Alongside a commitment to go ‘under the bonnet’ of big
transport news stories such as HS2, the newly constituted
Transport Committee will consider how transport can be made to
work better for everyone.
Following the first
meeting of the Transport Select Committee, the Chair, , outlined the priorities
for the Committee’s immediate future programme:
“Each of us, as members of the Committee and members of
Parliament, regularly face concerns from constituents and fellow
parliamentarians about the impact of transport on our daily
lives. We will, of course, monitor the progress of nationally
significant and controversial projects such as HS2, looking
particularly at the next steps of that project.
“But while we will set out to understand the successes
and failures of the transport headlines, the vast majority of our
travel is done locally. People ask questions like what’s happened
to my bus route or why should my mobility limit my transport
choices too? Why isn’t my city served better by transport links?
Or why can’t I choose to walk or cycle to work without facing
congestion, worrying about road safety or the quality of the air
our children breathe?
“We’ll be following through on the commitments which
the Department for Transport gave our predecessor Committee and
seeking more of our own. We’ll be turning over the transport
headlines but we’ll also be seeking answers on key questions for
this Parliament, such as how to reduce the carbon footprint of
transport to meet the Government’s legal obligation to reduce
greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050.”
In the next month, the Committee will announce plans for
work on:
High Speed 2: Next steps
Now that the first phase has been approved by the
Government, the Committee intends to hold a one-off session on
the key future of challenges of the project, including the
integration between HS2 and rail services in the North and
Midlands.
Electric scooters: pavement scourge or carbon
saviour?
The UK is the last European economy where e-scooters are
illegal to be used everywhere, except on private land (with the
landowner’s permission). The Committee will launch a short
inquiry on this emerging area of policy ahead of a Government
consultation planned later this year.
Young and novice drivers
Just seven percent of the UK’s driving licence holders are
aged 17-24 but they are involved in 20% of fatal and serious
collisions. Following an invitation to the public to share their
concerns about road safety in the last Parliament, significant
concern was raised about the high level of collisions for young
and novice drivers. The Transport Committee will resume this
inquiry to consider why these drivers are more at risk and how
Government plans to reduce these numbers.
Local transport priorities
Potholes, buses and active travel were three Committee
Report which secured key commitments from the Department for
Transport to boost the priority of local transport. The Committee
will pursue progress updates on key recommendations from
each.
The Chair, , has already guested on an
evidence session on HS2 with the Public Accounts Committee,
following the National Audit Office publication of its latest
progress update in January. Mr Merriman questioned the Permanent
Secretary of the Department for Transport, , on the project’s
budgetary and schedule overruns.
A full list of new members is published below.
Further
information:
Watch the evidence session on HS2 with the Public Accounts
Committee (4 March) here:
https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/ac4c9fa6-4e42-4fed-81d1-1e4faef1b5f5
Committee membership: , Chair
(Con, Bexhill and Battle); (Lab, Brentford
and Isleworth); (Lab,
Nottingham South); (Con, East
Devon); (Con,
High Peak); (Con, West
Dorset); (Con,
Lincoln); MP (Lab,
Easington); (SNP, Paisley and
Renfrewshire North); (Con,
Buckingham); (Lab, Ilford
South).
