The Department welcomes publication of the KPMG index, which ranks the United Kingdom in the top five nations for overall autonomous vehicle readiness. The index reflects our excellence in technology and innovation and highlights the very strong industry partnerships and academic research this Government has established, as well as our exemplar status in terms of regulation.

The more moderate perceived performance in enabling autonomous vehicle infrastructure is due, largely, to a low overall score for 4G coverage. Although substantial improvements in 4G coverage have been achieved recently, reliable coverage across our road networks is a Government priority, demonstrated by the 2017 Conservative manifesto commitment to improve coverage on major roads as well as railways. The Department continues to work closely both with the Government’s Digital Implementation Taskforce to ensure delivery of this commitment, and with the industry to determine what the enabling requirements for automated vehicles will be.

The current status of the 19 schemes announced in December 2014 for the Midlands is given in Highways England’s Delivery Plan for 2016-2017, which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-england-delivery-plan-2016-to-2017

Overall schemes which are under construction are coming in or under budget. For schemes under development we would expect some movement in timescales or costs but overall Highways England is on course to deliver its commitments within the allocated funding.

Transport Ministers and the Department for Transport had received no written representations on this subject, as of 31^st May 2016. The effect on road freight of the recent strike action has not been specifically raised by UK Transport Ministers with French counterparts.

The Department appointed Transport Focus (TF) as the road user watchdog and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) as the Highways Monitor on the formation of Highways England on 1 April 2015. In addition to reporting from TF and ORR, officials regularly meet with Highways England to discuss all aspects of their performance, including customer satisfaction.

TF is developing a new Strategic Roads User Survey to measure satisfaction among those using Highways England’s network with input from the Department. It is intended to pilot this throughout 2016 and then launch the new survey during 2017. This will run in parallel with Highways England’s existing National Road User Satisfaction Survey until that ceases in March 2018.

Details of safety events involving the transport of nuclear material both by rail and on the strategic road network can be found in the following report:

Events reported to Nuclear Safety Regulator 2001-2015:

http://news.onr.org.uk/2016/02/events-reported-to-nuclear-safety-regulator-2001-15/

At the budget £161m was announced for the acceleration of smart motorway upgrades to the M62 between junctions 10-12 and 20-25. A further £75m from the Transport Development Fund was committed to developing the recommendations of the government’s strategic studies on Northern Trans-Pennine routes, Manchester’s North West Quadrant and the Trans-Pennine Tunnel. Both of these commitments are in addition to the £1.5bn being spent in the North West between 2015 and 2021 to deliver schemes committed under the first Road Investment Strategy.

The 31 local authorities that have not yet received an agreement proposal are:

The Department for Transport plans to commission a road safety management capacity review during the next financial year.

Budget 2016 marked the launch of work on preparing the next Road Investment Strategy. This includes determining how much funding will be made available for the period 2020/21-2024/25 and which investment proposals to take forward. The Department for Transport has published “Road Investment Strategy post 2020: planning ahead” to inform all interested parties so that they can play their part in the preparation of the next Road Investment Strategy. It is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508505/road-investment-strategy-post-2020-planning-ahead.pdf

The £24m my Department is providing to North Yorkshire County Council is to part fund a scheme to maintain a large number of minor (Category 4a and 4b) roads across the County over the period 2016-2021. A map of the affected roads can be found in the Business case at: http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/lgfmaintenance

The scheme was given initial approval as part of the Local Growth Fund process in 2014 following a bid from the Council supported by the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership.

The Department for Transport is allocating £180 million to help assist local highway authorities affected by the storms this winter season. This includes a further £130 million as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget 2016.

It will be for each local highway authority to decide on how this funding will be spent in in Cumbria, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Greater Manchester and Durham in repairing damaged local highway infrastructure.

Timescales for delivery of the A2 M2 London to Dover Connected Vehicles Corridor remain indicative. Feasibility work is due to conclude in June 2016, after which detailed scheme design is programmed to complete during 2017. Between September 2017 and January 2019, infrastructure will be deployed at the roadside and, where possible on existing street furniture, to minimise disruption. These devices will connect wirelessly with a limited number of test vehicles. Evaluation will be ongoing during that period.

The programme is expected to report during 2018/19 on recommendations for future deployment.

