
Andrew Jones: The Government Buying Standards (GBS) are recommended for the wider public sector but outside central government they are not obligatory.
The current GBS has been in place since 2012. As stated in the recent publication “Improving air quality in the UK”, revised standards for cars and vans will be published this year. Revisions will encourage cleaner and safer vehicles where appropriate.

British Transport Police

Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 24232, how much has been allocated for overall expenditure in the 2016-17 budget for the British Transport Police.
Claire Perry: The British Transport Police Authority has set an expected budget of £295.1 million for the British Transport Police in 2016/17.
Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has requested the British Transport Police to set out options for a reduction in the British Transport Police budget.
Claire Perry: I refer the Hon. Member to my previous answer of 11 January 2016 http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=20671.
 

Public Transport: Disability

Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18454, what progress his Department is making on updating the Accessibility Action Plan; and when he plans to publish it.
Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport is preparing a revised Accessibility Action Plan (AAP) at the moment in discussion with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee. We plan for the AAP to be ready for wider consultation in the summer and that it will likely be published by the end of the year.

Air Safety Support International

Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, where each office of Air Safety Support International is located; and what the annual budget is of each such office.
Mr Robert Goodwill: Air Safety Support International (ASSI) has one office which is in Crawley. ASSI’s budget for 2015/16 is £3.068 million.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Safety

Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on public safety of placing the regulation of (a) drones and (b) unmanned aerial vehicles within the purview of the Civil Aviation Authority.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the independent statutory authority responsible for regulating civil aircraft, including RPAS and small drones. However, the Department recognises that there are types of offenses relating to drones that are not aviation specific or pose an aviation risk and are more social, so the degree to which the CAA should be involved is currently under review.
We are currently developing a Memorandum of Understanding between the DfT, the CAA, the Home Office and Police to better establish where responsibility lies for enforcing breaches of drone related regulations
 

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Greater London

Virendra Sharma (Ealing Southall): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to protect people living in the vicinity of (a) Heathrow and (b) RAF Northolt from (i) drones and (ii) unmanned aerial vehicles.
Mr Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to protect people living in the vicinity of (a) Heathrow and (b) RAF Northolt from (i) drones and (ii) unmanned aerial vehicles.
 

Air Traffic Control

Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will raise the ceiling at which aircraft may be vectored from 4,000 to 7,000 feet.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government is considering vectoring practices by air traffic controllers as part of a wider review of its policies on airspace and noise.
 

10^th February

British Transport Police

Lillian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 25019, what efficiency savings he expects the British Transport Police to make in cash terms in each year up to 2020-21.
Claire Perry: During the recent spending review, the Department made clear to the British Transport Police Authority that it considered that appropriate efficiencies should be identified and made. However, it also emphasised that any efficiencies identified should not materially impact on the operational policing capability of the British Transport Police, including in relation to counter-terrorist activity. The British Transport Police Authority identified savings of over 8% that can be made between 2016/17 and 2019/20 from the British Transport Police’s (BTP) core policing budgets, focussed on those areas where reductions would not have a material operational impact on the rail network. The Department has set out its expectation that these savings should be achieved during the course of the spending review period. Any efficiency savings could, however, potentially be reinvested into counter-terrorist activities, depending on the need.

Aviation: Safety

Dr Tania Mathias (Twickenham): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with his European counterparts about EU proposals to block public access to Mandatory Occurrence Reports; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of those proposals on public confidence in aircraft safety.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation is governed by Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 which was adopted on 3 April 2014 and became applicable on 15 November 2015.
The open reporting of safety occurrences is vital to help ensure that significant issues can be identified and addressed before they lead to an accident. To foster open reporting the Regulation aims to create a just culture in which occurrences can be reported without fear of any detriment. To support the just culture the Regulation requires that reports be given an appropriate level of confidentiality and that information derived from occurrence reports shall be used only for safety related purposes. However, the Regulation does permit information to be released on request to interested parties that have a genuine safety related need for the information.

The Regulation also recognises the need to keep the public informed on aviation safety matters. It requires Member States to publish, at least annually, a safety review setting out the type of occurrences and safety-related information that has been reported, any trends that have been identified and any corrective action taken. In addition, the European Aviation Safety Agency is required to include information about the analysis of occurrence reports in its annual safety review.

Road Signs and markings

Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 will be implemented.
Andrew Jones: We aim to bring the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 into force in the Spring, subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Sir Greg Knight (East Yorkshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further resources from the Local Growth Fund he intends to make available to allow additional road improvements; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport is contributing over £6 billion to the Local Growth Fund in this parliament. This is already helping to fund over 300 road improvement schemes in Local Enterprise Partnerships’ programmes. Local Enterprise Partnerships will soon have the opportunity to make further bids to the Local Growth Fund for new projects, including a £475m element for very large major transport schemes. The Government will be providing details shortly.

