Download or read book House of Commons Transport Committee Access to Transport For Disabled People Volume I HC 116 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-09-17 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the UK some 11.5m people already live with a recognised disability and more than a fifth of them experience some difficulty when using transport networks. So it's essential that the Department for Transport delivers an ambitious Accessibility Action Plan. Changes made ahead of the 2012 Paralympic Games delivered access for disabled people to significantly more parts of the public transport network for the first time and highlighted the immense value of such improvements for all. Yet a year later, there is a risk that some of the momentum from London 2012 is being lost because further key accessibility improvements planned have been watered-down or abandoned. The Committee's recommendations include: imposing penalties on bus operators who claim to offer accessible routes but then fail to provide accessible buses; the phased introduction of audio-visual information systems on all buses over the next ten years; phasing out the need for disabled travellers having to book organised assistance in advance; financial incentives to encourage investment in fully accessible vehicles by taxi and private care hire vehicle operators; and a change to EU rules so that in future airlines are required to allow carers to travel free of charge when the airline judges a disabled person incapable of travelling independently. The Cabinet Office should convene a working group of ministers and officials to improve cross-government working on accessibility in order to secure the full benefits to be gained from widening disabled people's access to employment and training, healthcare and wider participation in all parts of society
Download or read book House of Commons Transport Committee Local Authority Parking Enforcement HC 118 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-10-23 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The use of parking charges and fines specifically to raise revenue by local authorities is neither acceptable nor legal. Annual parking accounts would allow the public to see how much local revenue is derived from the enforcement of fines, and what proportion of this come from on or off street parking charges. It's right that parking charges be determined locally, but hard to justify fines that substantially exceed penalties for more serious offences like speeding. DfT's statutory guidance should stipulate that local authorities implement a 'grace period' of 5 minutes after the expiry of paid-for time on any paid parking before enforcement officers issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). The Guidance should be clarified and updated, particularly in relation to rules for loading and unloading. A 25% penalty charge discount should also be introduced for motorists who pay within 7 days of losing any appeal to a parking tribunal. Local authorities currently offer a 50% discount if motorists pay their penalty charge within 14 days, but this is not available to motorists who appeal to a tribunal. Motorists should also not have to appeal against PCNs where tribunal adjudicators have repeatedly identified a problem such as poor signage. Adjudicators should also be given powers to allow appeals where local authorities fail to follow statutory guidance concerning the use cameras. While businesses cannot be completely exempt from parking restrictions, local authorities must also ensure that the need to restrict parking and manage congestion does not stifle the ability of businesses to trade and help grow the economy
Download or read book House of Commons Transport Committee High Speed Rail On Track HC 851 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-13 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee support the strategic case for HS2 and stand by the conclusions as set out in the Committee's report of 2011 (HCP 1185-I, ISBN 9780215038579) that HS2 is needed to provide a long-term increase in the capacity of the railway and that alternative proposals to increase capacity are not sufficient to accommodate long-term forecast demand. Connectivity, which can encourage economic activity and increase productivity, is also part of the justification for HS2, especially for the lines north of Birmingham. Also there is still a strong case for building north to south concurrently with building south to north. The Committee see HS2 as helping to promote economic growth in the UK's major city regions and contribute to a rebalancing of the economy. Local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships must develop economic development strategies to make the most out of HS2 and they must be supported in doing this by central Government. The report sets out 14 conclusions and recommendations.
Download or read book House of Commons Transport Committee Access to Ports HC 266 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-11-26 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report looking at policy for improving road and rail access to ports, the Transport Committee urges the Department for Transport (DfT) to become a keener advocate for UK ports. The Government should contribute to significant improvements to strategic networks which also deliver wider benefits - rather than simply expect port operators to pick up the entire bill for measures required to mitigate increased traffic due to port expansion. If the Government chooses to apply European Commission state aid rules in this area more strictly than other EU countries it should explain why it does so. Policy in this area should be applied consistently across the country. While some ports have contributed towards transport schemes to improve access, others have not and the differences in approach have not been explained or justified. Ports should also continue to contribute to local transport infrastructure improvements, following discussions with relevant local bodies. The Department for Transport should demonstrate whether port master plans have had any impact, highlighting good examples of such plans and of how they have influenced decision makers. Finally, the Government should devise a more effective successor to the Waterborne Freight Grant, to stimulate coastal shipping.
