Written questions by Mayer.

If her Department will make an estimate of the cost of closing roads during flooding in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) nationally in September.

The Department recognises the profound importance of our country’s road network in moving people, goods, and services around the country. The economic impact of closing roads will vary greatly depending on the roads in question and on the scale and severity of the flooding. The Government does not routinely make a detailed estimate of the economic impact of particular road closures of this sort, either in Bedfordshire or nationally. These are matters for local highway authorities. Bedford Council and Central Bedfordshire Council, as the relevant local highway authorities for Bedfordshire, are responsible for the management of their respective local networks, including making operational network decisions in the event of severe weather events including flooding. On a national basis, management of the highway network is the responsibility of over 150 highway authorities in England, who make operational decisions based on the scope and severity of severe weather affecting their area.

When she plans to publish the final evaluation report on the £2 fare cap commissioned by her Department from Frontier Economics and SYSTRA.

The Department has published two interim reports setting out emerging trends in key outcomes from the first two months of the national bus fare cap scheme, and further updates will be provided in due course. These reports are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-2-bus-fare-cap.On Monday 28 October, the Prime Minister confirmed the government will introduce a new £3 cap on single bus fares from 1 January 2025 until the end of 2025. The £2 cap on single bus fares had been due to come to an end on 31 December 2024. This will be replaced by the £3 cap to help millions access better opportunities, and promote greater bus use by passengers.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2024 to Question 8554 on Buses and Large Goods Vehicles: Carbon Emissions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the zero emission vehicle mandate to include (a) trucks, (b) buses and c) other vehicles.

The ZEV Mandate sets a clear pathway for the decarbonisation of new cars and vans and is the largest carbon saving measure across government. The Department is committed to decarbonising other vehicle categories and is exploring options for implementation that meet the needs of each segment of the market.

Whether her Department is taking steps to help improve the welfare of HGV drivers through improved lorry parking facilities.

My department recognises the need to ensure all hauliers have access to appropriate roadside facilities, including to attract and retain a more diverse workforce.That is why DfT and industry are jointly investing up to £43.5 million to upgrade truckstops across England. This is on top of up to £26 million joint investment by National Highways and industry in roadside facilities along the Strategic Road Network. This investment will improve working conditions for lorry drivers, supporting jobs, and getting us back on track for growth.The Department continues to engage with key stakeholders to encourage the development of more safe, secure, and high-quality lorry parking to improve driver welfare.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the carbon footprint of the private jets registered in the UK.

The government is committed to delivering greener transport and is currently considering its strategic approach to decarbonising aviation.DfT commissioned research in 2022 which estimated the carbon footprint of UK-registered General Aviation aircraft arriving and departing from UK aerodromes in 2019. General Aviation consists of all non-scheduled civil aviation activity, including recreational flying, business aviation and other aviation activities. By considering the typical maximum takeoff weight of aircraft used for business aviation, this research indicates that approximately 370 ktCO2e were emitted by business aviation aircraft in 2019, although this figure may also incorporate emissions from larger recreational aircraft, or those engaged in specialty air services.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent (a) e-bike, (b) e-scooter and (c) other micro-mobility vehicle trials in England.

My department is running trials of rental e-scooters to better understand the benefits of e-scooters and their wider impact on public space, to inform options for future regulations. In December 2022 we published a national evaluation of the e-scooter trials. This project represents one of the largest evaluations of e-scooters internationally in terms of the breadth of evidence collected, which includes data on 14.5 million rental e-scooter trips and 1.8 million responses from users on mode shift, journey purpose, and feelings of safety.My department is not currently running e-bike or other micromobility vehicle trials.

Whether her Department plans to update the cycling and walking investment strategy.

The second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2) sets out objectives to increase journeys in towns and cities that are cycled or walked. We will set out our plans beyond 2025 in due course.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the relative merits of fixed fleet caps against dynamic fleet caps for micro mobility schemes in the UK.