 Unmanned Air Vehicles

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take for the protection of air passengers following the recent report of the UK Airprox Board of four near-miss incidents involving drones at UK airports.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The safety of the public is of the uttermost importance to the Government and whilst I recognise the potential significant economic benefits that drones can have to the UK, it is vital that they are operated safely and in a way that does not put members of the public and other aircraft at risk.
There are existing regulations for users of small unmanned aerial vehicles. Article 166 of the UK Air Navigation order 2009 (ANO) requires operators of small unmanned aircraft to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with the aircraft sufficient to monitor its flight path in relation to other aircraft, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures for the purposes of avoiding collisions. It also states that an operator may only fly the aircraft if they are reasonably satisfied that the flight can safely be made.
In addition, Article 138 of the ANO 2009, which also applies to small unmanned aircraft, states that “a person must not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property. This includes persons within another aircraft, and of course the aircraft that those persons are within.
We are talking to both the Civil Aviation Authority and airports to find technical solutions to the problems around airport, these include mandated geo-fencing or frequency jammers.
The Civil Aviation Authority is undertaking activities to raise awareness of the basic safety requirements, including an ongoing ‘Dronecode’ safety awareness campaign, issuing safety leaflets at the point of sale, publishing an animated video on their website, and running ‘small UAS’ Risk and Hazard workshops with industry as part of the Mid Air Collision Programme.
The department is leading efforts with international bodies to develop a stringent regulatory framework focusing on safety. We are currently undertaking public dialogues ahead of a public consultation which will help to inform a government strategy to be published this year. The consultation will look at a range of options including regulation, registration and licensing options and a database to increase transparency on the use of drones for the general public.
 
Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to minimise the risk to aircraft from the use of drones, and whether those steps include a system of registration of ownership.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Drones are becoming increasingly popular and have the potential to bring significant economic benefits, but it is vital that they are operated safely, in a way that does not put members of the public and other aircraft at risk. There are existing regulations in place that require users of drones to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their vehicle and to not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property. Work is underway to better understand the level of risk posed by flying drones close to commercial planes. We are talking to both the Civil Aviation Authority and airports to find technical solutions to the problems around airport, these include mandated geo-fencing or frequency jammers.
The department is leading efforts with international bodies to develop a stringent regulatory framework focusing on safety. We are currently undertaking public dialogues ahead of a public consultation which will help to inform a government strategy to be published this year. The consultation will look at a range of options including regulation, registration and licensing options and a database to increase transparency on the use of drones for the general public.
The Civil Aviation Authority is undertaking activities to raise awareness of the basic safety requirements, including an ongoing ‘Dronecode’ safety awareness campaign, issuing safety leaflets at the point of sale, publishing an animated video on their website, and running ‘small UAS’ Risk and Hazard workshops with industry as part of the Mid Air Collision Programme.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any acknowledgement of the achievement by Network Rail in completing successfully over 99 per cent of its Christmas and New Year programme of 500 projects without impact on passengers.
Lord Ahmad: My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, has indeed acknowledged the achievements of Network Rail over the Christmas period on no less than three separate occasions.
Network Rail issued a press release on 4 January in which my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Transport stated: “Network Rail and the operators have delivered essential improvements to the rail network over the Christmas period. These are crucial for providing better journeys for passengers, progressing key projects such as Crossrail and the Thameslink Programme and nearly £100m of improvements in Lincolnshire, as part of our record investment in the railways.
I welcome the news that this has been completed on time. I would like to thank passengers for their patience, and pay tribute to the men and women who have been working in challenging weather conditions for much of the time.”
On 19 January my Rt Hon Friend informed the other place: “Over the Christmas period, Network Rail also successfully carried out its biggest ever works as part of the railway upgrade plan that is so essential to the future of the British rail industry. I pay tribute to the thousands of staff who gave up their Christmas to improve our railways.”
And on 28 January my Rt Hon Friend remarked in the other place: “I pay tribute to Network Rail and its hard-working orange army of more than 20,000 staff who successfully delivered £150 million of essential improvements to the network over the holiday period, as part of our record programme of investment in the railways. Planning for Easter is well advanced, and the good practice demonstrated over Christmas is being embedded in the planning process for Easter and beyond.”
 

11^th February

British Transport Police

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which British Transport Police sites have closed since May 2010.
Claire Perry: Since May 2010, there have been 9 operational closures of British Transport Police sites at the following locations:
Debden
Ealing Broadway
Hastings
Ipswich
St Leonards
Taunton
Wood Green
Watford
Wednesbury
The BTP has advised that the closure of these operational posts has not affected the policing capability or visibility at these locations. The majority of the offices closed were either very small satellite offices or in unsuitable locations where coverage is more cost-effectively provided from larger neighbouring stations.
Additionally, two further sites have closed since May 2010 but they have been replaced by newer refurbished premises in the same vicinity.
 
Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) police officers, (b) police community support officers, (c) special officers and (d) police dogs were in the service of the British Transport Police on the most recent date for which figures are available.
Claire Perry: As of 9 February 2016, the British Transport Police has (a) 3,061 officers (compared to 2,901 in 2009/10), (b) 362 police community support officers (compared to 340 in 2009/10), (c) 285 special officers and (d) 38 police dogs in service.

Roads: Suicides

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) suicides and (b) attempted suicides were recorded as having taken place on the strategic road network in each year since 2009-10; and what work Highways England has undertaken with the Samaritans related to suicides on roads.
Andrew Jones: Highways England records details on its Command and Control (C&C) database, of incidents that occur on the strategic road network, but only when the Traffic Officer Service have an awareness or involvement. Therefore due to the current Traffic Officer network coverage, the majority of incidents recorded occurred on the motorway network.
The following table records the number of incidents coded as ‘suicide/suicide attempt’ on the C&C database and reflect those incidents that the Traffic Officer Service have been directly involved in or have been reported to them:

In April 2014 a review of the database was carried out and the closure code for ‘suicide/attempted suicide’ was changed. This created significant anomalies in the data capture which means that the 2014/15 data are not robust. We are in the process of verifying the data and will be in a position to provide the figures later this year.
Highways England (formerly Highways Agency) has worked closely with organisations such as the Samaritans in helping to prevent further suicides on the strategic road network. Highways England has commenced work to take forward a Suicide Prevention Group. This group will comprise of relevant stakeholders such as the Samaritans, emergency services and our service providers to develop and co-ordinate delivery of an action plan to reduce the number of suicide attempts on the strategic road network. We are also working closely with both the Samaritans and Network Rail to identify best practice following their success in reducing suicide attempts on the rail network.
Known suicide hotspots are investigated to look at possible improvements, such as raising the height of the parapets on bridges and introducing or improving crisis signing. Highways England consults The Samaritans when undertaking this work.

 Roads: Industrial Health and Safety

Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what action he intends to take against employers who neglect their responsibilities for occupational road safety; and whether he plans to support an extension of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 to include work-related road casualties.
Andrew Jones: The main regulatory aspects of driving for work are enforced by the Police. They take the lead in the investigating road traffic incidents and can refer cases to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) if they believe there are clear employer management failings contributing to the incident.
In our British Road Safety Statement, published in December, we highlighted helping employers to reduce road related collisions at work as a priority. We will start this process by evaluating existing safer driving for work schemes to understand what works, with a view to promoting existing good practice to employer networks and other occupational drivers.
The government has no plans to extend the scope of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations [RIDDOR] to cover work related road incidents.

 Roads: Safety

Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department will monitor implementation of the measures set out in the Government’s British Road Safety Statement, published in December 2015.
Andrew Jones: The British Road Safety Statement was published on 21 December 2015. It includes a number of actions to be delivered across government and in partnership with others in private, public and civil society organisations.
We are currently setting up monitoring arrangements.

Driving: Licencing

Nusrat Ghani (Wealden): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many holders of full driving licences in Wealden constituency are people aged over 70 who have renewed their licence.
Andrew Jones: On 30 January 2016, there were 28,703 holders of full driving licences in the Wealden constituency postal code areas over the age of 70.
 

12^th February

Driving: Licencing

Nusrat Ghani (Wealden): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people in Wealden constituency have a full driving licence.
Andrew Jones: On 30 January 2016, there were 188,244 full driving licence holders in the Wealden constituency postal code areas.
Nusrat Ghani (Wealden): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many holders of full driving licences in Wealden constituency are people aged over 70 who have renewed their licence.
Andrew Jones: On 30 January 2016, there were 28,703 holders of full driving licences in the Wealden constituency postal code areas over the age of 70.

Motor Vehicles: Brakes

Adam Afriyie (Windsor): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of autonomous emergency braking systems in reducing the number of road traffic accidents.
Andrew Jones: The Department has not made any detailed assessment of the effectiveness of autonomous emergency braking systems, but we are aware that a number of studies have highlighted the potential for a reduction in collisions. Most trucks exceeding 8 tonnes and coaches registered after 1 November 2015 are fitted with it, and we support measures by EuroNCAP to encourage its fitment in new cars.

15^th February

Motor Vehicles: Disability

Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and South Poole): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 19143, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the administration of disability exemptions on vehicle excise duty and the effect on parking charges in local authority car parks.
Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport has not issued guidance to local authorities on the administration of disability exemptions on vehicle excise duty. The issue of guidance to local authorities on off-street car parking charges would be a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government, which has policy responsibility for this matter. It is for local authorities to decide what factors to take into account when considering how to apply concessions and exemptions from parking charges.

