Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to deliver the reforms to category B driving licence flexibility proposed by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles to reduce the barriers to using 4.25 tonne electric vans.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of current category B driving licence restrictions on uptake of 4.25 tonne electric vans.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review MOT rules for 4.25 tonne electric vans to reduce barriers to using such vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the applicability of EU drivers' hours rules to 4.25 tonne electric vans on the uptake of such vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the applicability of EU drivers' hours rules to 4.25 tonne electric vans to reduce the barriers to using such vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of current MOT rules for 4.25 tonne electric vans on the uptake of such vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the negative impacts that the removal of tax-free shopping from the UK has had and will have for retail businesses across all sectors.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out at Spring Budget 2024, the government is considering the findings of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s review of the original costing of the withdrawal of tax-free shopping, published in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 6 March, alongside industry representations and broader data.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to enhance collaboration with EU authorities to (1) facilitate smoother import and export processes, and (2) uphold food safety standards.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since the publication of the draft Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) on 5 April 2023, Defra and the UK Government have been engaging with all border stakeholders to ensure that every actor is as prepared as possible for the controls outlined in the BTOM.
We are working with officials at ports to enable us to monitor trade flow at the border and we have planning in place that will mitigate disruption or queues. These measures include approaches that reduce the chances of delays due to trader administrative errors contained in official documentation.
The implementation of controls on EU goods does not change the safety standards of imported food. It has reduced the risk of plant and animal pests and diseases reaching GB and potentially causing significant disruption to domestic production, as well as assuring the safety of all imported food.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor and address any disruptions in the flow of essential food and agricultural products resulting from the introduction of import controls, particularly in the event of unforeseen logistical challenges.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have introduced controls which are more proportionate to risk and worked with port and airport operators, traders, Port Health Authorities (PHAs) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to make sure we have the right infrastructure, systems and resources in place.
This has culminated in recent months with an extensive period of operational testing. Collaborating with several ports, PHAs, APHA and traders, we have used these tests to ensure that stakeholders are prepared for the new controls.
Defra is confident that existing and new Border Control Posts infrastructure will have sufficient capacity and capability to handle the volume of expected checks outlined in the Border Target Operating Model, with robust, dynamic and effective operational measures ready to call upon if needed.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken a risk assessment of the impact of import controls on food prices; and whether they are taking any steps to mitigate any inflationary pressures on consumers.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have introduced controls which are more proportionate to risk, with low-risk animal products not requiring certification or checks at the border by default. This approach will apply to all our trading partners, meaning a direct removal of burdens for certain Rest of World importers.
Compared with the import model that was originally scheduled to have been introduced in July 2022, we believe that this new model will reduce costs to businesses by around £500 million per annum by reducing the complexity and volume of paperwork associated with importing.
The Government’s modelling of the inflationary impact of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) has been undertaken through a peer-reviewed econometric model.
For consumers, the implementation of the BTOM should have minimal impact on food price inflation. Initial analysis has indicated that the policies introduced under the BTOM would lead to an approximate increase in consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2 percentage points over a three-year period.