Every parliamentary written question tabled by Peter Bedford this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 21–34 of 34 · Department for Transport
Whether they have made an estimate of the potential impact of abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion roles in their Department on annual staffing costs.
The Department for Transport has not estimated the potential impact on annual staff costs in the department of abolishing Diversity, Equality and Inclusion roles.
What assessment she has made of the potential merits of earmarking 10% of the transport budget for encouraging (a) walking, (b) cycling and (c) other healthier transport choices.
The Government recognises that investment in high quality active travel infrastructure supports its economic growth, health and net zero missions by helping to revitalise high streets; enabling people to live longer, healthier lives; and helping to reduce transport emissions. The Department announced the details of almost £300 million of funding for active travel in 2024/5 and 2025/6 on 12 February. Decisions on Government funding for active travel and other transport priorities for the years 2026/27 and beyond will be a matter for the Spending Review.
Whether her Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.
The Department for Transport is not currently using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the regulatory health checks required before a person purchases a mobility scooter outside the remit of the mobility scheme.
The Department for Transport has made no assessment as we are unaware of the regulatory health checks referred to in the question. It is important that a mobility scooter is not used in a manner that is detrimental to the safety of the user or others.Powered wheelchairs and mobility scooters are intended to provide local outdoor mobility for disabled people or those with mobility difficulties. Creating a consistent, reliable mobility scooter policy which balances the interests of all road users continues to be a challenge. However, the Department is committed to ensuring that users of mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs remain safe, mobile and independent.
What steps her Department has taken to reduce the number of pot-holes in Mid Leicestershire constituency.
Leicestershire County Council is the local highway authority for the Mid-Leicestershire constituency. The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to helping local highway authorities such as Leicestershire maintain and renew their local highway networks. At Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced an extra £500 million for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year, with funding allocations to individual English local highway authorities announced on 20 December 2024. Leicestershire County Council will receive up to £28.7 million for local highway maintenance in 2025/26, an increase of around 36% compared to the current financial year. In addition, the Government publishes data annually on the condition of the local road network in England, including Leicestershire, with the data available on gov.uk. The Department has worked with the British Standards Institute and the wider sector to produce PAS 2161, a new standard for road condition monitoring to help local authorities such as Leicestershire utilise new technologies when monitoring the condition of their road networks.
How much funding her Department has allocated to delivering Active Travel Schemes in (a) the UK, (b) Leicestershire and (c) Mid Leicestershire constituency in the last five years.
Through the Active Travel Fund in the last five years, £646,775,713 has been awarded to local authorities across England, outside of London. Of this funding, £2,209,470 has been awarded to Leicestershire County Council. None of this funding was awarded to schemes in the Mid Leicestershire Constituency. The Department also provides funding to Sustrans to upgrade and maintain the National Cycle Network (NCN) and has awarded £67,685,062 of NCN funding to Sustrans in the last five years. £1,902,970 of NCN funding has been awarded to routes in Leicestershire. Funding for active travel in London, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland is devolved, as such the figures provided above are not inclusive of funding for active travel across the United Kingdom.
What assessment she has made of the impact of increasing the bus fare cap on people living in Mid Leicestershire.
The government is investing over £150 million to deliver the new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January until 31 December 2025, which prevented a cliff-edge return to commercial fares. Under the plans of the previous administration, the £2 cap on bus fares had been due to expire on 31 December 2024, and prior to the Budget, there was no further funding available to maintain a cap on bus fares beyond this point. The published interim evaluation of the £2 fare cap showed that patronage continued to recover following the COVID 19 pandemic and early evidence from the first two months of the scheme suggested the £2 fare cap may have played a role in this recovery. The final evaluation of the £2 fare cap, including a further assessment of its impact on patronage will be published in due course.
What information her Department holds on the potential impact of the increase in the bus fare cap on the number of bus journeys taken in (a) the UK, (b) Leicestershire and (c) Mid Leicestershire constituency.