Speed Limits

Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on establishing 20mph zones.
Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport has provided a wide range of guidance for local authorities on establishing 20 mph zones. Local Transport Note 1/07 ‘Traffic Calming’ sets out design guidance on 20 mph zones, summarising the advice provided in earlier Traffic Advisory Leaflets, whilst guidance on signing is provided in the Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 3 and the Area-wide Authorisations and Special Directions Guidance Note. Advice on setting speed limits is provided in Department for Transport Circular 01/2013 ‘Setting Local Speed Limits’. All of these documents are available on the Department’s website.
Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to investigate the effectiveness of 20mph zones in local authorities which have implemented them.
Andrew Jones: Research into pilot 20mph speed limits, with little or no traffic calming, in Portsmouth and Bristol published in 2010 and 2012 showed small reductions in average speeds. The Portsmouth scheme also saw a reduction in casualties greater than the equivalent national reduction.
Reviews of 20 mph zones in 1996 and 1998 by the Transport Research Laboratory found that zones, which incorporate traffic calming, achieved significant reductions in speeds and annual accident frequency. Reductions in speeds were minimal without traffic calming.
The Department for Transport has commissioned new work into the effects of 20mph limits including effects on speed, collisions, casualties and modal shift. The research also considers best practice, road users’ perceptions and environmental quality.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21012, what further estimate he has made of the (a) number of and (b) cost of repairs identified to date to the (i) strategic road network and (ii) local road network.
Andrew Jones: Two sections of road on the strategic road network have been damaged by the recent flooding. The river bank was washed out on both sides at Warwick Bridge on the A69 near Carlisle. This will be repaired, as agreed with the Environment Agency (EA), using gabion baskets at an estimated cost of £60,000.
A 1.5 mile section of the westbound dual carriageway on the A66 in Cumbria is currently closed following the storms. The provisional cost estimate for reopening this section of the network is between £3m and £5m dependent on the findings of a recent geotechnical survey.
The rest of the strategic road network in the North West region has now been returned to a fully serviceable condition. The cost of clearing the affected network in the North West region is estimated at £275,000.
The Department for Transport is continuing to collate a comprehensive list of damage caused to the local highway network following the recent storms encountered in some areas of the country.

Roads: Investment

Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish a list of (a) ongoing projects and (b) planned projects within the strategic road network in each region under the first road investment strategy; and how many such projects he expects will be completed (i) ahead of schedule, (ii) on schedule and (iii) behind schedule.
Andrew Jones: The Road Investment Strategy (RIS) and the Highways England Delivery Plan 2015-2020 list the ongoing projects and planned projects for each region. Of the 112 projects named in the RIS, five projects have either opened of will open in 2015-16 as planned. For the remaining projects all but two are progressing on or ahead of schedule.

Breathalysers: France

Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the legal requirement for drivers in France to carry a breathalyser and its effect on road safety in that country in order to inform his policies.
Andrew Jones: We know that the number of people killed in drink drive collisions remains significantly higher in France than in Great Britain despite the introduction of the legal requirement to carry a breathalyser in 2012. In 2014 Trading Standards in Great Britain looked at the self-testing devices available and concluded that the majority of these were unreliable and may give anyone using them a dangerously false sense of security. We therefore have no plans to introduce any such requirement in Great Britain.

Motorcycles: Electric Vehicles

Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on the extension of the plug-in grant to motorcycles; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport has received representations from the Motorcycle Industry Association on a consumer incentive for zero emission motorcycles, as well as correspondence form the public at official level.

Railways: EU Law

Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavilion): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library a copy of a Keeling Schedule for Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 as amended by draft Regulation COM/2013/028 final.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The text of draft Regulation COM/2013/028, part of the European Commission’s Fourth Railway Package, is under active negotiation and therefore remains subject to potential modification.
The latest published version of the draft text, a general approach reached at Transport Council on 8 October 2015, is available from http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-12777-2015-INIT/en/pdf.
Once a final text is agreed, this will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. A consolidated version of Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 as amended will also be made publicly available via http://eur-lex.europa.eu.

Railways: Racially Motivated Offences

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to overcome the problem of race hate crimes on Britain’s railway networks in the light of the figures collected by the British Transport Police that show an increase in such crimes of 37 per cent in the past five years.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government considers the safety of passengers on the railway to be of paramount importance. The British Transport Police (BTP) is committed to providing policing services that meet the needs of all passengers and people who work on the railways. In line with the College of Policing’s National Hate Crime Strategy, BTP is working with partners to reduce hate crime and the harm that it causes, increasing the confidence of victims to report, and to identify and prosecute those who commit such crimes.
BTP will also work with Train Operating Companies and Network Rail to improve awareness, vigilance and reporting on hate incidents, and to identify locations and patterns.