Highways England is an active member of the National and Regional Traffic Manager Forums. In 2012, Highways Agency (as was), through the governance of the Forum, devised partnership agreements for cooperation and collaboration between Highways Agency and 120 local highway authorities and provide a framework to meet their statutory obligations with regard to the Traffic Management Act 2004. Highways England is now in the process of revising these agreements.

So far, there are two fully revised agreements with Kent County Council and Warwickshire County Council. Highways England are liaising with another 87 local highway authorities, having adding a further 22 Local Authorities since the last Parliamentary Questions on this issue. The vast majority of these authorities accept the principles of the agreement, which include protocols for agreeing and using diversion routes when a section of the network has to be closed, but have not yet formally agreed these. In some cases specific local issues need to be resolved and Highways England is engaged with those authorities to resolve them. This leaves 31 authorities requiring an updated agreement.

It should be noted that whether a partnership agreement is endorsed or otherwise, Highways England and Local Authorities work cooperatively in an emergency applying the fundamental principles contained within the agreements to uphold the safety and free-flow of their respective networks and aim to minimise disruption to drivers and communities.

The Road Safety Statement, published on 21 December 2015, sets out the government’s plan to undertake a road safety management capacity review, to identify areas for improved joint working, local innovation and efficiency.

Highways England, as a Government Owned Company, is responsible for complying with the mandatory legal requirements under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which includes removing litter on England’s strategic road network.

Collecting litter puts road workers at risk and is a costly operation, so Highways England works collaboratively with a number of organisations to promote anti-litter campaigns designed to prevent littering occurring.

Highways England has a Crisis Management Manual which provides protocols for the management of the response for incidents that significantly affect the strategic road network.

Highways England is in the process of developing partnership agreements with 120 Local Authorities. So far, 65 partnership agreements have been sent out to Local Authorities. These include protocols for agreeing and using diversion routes when a section of the network has to be closed.

The vast majority of these authorities accept the principles of the agreement, but in some cases specific local issues need to be resolved and Highways England is engaged with those authorities to resolve them. However, it should be noted that a partnership agreement or otherwise would not adversely interfere with Highways England and Local Authorities working cooperatively in an emergency.

As a Category 2 responder in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, Highways England participates in Local Resilience Forums and contributes to the development of multi-agency plans for the response to Major Incidents (led by Category 1 responders).

The schemes identified in the 2015 – 2020 Road Investment Strategy being developed for delivery by Highways England and collectively now referred to as the Trans-Pennine Upgrade Programme are:

• Mottram Moor link road
• A57(T) to A57 link road
• A61 dualling
• A628 climbing lanes
• Safety and technology improvements

A full public consultation will be held in spring 2017 prior to submitting an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) in autumn 2018.

Subject to a successful DCO application it is expected that construction will commence in March 2020 and be open for traffic in Spring 2023. However, ways to advance those dates will be explored through the design and delivery process.

For schemes that are Open for Traffic, the actual out-turn costs have been provided. Schemes that are in development or construction show the latest approved estimate.

For the remaining schemes outlined in the 1 December 2014 announcement, the current costs are the cost category as quoted in the RIS Investment Plan, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/381496/roads-investment-strategy-summary-of-schemes.pdf

There is currently no cost information for the Strategic Studies as they are in the very early stages of investigating options.

For schemes that are Open for Traffic, the actual out-turn costs have been provided. Schemes that are in development or construction show the latest approved estimate.

For the remaining schemes outlined in the 1 December 2014 announcement, the current costs are the cost category as quoted in the RIS Investment Plan, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/381496/roads-investment-strategy-summary-of-schemes.pdf

There is currently no cost information for the Strategic Studies as they are in the very early stages of investigating options.

For schemes that are Open for Traffic, the actual out-turn costs have been provided. Schemes that are in development or construction show the latest approved estimate.

For the remaining schemes outlined in the 1 December 2014 announcement, the current costs are the cost category as quoted in the RIS Investment Plan, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/381496/roads-investment-strategy-summary-of-schemes.pdf

There is currently no cost information for the Strategic Studies as they are in the very early stages of investigating options.

These projects are at various levels of maturity.