Download or read book Transport Select Committee Disabled People s Access to Transport Transport Select Committee Sixth Report with Proceedings Evidence HC 1263 i 2002 03 Not Printed Separately and Appendices written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book House of Commons Transport Committee Forging Ahead UK Shipping Strategy HC 630 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-03-26 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: UK is a globally competitive location for shipping. The maritime sector earns £8.8 - £11.8 billion for the economy and supports 214,000 jobs. The Government's new maritime strategy poses the right questions about UK shipping but does not yet provide compelling answers on a range of key points. In particular, it is unclear how the Government plans to address the looming skills gap whereby the UK will have 5,000 fewer deck and engineering officers than the UK's maritime sector is predicted to require by 2021. The Committee recommends that the Government: make an explicit commitment to address fully a significant looming shortfall in UK trained seafarers partly through the Tonnage Tax, SMaRT funding and apprenticeships; commission an independent review of the MCA to evaluate how far a ongoing budget cuts may weaken the UK's ability to enforce compliance with international shipping regulations, undermine its status as a high-quality flag nation and shrink its influence within the International Maritime Organisation.; review the support the UK provides through its oversight of the Red Ensign Group to a number of competing registries of crown dependencies and UK overseas territories to raise the standards of the vessels which fly under the this flag; implement stronger seamanship qualifications by 2016 for the crew of all transfer vessels taking staff to and from offshore wind farm installations (and to call for voluntary compliance with these higher standards before that deadline); and support London International Shipping Week 2015 but showcase shipping around the country
Download or read book Access to Transport for Disabled People written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Transport Committee and published by . This book was released on 2013-12-06 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HC 116, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215062307)
Download or read book HC 713 Smaller Airports written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Smaller airports are economic and social enablers. They facilitate vital national and international connections for people and businesses in the UK. The Committee found that Air Passenger Duty (APD) is the principal threat to the smaller airports sector. APD cannot be amended to support people, businesses and regional economies because of the operation of European competition law, while proposals to devolve it to the regions would serve only to spread a patchwork of market distortions across the UK. It was disappointing that the concerns the Committee raised about APD in their First Report of Session 2013-14 on Aviation strategy were ignored by the Treasury. The Committee urges Transport Ministers to pursue those recommendations and the important concerns raised by smaller airports with the Treasury. The Airports Commission will publish its final report on expanding hub airport capacity in the south-east shortly after the general election. The whole country will only be able to share the economic benefits if airlines secure slots to provide services to UK airports outside London. The DfT needs to assess how new slots might be allocated and whether slots could be ring-fenced for domestic services
Download or read book Putting Passengers First Disruption at Gatwick Christmas Eve 2013 HC 956 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-04-11 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Far better contingency planning and preparedness must be put in place by UK airports, and by the airlines that use them, to prevent the kind of chaos that unfolded at Gatwick Airport on Christmas Eve 2013. The problems that unfolded were not new and the whole event should be a wake-up call for airports across the UK to improve their operational resilience. Airports must ensure that their contingency planning is good enough to ensure that future disruption will be met with well-drilled arrangements that are familiar to airport operators, airlines, and other contractors, and which put passenger interests first. If our largest airports cannot demonstrate they can do this then the Civil Aviation Authority must act. Passengers must also be promptly reimbursed for the extra costs they face as a consequence of disruption. The Committee welcomed a key conclusion from Gatwick's own review of the events on Christmas Eve that the airport should appoint passenger champions at each of its terminals. Similar arrangements should also be put in place at other major UK airports. Further recommendations include that airports should: develop (in consultation with airlines) much clearer operational protocols and guidance on the threshold conditions that will trigger the cancellation or postponement of flights; negotiate robust agreements with airlines (which carry formal responsibility for passenger welfare) for reclaiming the costs of looking after passengers during periods of disruption. Government should also push for amendments to a proposed new EU regulation on passenger compensation to include electronic means of alert and information dissemination
Download or read book HC 714 Strategic River Crossings written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee examined a number of case studies during its inquiry including the Mersey Gateway Project, the Tyne Tunnels and proposals for new crossings in East London and the Lower Thames. The Transport Committee says a short-term approach to planning key infrastructure projects has left many estuary areas in the UK with inadequate transport capacity and poor connectivity: "A lack of cross-river capacity limits local and national economic growth so we call upon the Government to take a far more long-term approach when planning new bridges and tunnels. The Government must rectify that weakness as soon as possible. Important infrastructure projects, such as the Mersey Gateway Bridge, have the potential to generate economic growth by linking workers to jobs and consumers to retailers." The Committee welcomes proposals to build a package of new river crossings in east London and believes these developments are "long overdue."