22^nd February

Roads: Safety

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to performance indicators for helping cyclists, walkers and other vulnerable users of the network in the Highways England operational metrics manual, whether any additional resource funding has been allocated under the Road Investment Strategy to reduce vulnerable user casualties.
Andrew Jones: Highways England has committed to provide a safer, integrated and more accessible strategic road network for cyclists, walkers and other vulnerable road users. Through the first Road Investment Strategy for Highways England, a ring-fenced allocation of £175 million has been made available between 2015 and 2020 to improve the safety of the Strategic Road Network and improve conditions for cyclists and other vulnerable road users.
The Highways England current delivery plan states that £78 million will be used to improve conditions for those cycling alongside and crossing the Strategic Road Network. The remaining £97 million will be used to enhance the safety of our network, with £20 million of this specifically targeted at improving facilities to provide a more accessible and integrated network.

Cycling

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25993, whether his Department had a Cycling Health sub-group.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department had a Cycle Stakeholder Forum, established from 2011 – 2014, which had some sub-groups including a group on cycle health, chaired by the Department of Health. The sub-group was disbanded when the Cycle Stakeholder Forum was dissolved.
Highways England
Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of Highways England’s compliance with the conditions on environmental duties set out in paragraphs 5.23 and 5.24 of the Highways England: Licence, published in April 2015.
Andrew Jones: The Office for Rail and Road (ORR), as Highways Monitor, published a six month report on Highways England’s performance in December 2015. This comments on the Highways England Biodiversity Action Plan, which was published in June 2015.
ORR will report annually on Highways England’s performance and in line with the requirement in the Licence, I expect Highways England to publish their environmental strategy shortly.

Aviation: Noise

Dr Tania Matthias (Twickenham): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which body is responsible for enforcement of aircraft noise abatement requirements.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government sets noise abatement procedures at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. These are set out in Noise Abatement Requirements Notice(s) made under section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.
At other airports these are agreed locally often through local planning agreements. Where the Government sets the procedures these are monitored by the airports’ noise and track keeping systems which receives data from National Air Traffic Services (NATS) radars and permanent noise monitors located around the airport.
Adherence to the noise abatement procedures are reported via the airports flight performance report which will be available on the airports website. Fines are imposed at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airport for breaching noise departure limits.

Humber Bridge: Large Goods Vehicles

Sir Greg Knight (East Yorkshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons a high-sided heavy goods vehicle which overturned on the Humber Bridge on 1 February 2016 was permitted to cross the bridge while the bridge was closed to all high-sided vehicles due to high winds; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Jones: Safety on the Humber Bridge is the responsibility of the Humber Bridge Board in cooperation with the local police.

23^rd February

Motor Vehicle: Type Approval

Sir Greg Knight (East Yorkshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what changes the UK is discussing with its European partners to the EU Framework Directive in respect of commercial vehicle body building and conversion; what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend UK law on this matter; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Jones: The European Commission published its proposal for a new framework on motor vehicle type approval on 27 January 2016 and formal discussions with European partners have not started yet. This new proposal sets out a number of changes to the type approval system to bolster oversight of those undertaking the testing and assessment of new vehicles. The Government will be pressing to ensure that any new measures are proportionate and cost effective. The Department for Transport will consult widely on the changes being proposed. I have no plans to amend UK law until changes to the EU Framework have been agreed.

24^th February

M6: Accidents

Liam Byrne (Birmingham Hodge Hill): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) effectiveness of the level of co-operation between local authorities, the emergency services and Highways England in connection with the incident on the M6 Motorway between junctions 5 and 6 on Thursday 4 February 2016.
Andrew Jones: The structured debrief for this incident was carried out by Highways England on 10 February and included a representative from Central Motorway Police Group.
Three recommendations relating to multi-agency coordination resulted from this meeting and Highways England will continue to work closely with these agencies to take away the lessons learned.
Liam Byrne (Birmingham Hodge Hill): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment Highways England has made of the effectiveness of the response to the incident on the M6 Motorway between junctions 5 and 6 on Thursday 4 February 2016.
Andrew Jones: Highways England conducted a structured debrief for this incident on 10 February. This is standard practice for any serious incident. It identified a number of recommendations, which are subject to ongoing discussions with other agencies. Once agreed, they will be used as lessons learnt for the management of future incidents.