The government is investing over £150 million to deliver the new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January until 31 December 2025, which prevented a cliff-edge return to commercial fares. Under the plans of the previous administration, the £2 cap on bus fares had been due to expire on 31 December 2024, and prior to the Budget, there was no further funding available to maintain a cap on bus fares beyond this point. The published interim evaluation of the £2 fare cap showed that patronage continued to recover following the COVID 19 pandemic and early evidence from the first two months of the scheme suggested the £2 fare cap may have played a role in this recovery. The final evaluation of the £2 fare cap, including a further assessment of its impact on patronage will be published in due course.
What proportion of accidents in England involved lane-keep assist intervention in 2023/24; and what steps she is taking to tackle concerns over the safety of such systems.
This information is not held by the Department.The internationally harmonised requirements for lane-keep assist systems that are mandated for UK vehicles provide assurance that they operate safely. Where there is evidence of genuine safety concerns with such systems, the Department will raise this at an international level with an aim to amend the regulatory requirements to address this.
What steps her Department is taking to help improve the reliability of lane-keeping assist technologies (a) in challenging environmental conditions and (b) generally.
Lane keeping technology is designed to assist drivers but they must remain attentive and are still responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle at all times. Lane-keeping assist technologies must be approved to internationally agreed technical requirements that provide assurance of the safe operation of these systems. Manufacturers are free to determine the extent to which their system operates across a range of environmental conditions provided it is considered safe by the approval authority. The UK is an active participant in the negotiation of these requirements and has recently been involved in the development of a new regulation specifically to allow more sophisticated driver assistance systems. This new regulation gives approval authorities clearer direction on assessing the safe functioning of these systems, benefitting manufacturers when making the case for allowing their system to operate across a wider range of environmental conditions.
What steps her Department is taking to improve driver (a) awareness of and (b) education in the (i) limitations and (ii) proper usage of lane-keeping assist systems.
The Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) has developed a range of products to improve awareness and education of lane-keeping assist systems and other advanced driver assistance systems. The DVSA has also developed guidance to support the introduction of self-driving vehicles. This includes updating the Highway Code and introducing new guidance to a range of DVSA publications, such as their Essential Skills, Better Driving, and Theory Test for Cars publications. The DVSA have also created 18 videos on ADAS in their Essential Skills video series.
If she will make an assessment of the efficiency of (a) traffic commissioners and (b) DVLA offices in processing licence renewals for C1 vehicle handlers.
A functional review of the work of the traffic commissioners was carried out in 2021-2022 and the report can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-commissioner-function-review-2021-to-2022. The Department is working towards implementing the recommendations of the review. Where the Secretary of State has concerns about the conduct of an applicant for a large goods vehicle or passenger carrying vehicle driving licence, the matter may be referred to a traffic commissioner for consideration. Where appropriate cases are referred to a traffic commissioner, they are provided administrative support by Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency staff who are deployed to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. The Senior Traffic Commissioner has issued statutory guidance to assist traffic commissioners in adopting a consistent approach. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-commissioners-vocational-driver-conduct-january-2016. As part of the strategic objectives of the traffic commissioners, a review of this document is currently being undertaken. Straightforward applications for vocational driving licences are being processed within normal turnaround times. Applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued may take longer as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is often reliant on receiving information from third parties, for example doctors, other healthcare professionals or the applicant themselves, before a decision on whether to issue a licence can be made.
How many employee settlement agreements there were in her Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Exit packages are published in the DfT Annual Reports and Accounts and all redundancy, severance and other department costs, are paid in accordance with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (except where instances are detailed in the accounts as otherwise) e.g. see Page 141 of 2023/24 DfT Annual Report and Accounts https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a7690649b9c0597fdb0617/dft-annual-report-23-24-print.pdf.
How many pensioners qualify for free bus passes.
Concessionary travel is a devolved policy area, and legislation and assessment of eligibility with regarding concessionary travel in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the appropriate devolved administration. In England, the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The Office for National Statistics mid-year estimates for 2021 show that around 9.9 million people in England were aged 66 and above and therefore eligible for an ENCTS bus pass.