Download or read book HC 257 Investing In The Railway written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Transport Committee welcomes record investment committed to the 'classic' rail network but calls for greater regional balance in spending. Network Rail must also regain the confidence of passengers following recent disruption. The Committee calls for the Government to take responsibility for rolling stock, to address general shortages and ensure there will be sufficient trains to run on newly-electrified lines. The Committee also concluded: (i) Record levels of funding show a welcome commitment to ’classic' rail but this should be set in a longer-term strategic plan for the rail network, which ties into a wider transport strategy; (ii) The overrunning Christmas engineering works were unacceptable; (iii) Network Rail must have adequate contingency plans. They must also work with Passenger Focus and train operating companies to improve communication with passengers when engineering works fail; (iv) In the light of the change of status of Network Rail the ORR must reconsider whether fining a public sector body remains an effective means for the regulator to exert control; (v) Greater transparency is essential around rail spending. Criteria used to allocate spending should be published.
Download or read book HC 1135 National Policy Statement on National Networks written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-05-07 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Policy Statement on National Networks, published in draft for consultation (ISBN 9780108560071), sets out the policy against which decisions will be made on applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects on the strategic road and rail networks. The Committee has a number of detailed recommendations to improve the draft. The NPS should specify more types of transport scheme which the Government thinks are needed, such as enhancements to the rail network to promote east-west connectivity; better road and rail connections to ports and airports and to parts of the country which are currently not well served by those networks; and schemes to promote regional economic development. Criticisms of the DfT's road and rail demand forecasts should be addressed. Estimates of the impact on UK carbon emissions of building more road infrastructure are needed. Adverse impacts of major transport schemes on localities should be set out. The NPS should make explicit reference to the desirability of connecting HS2 to the classic rail network. Promoters of roads schemes must look to improve road safety (including for cyclists and pedestrians). The Government is seeking to accommodate increasing demand for roads by building more infrastructure rather than seeking to manage demand. Investment in the road network will require new funding streams, a challenge that must be addressed. However, a consensus would be required to introduce any road user charging scheme across the strategic road network as an alternative to road taxation.
Download or read book Dept for Transport Regulation of Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles Government Response to the Transport Select Committee Third Report of Session 2003 04 HC 418 written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Parliamentary Debates Hansard written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 760 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book HC 685 Jobs and Livelihoods written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The shortage of full time jobs and the difficulty in earning a livelihood are one of the greatest global problems. Increasing population, especially in Africa, looks much less likely to stabilise than experts complacently believed until recently. World-wide 600 million young people will enter the job market in the next decade with only 200 million jobs awaiting them. The failure to address the issue will have serious consequences and threatens widespread social and political unrest. The situation is recognised by donors, but there seems to be a lack of passion in attempts to address it. As DFID notes, the private sector is the driver of economic growth and will produce 90% of new jobs. DFID's approach to economic development is centred on its Economic Development Strategic Framework, which consists of a series of wide-ranging interventions, listed under five pillars, including international trade; improving the "enabling" environment in countries; catalysing capital flows; engaging with businesses to help their investments contribute to development; and ensuring growth is inclusive and benefits marginalised groups. The choice and balance of interventions depends on the particular circumstances of each country. This basic approach was supported by many witnesses. However, there are several concerns. DFID plans to spend £1.8 billion on economic development by 2015-16 - more than doubling the amount spent in 2012-13; is DFID geared up to spend the extra money cost-effectively? The Committee have seen examples of successful work on theirr visits, and urge DFID to publish lists of achievements under these programmes.
Download or read book The Government s Response to the Transport Committee s Report on Disabled People s Access to Transport written by Great Britain. Department for Transport and published by . This book was released on 2004-05-19 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dated May 2004. Response to the Committee's 6th report 2003-04, HCP 439 (ISBN 021501619X)
Download or read book The Government s Response to the Transport Committee s Report on Disabled People s Access to Transport written by Great Britain. Department for Transport and published by . This book was released on 2005-06-30 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dated June 2005. Response to the Committee's 3rd report 2004-05, HCP 93 (ISBN 0215022416), which followed a previous inquiry by the Committee in March 2004, HCP 439, 6th report, session 2003-04 (ISBN 021501919X)