Motor Vehicles

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which national and local authorities have the powers to allow structures and equipment to be erected on or adjacent to highways in order to allow driverless vehicles to use those highways; which authorities would be responsible for giving technical accreditation and approval to such erections; whether a person responsible for the operation of a driverless vehicle requires a driving licence or some other kind of authorisation; and whether a person when operating a driverless vehicle is required to be present in that vehicle while it is moving or otherwise in operation on a highway.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Any structure off the highways would need local planning permission. For structures on the highways, local planning authorities have a power to stop the erection of structures within the permitted development rights of all highway authorities where they think there would be an environmental impact. This includes visual as well as other impacts.
The local Highway authority is responsible for technical approval of structures‎ within the highway boundary. In the case of the Strategic Road Network the agency would be Highways England and design would be in line with the requirements of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB).
In February 2015 the Government published “The Pathway to Driverless Cars”: a detailed review of the regulation around the use of driverless cars on UK roads. It established that it is possible for a driverless vehicle to be tested on UK roads provided that, among other conditions, a suitably qualified test driver or test operator would be in a position to take control of the vehicle if necessary. A test operator is someone who oversees testing of an automated vehicle without necessarily being seated in the vehicle, since some automated vehicles might not have conventional manual controls and/or a driver’s seat.
The Government is currently working to establish what changes to the domestic and international regulatory system will be necessary to safely enable the sale and use of driverless vehicle technology on UK roads.
 
Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether it is legal to cause a driverless vehicle to be operated on a public highway, and if not, what legislation would be necessary to allow that to happen in the future.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In February 2015, the Government published “The Pathway to Driverless Cars”: a detailed review of the regulation around the use of driverless cars on UK roads. It was followed by the Code of Practice for testing which was published in July 2015 – a light-touch non-regulatory approach that established the UK as among the best places in the world to test driverless cars.
 

Driving Under the Influence

Lord Rea: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent studies of driver impairment after drinking alcohol, and whether those studies support the current alcohol limit for drivers.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Sir Peter North’s 2010 Review of drink and drug driving made an assessment of various studies. The Coalition Government responded in March 2011 by setting out its position on maintaining the current limit. This Government agrees with that assessment and we do not believe any further studies have provided sufficient evidence to change that position. There are therefore no plans to change the current laws.
Grouped Questions: HL6114
 

25^th February

Roads: Suicide

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26134, what the reason is for the difference between the data series given in that Answer in relation to suicides and suicide attempts on the Strategic Road Network and the data given in the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 19015 asked by the hon. Member for Huddersfield; and if he will update the figures given in the Answer of 15 December 2015 to include the number of suicides and suicide attempts on the Strategic Road Network in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016 to date.
Andrew Jones: The difference in the data given is due to the ‘Command and Control’ database, used by Highways England to record all incidents on the Strategic Road network, being reconfigured in April 2013 to improve the consistency of the data recorded. This has led to improved accuracy, particularly when logging types of incidents and the method for recording ‘suicides’ or ‘attempted suicides’ was also adapted.
In 2015 there were 790 incidents logged as suicides or attempted suicides.
In 2016 – from 1^st January to 21^st February – there have been 120 such incidents.

Driving Tests

Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of increased waiting times for driving tests for young drivers on (a) failure rates and (b) increased travel time and cost to examination centres.
Andrew Jones: Any comparison between waiting times and failure rates would be highly subjective as the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has no way of excluding other factors. DVSA also cannot identify the motivation of candidates choosing test centres for their practical test; therefore, DVSA is unable to assess what the costs would be.
Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the pass rates in driving tests were in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last five years.
Andrew Jones: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency does not record pass rates for each constituent part of the UK. Pass rates by test centre are published on GOV.UK.
 
Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average wait for driving tests is in each English region.
Andrew Jones: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency records its data in four regions, which are; Scotland and North England, Central England and North Wales, South Wales and South West England and London and the South East. The average waiting times in January 2016 for these areas are listed below.

 
Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the numbers of driving examiners in England on waiting times for tests; and what steps he is taking to encourage more examiners to qualify.
Andrew Jones: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) undertake quarterly test forecast reviews to identify the likely demand of driving tests, from which it calculates the numbers of examiners required in order to service those demands. Those numbers are reviewed against the current examiners numbers and where increases are identified, these are factored into DVSA’s recruitment campaigns. DVSA usually run two recruitment campaigns per year, with additional campaigns where necessary i.e. where there has been insufficient take-up/success in geographical areas.
This process has, over the years, generally worked well, but the unforeseen and exceptionally high increase in demand for driving tests in 2015. Across the whole of DVSA it has recruited 167 new driving examiners during 2015/16 with a further 60 either attending or booked on to new entrant courses. DVSA has also offered posts to a further 40 potential examiners.
DVSA has also been re-prioritising the activities of examiners and offering them additional overtime in order to increase testing capacity.
Over 2015 DVSA introduced a number of changes to the marketing of its recruitment campaign in order to try and encourage interest from wider and more diverse groups, additionally DVSA undertook two targeted campaigns for motorcycle examiners and LGV examiners.