Schemes which are now open to traffic and schemes in development/construction are shown below, with the actual out-turn cost and latest estimate respectively:

For the remaining schemes outlined in the 1 December 2014 announcement, the current costs are the cost category as quoted in the RIS Investment Plan, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/381496/roads-investment-strategy-summary-of-schemes.pdf

There is currently no cost information for the Strategic Studies as they are in the very early stages of investigating options.

These projects are at various levels of maturity.

Schemes which are now open to traffic and schemes in development/construction are shown below, with the actual out-turn cost and latest approved estimate respectively:

The Lower Thames Crossing has a current estimate of £4,300m to £5,900m.

For the remaining schemes outlined in the 1 December 2014 announcement, the current costs are the cost category as quoted in the RIS Investment Plan, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/381496/roads-investment-strategy-summary-of-schemes.pdf

For the Strategic Studies, there is no cost information.

The latest cost estimates for road projects in the South West of England included in the Government's Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) for 2015-20 are below:

* cost as provided in RIS Investment Plan

Updated range estimates have been prepared for some schemes since the cost categories provided in the RIS in December 2014. As schemes are developed further, they will all have their estimates updated.

I note in particular that historic attempts to improve the A303 were shelved by the previous Labour Government; we are determined to finally deliver the connectivity the south west deserves.

The Department for Transport is preparing a revised Accessibility Action Plan (AAP).

The AAP will set out how we aim to support all operators so they can improve the quality of the disability awareness training and the travel assistance they offer to meet the needs of passengers with mental health issues across all modes.

We plan for the AAP to be ready for wider consultation in the summer and that it will be published by the end of the year.

Ministers and officials in the Department for Transport regularly meet with both Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Highways England on measures to improve air quality, public health and achieve compliance with EU air quality standards. On 17 December 2015 Government published the Air Quality Action Plan which sets out a comprehensive approach for meeting these goals. Air Quality is a clear priority for Highways England, backed up by a dedicated £100 million fund as part of the Road Investment Strategy published in December 2014.

North East & Yorkshire

Of the 112 projects listed in the RIS, 20 of these will be delivered in this region.

1 scheme has opened for traffic on schedule.

4 schemes are currently in construction – 3 are forecast to complete ahead of schedule and 1 on schedule.

Of the remaining 15 planned schemes 1 is forecast ahead of schedule, 1 forecast behind schedule and 13 on schedule.

North West

17 schemes are included for this region.

4 schemes are currently in construction – 2 are forecast to complete ahead of schedule and 2 on schedule.

Of the remaining 13 planned schemes 2 are forecast ahead of schedule and 11 on schedule.

Midlands

Total of 26 scheme in this region.

3 schemes have opened for traffic, 2 ahead of schedule and 1 behind schedule.

6 schemes are currently in construction – 4 are forecast to complete ahead of schedule and 2 on schedule.

Of the remaining 17 planned schemes 3 are forecast ahead of schedule and 14 on schedule.

South West

Total of 7 schemes in this region.

1 is in construction and is forecast behind schedule.

The remaining 6 planned schemes are all on schedule.

South East & London

Total of 26 schemes in this region.

2 are in construction, 1 is forecast ahead of schedule and 1 on schedule

Of the remaining 24 planned projects all are on schedule.

East

Total of 16 schemes.

2 are in construction and both are forecast ahead of schedule.

The remaining planned 14 schemes, 1 is forecast ahead of schedule and 13 are on schedule.

Overall schemes which are under construction are coming in or under budget. For schemes under development we would expect some movement in timescales or costs but overall Highways England is on course to deliver its commitments within the allocated funding.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 January 2016, UIN 23151 (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=23151).

The Government is determined to help hard working families and local businesses in flood affected areas as quickly as possible. The Department for Transport continues to work closely with all affected highway authorities as they finalise their assessments to local highway infrastructure prior to final assessment and consideration of what further support and assistance may be provided.

The two projects referred to in Question 26148 are:

A63 Castle Street: this has a commitment to be complete by March 2021 but the current forecast is for August 2021.

The decision to defer was to avoid construction taking place during the year of culture.

A30 Temple to Carblake

This is being delivered by Cornwall County Council: This was originally due to Open for traffic in December 2016, although we understand from Cornwall County Council that current forecast is February 2017.

