Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Labour MP for Selby
It is great to be back at the Dispatch Box, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I thank all Members for their participation in today’s debate. Before I begin, I too would like to acknowledge the significant disruption caused by yesterday’s air traffic control fault, and apologise to all passengers whose travel plans were affected. As those events have shown, civil aviation is a cornerstone of our...
I will just finish my point. I am, however, more than happy to come and answer any questions the Secretary of State may have in this place. The shadow Minister made an important point about the fact that the Secretary of State has asked the CAA to report within six months. When we had the major outage in 2023, it took two years for the CAA to make a similar report. In that report, it made 34...
If the shadow Secretary of State is of the opinion that I have mischaracterised what he said, I will of course withdraw that statement, but I suppose we should let the usual channels take their course in figuring that out. I should add that I was slightly remiss in what I said earlier: not 32 but all 34 of the recommendations have been implemented. Let me now turn to a serious point raised by...
I am being spoilt! I give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin (Alistair Strathern).
That is an intriguing idea, and I should be very glad to meet my hon. Friend to discuss it further. Of course we want to promote the use of public transport to reach our airports by as many people as possible. Let me now give way to my hon. Friend from the Transport Committee.
My hon. Friend has made a powerful point. He is, of course, right: people with disabilities are disproportionately more likely to use drop-off services at airports than other customers, so it is for airports to facilitate that whenever possible. I am pleased to say that, more often than not, robust procedures are in place to ensure that passengers with disabilities have free drop-offs at...
My hon. Friend is right to say that that should be our focus. All four of the tests that we have set out on which a development consent order for Heathrow expansion would be granted are dependent on ensuring that we have adequate surface access to the airport, both for his constituents and people across the country and for the people who work at the airport. That relates to air quality and to...
I thank my hon. Friend for saying my speech is fantastic, and it is certainly detailed. I know that we have been cruising at altitude for some time, so I will do my best to get on with it. He raises a broader point about climate resilience at our airports, and I can assure him that the DFT takes this matter incredibly seriously and is progressing work across the Government to think about how...
The Department has made no direct assessment of the potential impact, the Department expects all train operators, who are accountable for accessible service delivery, to consider the needs of disabled passengers, comply with their equality obligations, and make reasonable adjustments to ensure services remain accessible.
The Government has been clear that affordability is a key consideration for Heathrow expansion. The draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement makes clear that the Government will consider the affordability of any proposed expansion scheme as part of the DCO decision-making process. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as Heathrow's independent economic regulator, is responsible for...
Railways may be authorised and constructed by: an order made under the Transport and Works Act 1992, a Transport and Works Act Order; an order under the Planning Act 2008- a Development Consent Order; or, a hybrid Bill, as has been the case with HS2. Various impact assessment requirements would be incorporated into these consenting regimes. General planning legislation, under the Town...
On 16 July, after hearing the views of Coastguard Rescue Officers, trade unions and members of Parliament, it was confirmed that plans to move to the expenses-only volunteer model in September will not go ahead. Response has remained unchanged in the meantime. The focus of DfT and MCA remains to maintain a robust, effective search and rescue response along the UK coastline.
The Department for Transport continues to work with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to consider in depth the options for the future of the Coastguard Rescue Service. Our priority is to ensure the service remains safe, effective and sustainable in the long term. Coastguard Rescue Officers make an extraordinary contribution across the United Kingdom, and this Government is incredibly...
A range of factors were considered to reach a professional judgement which at the time was considered the most appropriate option to preserve operational effectiveness. Since then, my department has undertaken further work to scrutinise the information that was provided. Having done so, I confirmed on 16 July that plans to move to an expenses-only volunteer model in September would no...
The UK and EU share information and data as part of our broader cooperation on trade, economy, and security. The UK acts in accordance with the reporting and information sharing provisions set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Windsor Framework. The Department for Transport, its agencies and public bodies provide information where...
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