 Cycling: Finance

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015, which cycling programmes his Department plans to fund from the £300 million fund for cycling for 2015-16 to 2020-21; and what other funding for cycling to which cycling programmes his Department plans to fund over that period.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to be published in summer 2016, will set out the Government’s plans for investing in cycling and walking.
Otherwise, at the Spending Review the Government reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking by committing to investing over £300 million over the life of this Parliament. This includes delivering the Cycle City Ambition scheme in full, a new ‘access’ fund for sustainable travel and our Road Investment Strategy for 2015-20 which includes plans to improve 200 sections of the road network in England for cyclists. We will also provide 1.3 million children with cycling proficiency training through the Bikeability scheme.
Over this period, other Government funding streams will contribute to cycling. Through the Local Growth Fund, an investment of at least £270m is planned by local enterprise partnerships for cycling infrastructure. Local authorities could also use sums from the £1.3bn Integrated Transport Block to 2019/20 for cycling schemes.
It should also be noted that spending on road maintenance can benefit not just motorists but can also lead to improved conditions for cyclists, and a record £6.1billion is allocated to local highway authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance.
 
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18101, at what stage he plans to be able to predict the geographical distribution of funding for cycling outside of London and the eight cycling ambition cities; and what steps he is taking to identify that geographical distribution.
Mr Robert Goodwill: Due to the inclusion of devolved funding when reporting on overall cycling expenditure, spend is usually reported in terms of regions.
Currently, spend on cycling is £6 per head across England compared to £2 per head in 2010, with spend of £10 in London and the eight Cycle Ambition Cities. Further details of funding programmes will be set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy to be published in summer 2016.
In the meantime, where funding is already allocated then the geographic distribution is known.
Where funding has been subject to formula then the geographic distribution will be known at the point the formula weightings are determined.
Where funding is allocated by competition, then the geographic distribution will be known at the point the results of the competition are announced.
Where funding is devolved, then its geographic distribution is a matter for the relevant local body.
 
Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the Access Fund he expects to be spent on cycling in each year to 2020-21.
Mr Robert Goodwill: On 15 February 2016, we announced that the new Access fund would be launched for 2017/18, and would be preceded by a £20m Sustainable Travel Transition Year for 2016/17. I am able to confirm that all bids will need to demonstrate links to cycling and walking to successfully secure funding.
I am not yet able to confirm how much of the Access fund will go towards cycling and walking initiatives, as the formal Access fund has not yet been launched and funding has not yet been allocated.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Lord Berkley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisations are responsible for enforcing security of aircraft against incidents with drones, and what means they have to disable such drones and identify the owners.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Working alongside other agencies in the intelligence and law enforcement communities, the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority are responsible for assessing and managing the risks to and from civil aviation, including remotely piloted aircraft systems. There are regulations in place that require users to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their drone and to not recklessly or negligently allow a drone to endanger any person or property; these regulations have recently led to successful prosecutions for misuse. Work is ongoing to identify appropriate and effective mitigations from point of sale to incident resolution.

Roads: Repairs and Road Maintenance

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 18 November 2015 to Question 16782 and of 11 December 2015 to Questions 19723 and 19724, if he will estimate how many miles of local authority road are in poor structural condition in England.
Andrew Jones: I refer the Hon Member to my previous answers to Questions 16782, 19723 and 19724.
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=16782
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=19723
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-12-11/19724/
 

26^th February

Cycling: Accidents

Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 23856, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of pedal cyclist-killed or seriously injured casualties attributable to poorly-maintained local roads since 2010.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department assesses all statistics which relate to pedal cyclist KSIs (killed or seriously injured casualties). The Conservative Manifesto 2015 had a commitment to reduce the number of cyclists and other road users killed or injured on our roads every year. We are working closely with road safety groups to consider what more can be done in the UK and we believe that every death is a tragedy and is one too many.
We have committed £6.1 billion to tackle the condition of our local road network and, as part of our Road Investment Strategy – the largest upgrade to England’s strategic roads for a generation – we are spending around £100million on cycling safety. We are also working with local councils to provide new guidelines designed to ensure their highways are as safe as possible and free of defects.
The change in the number of accidents is likely to result from a combination of a number of factors. These factors will include the natural variation in the figures and the subjective nature of contributory factors.
 

29^th February

Roads: Accidents

Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress Highways England has made on introducing Regional Road Safety Coordinators; and whether Highways England’s Regional Incident and Casualty Reduction Plans will include targets for casualty reductions.
Andrew Jones: Regional Safety Coordinators have now been appointed by Highways England. The first appointment was made in January 2016 and the final appointment was made this month.
The killed and seriously injured reduction target, which is within the Roads Investment Strategy, is a 40% reduction by 2020 (against 2005 to 2009 average baseline). Highways England’s Regional Incident and Casualty Reduction Plans which will provide the disaggregated targets per region will be published in April 2016.