We know that the number of people killed in drink drive collisions remains significantly higher in France than in Great Britain despite the introduction of the legal requirement to carry a breathalyser in 2012. In 2014 Trading Standards in Great Britain looked at the self-testing devices available and concluded that the majority of these were unreliable and may give anyone using them a dangerously false sense of security. We therefore have no plans to introduce any such requirement in Great Britain.

Two sections of road on the strategic road network have been damaged by the recent flooding. The river bank was washed out on both sides at Warwick Bridge on the A69 near Carlisle. This will be repaired, as agreed with the Environment Agency (EA), using gabion baskets at an estimated cost of £60,000.

A 1.5 mile section of the westbound dual carriageway on the A66 in Cumbria is currently closed following the storms. The provisional cost estimate for reopening this section of the network is between £3m and £5m dependent on the findings of a recent geotechnical survey.

The rest of the strategic road network in the North West region has now been returned to a fully serviceable condition. The cost of clearing the affected network in the North West region is estimated at £275,000.

The Department for Transport is continuing to collate a comprehensive list of damage caused to the local highway network following the recent storms encountered in some areas of the country.

The Road Investment Strategy (RIS) and the Highways England Delivery Plan 2015-2020 list the ongoing projects and planned projects for each region. Of the 112 projects named in the RIS, five projects have either opened of will open in 2015-16 as planned. For the remaining projects all but two are progressing on or ahead of schedule.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced funding of £40 million for Cumbria and Lancashire following Storms Desmond and Eva. We also agreed to help fund the assessment of damage to local highway infrastructure in both areas. In addition, the Department also announced £3.3 million to provide a temporary footbridge and the repair of Tadcaster Bridge in North Yorkshire and a further £5.5 million to rebuild Elland Bridge in Calderdale which includes providing a temporary pedestrian footbridge whilst these works are underway.

The Department is also working closely with all local highway authorities affected by the floods to see what further support and assistance can be provided as they complete their assessments of damage.

Two sections of road on the strategic road network have been damaged by the recent flooding. The river bank was washed out on both sides at Warwick Bridge on the A69 near Carlisle. This will be repaired, as agreed with the Environment Agency (EA), using gabion baskets at an estimated cost of £60,000. The cost of the repairs will be met by the DBFO Company who maintains this stretch of road.

A 1.5 mile section of the westbound dual carriageway at Bassenthwaite Lake on the A66 in Cumbria is currently closed due to the recent storms. As a consequence of the westbound closure, the two lane eastbound carriageway is being used with one lane open for eastbound traffic and one for westbound traffic. The repair costs will be dependent on the findings of a recent geotechnical survey. However the provisional cost estimate for reopening this section of the network is between £3m and £5m.

The rest of the strategic road network in the North West region has now been returned to a fully serviceable condition. This has involved the clearance and inspection of all affected culverts and the removal of a significant amount of detritus off sections of the network that witnessed flooding. This included the removal of material off the carriageway following two minor earth slips on the A66 in the vicinity of Warcop. The cost of clearing the affected network in the North West region is estimated at £275,000.

Inspections of bridge structures and other assets across the North West region have revealed scour (erosion of soil) related issues and other damage at a number of locations, with further inspections currently underway. Remedial works on the A66 at Eden Bridge near Temple Sowerby are estimated at £125,000. Additionally, the Environment Agency has contacted Highways England about a section of scour/land slip adjacent to the River Greta east of Briery interchange. An inspection has been arranged to determine the proximity and potential risk to the A66 at this location.

The funding for repairs to the strategic road network is being met via an additional £8m for storm damage provided by DfT.

The flood recovery envoy for Yorkshire, the Minister of State for Transport (Mr Goodwill), convened a meeting on January 7 2016 with North Yorkshire County Council, wider local representatives, the military and Highways England experts to finalise a plan for reconstructing Tadcaster Bridge. The Government is providing £3.3m of funding immediately to repair the bridge. It has incurred substantial damage and the current estimate is that it will take up to a year to repair.

The Department for Transport is working closely with affected local highway authorities following the recent storms encountered in some areas of the country. As part of this work, local highway authorities are assessing the damage caused and likely estimated costs. It is too early to provide an estimate of the repairs or likely timescales until all waters have receded.

