Contributions
1,819 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am delighted to answer the hon. Gentleman’s question. We are, of course, in touch to make sure that the backlogs which have, understandably, built up during the coronavirus…16 Dec 2021HANSARDDriver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: DelaysMy hon. Friend is absolutely right that the dual problems of the impact of the pandemic and the strike action through the year, which I am pleased to say is now resolved, led to a…16 Dec 2021HANSARDDriver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: DelaysThe DVLA has introduced more online services, recruited extra staff, is using overtime and has secured extra office space.16 Dec 2021HANSARDDriver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: DelaysThe hon. Lady is right to be concerned about the backlogs that built up, but she is wrong to suggest that that still applies to HGV drivers. Those licences are now being turned…16 Dec 2021HANSARDDriver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: DelaysAs I mentioned, at its height, there were 56,000 applications. The last figure I saw last week showed that that was down to 9,000. There is a regular flow; it will never be zero…16 Dec 2021HANSARDTfL Funding: Discussions with Mayor of LondonMinisters and officials in the Department for Transport regularly meet officials from Transport for London and the Mayor’s office to discuss a range of issues around funding for…16 Dec 2021HANSARDTfL Funding: Discussions with Mayor of LondonI am afraid that I do not recognise the hon. Gentleman’s description of the situation. It does not seem particularly vindictive to pay out £4.1 billion in support of TfL as it…16 Dec 2021HANSARDTfL Funding: Discussions with Mayor of LondonIt is interesting that the Front-Bench team have taken their briefing directly from the Mayor of London. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman did not catch what I just said: the letter that…16 Dec 2021HANSARDTfL Funding: Discussions with Mayor of LondonMy hon. Friend, a former Transport Minister, is absolutely right. There has been about £9.6 billion of waste in TfL finances since 2016. Crossrail is £5.2 billion over—it was on…16 Dec 2021HANSARDMajor Road Blockages: Climate ActivistsNational Highways continues to pursue legal action against individuals who breached its injunctions. Thanks to those injunctions, which I asked National Highways to pursue, 11…16 Dec 2021HANSARDMajor Road Blockages: Climate ActivistsMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is unacceptable for people to disrupt other people’s lives by gluing themselves to roads. It is dangerous both for them and other users of…16 Dec 2021HANSARDMajor Road Blockages: Climate ActivistsMy hon. Friend is right to spot a gap in the law here, which is why the Home Secretary is introducing, in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, legislation that would…16 Dec 2021HANSARDMajor Road Blockages: Climate ActivistsI do not want to try your patience by switching to a rail discussion, Mr Speaker, but I will say to the hon. Lady, who knows a great deal about this subject, that Opposition Front…16 Dec 2021HANSARDMajor Road Blockages: Climate ActivistsThe hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: the right to protest is absolutely central to the way that we go about our democracy, but that does not give people the right to stop other…16 Dec 2021HANSARDTransport and Logistics: Labour ShortagesThe Government have taken decisive action to address the acute HGV driver shortage, with 32 specific measures that have been taken. As Logistics UK, the main industry haulier body…16 Dec 2021HANSARDTransport and Logistics: Labour ShortagesI do not accept that. The hon. Gentleman actually highlights the problem, which is that the rest of Europe—indeed, the rest of the world—has a very significant HGV driver…16 Dec 2021HANSARDTransport and Logistics: Labour ShortagesThe hon. Gentleman attacks aviation, but Labour does not understand: the Department for Transport is about all forms of transport. We support all the different forms of transport,…16 Dec 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsI wish you and your staff a merry Christmas, Mr Speaker, along with the Opposition Front-Bench team, who will recall that I announced the integrated rail plan last month. Since…16 Dec 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend has been a long-term advocate of dualling the A64 north-east of York. I can confirm that it will be one of my Department’s options for consideration in the…16 Dec 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am pleased that the hon. Lady mentions Dewsbury, because it gives me the opportunity to mention that it benefits much more from the integrated rail plan than the original High…16 Dec 2021