Motorcycles: Electric Vehicles

Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26202, how many items of correspondence his Department has received from the public on the extension of the plug-in grant for motor cycles.
Andrew Jones: The last Government announced plans for a new grant to support plug-in motorcycles on 27 March 2015. Since then, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles has answered 38 items of correspondence from 20 members of the public on this issue.

Roads: Investment

Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26148, on roads: investment, which two projects are not progressing on or ahead of schedule; and when those projects are now expected to be completed.
Andrew Jones: The two projects referred to in Question 26148 are:
A63 Castle Street: this has a commitment to be complete by March 2021 but the current forecast is for August 2021.
The decision to defer was to avoid construction taking place during the year of culture.
A30 Temple to Carblake
This is being delivered by Cornwall County Council: This was originally due to Open for traffic in December 2016, although we understand from Cornwall County Council that current forecast is February 2017.
 
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many projects under the Road Investment Strategy are (a) completed, (b) ongoing and (c) still to be launched, by region; how many of those projects which are ongoing are (i) on schedule and (ii) on budget, by region; and how many of those projects which have been completed were on or under budget, by region.
Andrew Jones: North East & Yorkshire
Of the 112 projects listed in the RIS, 20 of these will be delivered in this region.
1 scheme has opened for traffic on schedule.
4 schemes are currently in construction – 3 are forecast to complete ahead of schedule and 1 on schedule.
Of the remaining 15 planned schemes 1 is forecast ahead of schedule, 1 forecast behind schedule and 13 on schedule.
North West
17 schemes are included for this region.
4 schemes are currently in construction – 2 are forecast to complete ahead of schedule and 2 on schedule.
Of the remaining 13 planned schemes 2 are forecast ahead of schedule and 11 on schedule.
Midlands
Total of 26 scheme in this region.
3 schemes have opened for traffic, 2 ahead of schedule and 1 behind schedule.
6 schemes are currently in construction – 4 are forecast to complete ahead of schedule and 2 on schedule.
Of the remaining 17 planned schemes 3 are forecast ahead of schedule and 14 on schedule.
South West
Total of 7 schemes in this region.
1 is in construction and is forecast behind schedule.
The remaining 6 planned schemes are all on schedule.
South East & London
Total of 26 schemes in this region.
2 are in construction, 1 is forecast ahead of schedule and 1 on schedule
Of the remaining 24 planned projects all are on schedule.
East
Total of 16 schemes.
2 are in construction and both are forecast ahead of schedule.
The remaining planned 14 schemes, 1 is forecast ahead of schedule and 13 are on schedule.
Overall schemes which are under construction are coming in or under budget. For schemes under development we would expect some movement in timescales or costs but overall Highways England is on course to deliver its commitments within the allocated funding.

British Transport Police: Finance

Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24236, whether Transport for London’s financial contribution to the British Transport Police budget for 2016-17 has been confirmed.
Claire Perry: Transport for London’s financial contribution to the British Transport Police budget for 2016-17 has not yet been confirmed. Discussions will continue throughout March.
Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 9 February 2016 to Question 25766 and 11 January 2016 to Question 20570 on British Transport Police: finance, if he will provide a breakdown of the budget by areas of expenditure for (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.
Claire Perry: The following table provides a breakdown of the British Transport Police’s budget, by areas of expenditure, in 2015-16 and 2016-17:

 
Paula Sherrif (Dewsbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 3 February 2016 to Question 24232 and 11 January 2016 to Question 20570 on British Transport Police: finance, how much income from (a) Transport for London, (b) train operating companies, (c) Network Rail and (d) other funding sources is included in the budget for 2016-17; and how much income by funding source (i) is in the budget for and (ii) has been received in 2015-16.
Claire Perry: The following table sets out the British Transport Police’s income by funding source in 2015-16:

The split of income between the train operators and Network Rail is commercially sensitive information.
Although the total budget for 2016-17 is £295.1 million, the individual components are still to be determined.

Transport Police: Staff

Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many British Transport Police officers will be deployed in 2016-17.
Claire Perry: 3,064 British Transport Police officers will be deployed in 2016-17, an increase of 6.5% from the 2,878 officers who were deployed in 2009-10.
Aviation: Lasers
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations his Department has received on laser pens being pointed at aircraft in flight.
Mr Robert Goodwill: This Department has received 7 representations following the laser incident involving a Virgin Atlantic aircraft travelling from London Heathrow to New York JFK on 14^th February 2016.
These representations have been concerned with a range of questions around the frequency of laser strikes and whether legislation should be introduced to place a ban on the sale of laser pens. A cross-Whitehall discussion has been arranged to explore these options and consider what further measures could be taken to address the threat from the misuse of laser pens.
There is specific legislation prohibiting the use of laser pens against aircraft. Under the Air Navigation Order (2009), it is an offence to direct or shine any light at any aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot of the aircraft.

 
Information is available here on the Parliamentary Hansard.