The flood recovery envoy for Yorkshire, the Minister of State for Transport (Mr Goodwill), convened a meeting on January 7 2016 with North Yorkshire County Council, wider local representatives, the military and Highways England experts to finalise a plan for reconstructing Tadcaster Bridge. The Government is providing £3.3m of funding immediately to repair the bridge. It has incurred substantial damage and the current estimate is that it will take up to a year to repair.

The Department for Transport is working closely with affected local highway authorities following the recent storms encountered in some areas of the country. As part of this work, local highway authorities are assessing the damage caused and likely estimated costs. It is too early to provide an estimate of the repairs or likely timescales until all waters have receded.

The total contractual amounts Highways England pays are as follows:

• £274,129 for the National Road User Satisfaction Survey from April 2015 to March 2016.
• £376,846 for the Area Road User Satisfaction Survey from April 2015 to March 2016.

Costs are not split by region.

The Area User Satisfaction Survey (ARUSS) runs continually throughout the year across England. Results are provided for each area every 6 months on a rolling basis.

Area 12 and Area 14 (Yorkshire and the North East)

The report covering the period June 2015 to November 2015 will be available at the end of December 2015 and published on the Highways England website.

Area 10 and Area 13 (North West)

The report covering the period July 2015 to December 2015 will be available at the end of January 2015 and published on theHighways England website.

The recently published National Road Survey Satisfaction Survey is based on responses from interviews of approximately 2,000 road users per annum. The results are analysed on an ongoing basis and provide insight to inform the development of Highways England‘s work.

We aim to reduce the number of cyclists and other road users killed or injured on our roads every year. We have been working closely with road safety groups to consider what more can be done and expect to publish our Road Safety Statement shortly. The Road Safety Statement will set out the high level plan and overarching approach to road safety that we expect to take over the rest of the Parliament, and will be followed by a series of more detailed proposals and consultations.

Highways England has recently announced their new road safety ambition that no one shall be harmed while working or travelling on the network. In support of this, they have launched their 5 year Health and Safety Plan which contains specific actions relating to road safety.

A key element of the recent Roads Reform work was the appointment of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) as the independent monitor of Highways England. The ORR will be working with Highways England to ensure that they have the necessary data and information to perform their role effectively.

The Department for Transport (DfT) works collaboratively with Innovate UK through a range of mechanisms to support technological development and innovation in all modes of transport. DfT and Innovate UK work together to support wider government objectives to develop the nation's science and research capability to support UK economic growth. However, the Department has not made any separate assessment of Innovate UK’s contribution to the development of technologies in the transport sector. Innovate UK undertakes well established economic evaluations on the effectiveness and impact of its activities and are reported to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, as Innovate UK's departmental sponsor.

The government is tripling the capital investment in the Strategic Road Network. Highways England have been given responsibility for delivery of the Road Investment Strategy and operation of the network.

A four year term contract was tendered competitively by Highways England to a consortium consisting of CH2M Hill, Mace and PwC (CMP) in early July 2015 to help provide additional support to improve their capability and available resources to deliver an increasingly demanding and complex programme.

This has no impact on the role, responsibilities and requirements of Highways England.

The Road Investment Strategy, published at the time of the 2014 Autumn Statement, set out ambitious plans for improvements to the national road network between 2015 and 2020. The road network is a critical national infrastructure asset that is vital for successful economic growth, supporting jobs and productivity. This is why this Government made a clear commitment in its manifesto to invest £15 billion in roads, and the Prime Minister has made clear that the Government will implement its manifesto in full.

The Road Investment Strategy, published at the time of the 2014 Autumn Statement, set out ambitious plans for improvements to the national road network between 2015 and 2020. The road network is a critical national infrastructure asset that is vital for successful economic growth, supporting jobs and productivity. This is why this Government made a clear commitment in its manifesto to invest £15 billion in roads, and the Prime Minister has made clear that the Government will implement its manifesto in full.

The Road Investment Strategy, published at the time of the 2014 Autumn Statement, set out ambitious plans for improvements to the national road network between 2015 and 2020. The road network is a critical national infrastructure asset that is vital for successful economic growth, supporting jobs and productivity. This is why this Government made a clear commitment in its manifesto to invest £15 billion in roads, and the Prime Minister has made clear that the Government will implement its manifesto in full.