The Government is still considering next steps for on-street micromobility rental and will use a wide range of evidence and consultation before making any final policy decisions.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of bus fires.

In July 2023 the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) published a significant review into bus fires and safety: Investigation into bus fires reported to DVSA from 2020 to 2022 - GOV.UK DVSA has worked with industry and the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and agreed an approach where all parties can work together in a collaborative forum. This will not only apply the recommendations from the review but create a forum that will allow a continual improvement process to be adopted. DVSA continues this positive engagement with industry, with the latest working group having taken place last week.

Whether her Department plans to publish an integrated national transport strategy.

Better integrating transport networks is one of the Transport Secretary’s five strategic priorities. The current transport system is fragmented, lacks join up and cohesion and does not cater for the needs of all the people who use it. In future, transport should be designed, built and operated with people and their needs at its heart. The Secretary of State will set out further details shortly.

If she will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the adequacy of the level of VAT charged on fares for (a) demand responsive transport and (b) other public transport services that use private hire vehicles with fewer than 10 seats.

The government has consulted on the potential tax impacts on the sector and its passengers of court judgments on the interpretation of private hire vehicle (PHV) legislation. The consultation considered the VAT treatment of PHVs when used for conventional services and demand responsive transport. The Department for Transport and HMT are considering the responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of extending the zero emission vehicle mandate to include (a) trucks and (b) buses.

To meet net zero, both the HGV and bus sectors will need to decarbonise. The Government has not made a detailed assessment of the merits or feasibility of extending the zero emission vehicle mandate.

Whether she plans to publish the results of the consultation on Street works: fines and lane rental surplus funds.

The Department for Transport consulted earlier in 2024 on reforms to street works fines and the use of surplus lane rental funds. Publication of this response was delayed due to the general election. We plan to publish the response to this consultation in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage more women to take up careers in the bus industry.

The government is committed to delivering better bus services for passengers and it is essential that we ensure the sector better represents the people that it serves. Whilst it is the responsibility of individual bus operators to ensure they can recruit and retain staff, the government would encourage operators to support more women to take up careers in the bus industry. The government supports initiatives such as Women in Bus and Coach to ensure the bus sector is uplifting female role models in engineering, driving and management, and challenging industry policies that do not meet women’s needs.

What discussions she has had with National Highways on the effectiveness of using balancing ponds and drains to help prevent flooding on highways.

National Highways have not made an assessment on the effectiveness of using balancing ponds and drains in the prevention of highway flooding. Balancing ponds are used on the network to manage the risk of downstream flooding and drainage is designed to remove surface water from roads as quickly as possible and to minimise flood risk for receiving environments.

What the cost to the public purse is of each sub-national transport body.

In Financial Year 23/24, the grant provided to each Sub-national Transport Body from the Department for Transport was as follows:Summary of Payments to Sub National Transport Bodies for FY23/24Transport for the North£7,210,000Midlands Connect£5,000,000Transport for the South East£1,725,000England's Economic Heartland£1,350,000Transport East£762,000Western Gateway£605,000Peninsula Transport£585,000TOTAL£17,237,000

If her Department will make an environmental impact assessment for each airport expansion plan.

All airport expansion proposals that are likely to have a significant effect on the environment must already be accompanied by an environmental impact assessment, as set out in planning legislation. These assessments will be taken into account by the local planning authority and/or Secretary of State in deciding whether or not to grant consent for the development.

What her planned timetable is for bringing forward changes to the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence.

Legislative proposals to reform the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence were laid in May. This Government intends to continue with these planned reforms and expect the necessary Debates to be held soon.

Whether she plans to take steps to encourage local authorities to join the National Parking Platform.

The Department has funded a pilot version of the system led by Manchester City Council since 2021, which now covers nine authorities and around 1% of the national cashless parking market. The pilot has been successful.

Whether she has had discussions with her European counterparts on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Union-wide effect of certain driving disqualifications.

We have not had discussions with European counterparts on the proposed Directive relating to the upholding of Driving Disqualifications across the EU.