Every parliamentary written question tabled by Alistair Strathern this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–5 of 5 · Department for Transport
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the reliability of train services in the East of England.
The December 2025 timetable changes for the East Coast Main Line have increased capacity on the network and improved connectivity. The Rail Minister has met with the Managing Directors of train operators and their Network Rail counterparts in the East of England, to ensure continued focus on delivering good performance.
What steps her Department plans to take to reduce the backlog in driving tests.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times. Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at all driving test centres (DTC), include the recruitment of new driving examiners (DE), conducting tests outside regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from DEs. DVSA also continues to deploy DEs from areas with lower waiting times into those where waiting times are longer. The government is considering what further actions we can take to reduce waiting times for car practical driving tests.
What support her Department provides to highways authorities to (a) adopt and (b) repair and (c)upgrade (i) unadopted and (ii) ownerless roads that form key parts of local road networks.
Unadopted roads that are not maintained at public expense by a highway authority are known as private streets, as defined by Section 203(2) of the Highways Act 1980. The responsibility for management of private streets rests with the owner, or more usually the frontagers, who are those owning property that fronts, or borders, the street concerned. The Department has published guidance on gov.uk on “Highways Adoption: The Adoption of Roads into the Public Highway”, which was last updated in August 2022. It sets out how new and existing roads can be adopted by highway authorities so that they become maintainable at public expense. Any decision to adopt roads which are not highways maintainable at public expense is a matter for the local highway authority.
What steps her Department is taking to increase the rate of implementation of step free access on the rail network.
Since 2006, the Access for All (AfA) programme has delivered step free access at more than 250 stations across Great Britain. We are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.
What plans her Department has to improve accessibility at (a) Arlesey station and (b) Hitchin station.
We are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.