Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what regulations cover the retrofitting of headlights to vehicles; and when those regulations were last updated.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 as amended govern the in-use fitment and maintenance of vehicle headlamps and were last updated in 2019. To minimise the risk of glare these regulations require that approved vehicle lamps are fitted only with approved light sources, including LEDs.
International activity is ongoing at the United Nations and proposals to amend headlamp aiming criteria are expected to be agreed in April, together with requirements for mandatory automatic headlamp levelling.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what regulations apply to retrofitting car headlights with LED bulbs.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 as amended govern the in-use fitment and maintenance of vehicle headlamps and were last updated in 2019. To minimise the risk of glare these regulations require that approved vehicle lamps are fitted only with approved light sources, including LEDs.
International activity is ongoing at the United Nations and proposals to amend headlamp aiming criteria are expected to be agreed in April, together with requirements for mandatory automatic headlamp levelling.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with international partners to develop and introduce improved headlamp aiming requirements.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 as amended govern the in-use fitment and maintenance of vehicle headlamps and were last updated in 2019. To minimise the risk of glare these regulations require that approved vehicle lamps are fitted only with approved light sources, including LEDs.
International activity is ongoing at the United Nations and proposals to amend headlamp aiming criteria are expected to be agreed in April, together with requirements for mandatory automatic headlamp levelling.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many drivers have reported problems with their eyesight to the DVLA in the last 10 years; and what proportion of those have had their driving licences withdrawn as a result.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
During the period 1 March 2013 and 28 February 2023, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency recorded 623,078 drivers as having an eyesight condition. During this period, 19,766 drivers recorded as having an eyesight condition had their driving licence revoked, or their licence application refused. However, it is not possible to say if all of these revocations/refusals were due to eyesight or another medical condition.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to creating new regulations on car headlight glare, in the light of the number of drivers reporting problems with dazzling, particularly from LEDs.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Regulations are already in place to help prevent headlamps, including those using LED technology, from causing dazzle and glare. Vehicle manufacturers must supply evidence that their new vehicles comply with international road vehicle approval regulations and the requirements applied to headlamps define maximum and minimum intensity, light pattern and position on the vehicle. In addition, domestic legislation prohibits the use of headlamps that cause undue dazzle or discomfort for other road users and headlamp aim is checked at the annual MOT test.
Police recorded collision statistics in Great Britain do not show any discernible trend over time that would suggest an underlying road safety issue linked to advances in lighting technology. The Department’s officials continue to support international activity reviewing the relevant vehicle lighting standards.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to prepare for potential delays in Anglesey, and at or near other ports in the UK, after 31 December.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ports policy in Wales is devolved and is a matter for the Welsh Government. The Department for Transport is working closely with and supporting the Cabinet Office’s Border and Protocol Delivery Group (BPDG) on delivering the required preparations for the end of the transition period. In July 2020, the government committed to spending £470 million on new border infrastructure to support ports in building extra capacity to meet the new control requirements where there is space to do so, and, if necessary, to build additional inland sites across the country where checks can take place.
The Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF) will support ports in preparing for any potential disruptions that may occur at the end of the transition period. The PIF has been open for applications from 2 October and industry is encouraged to utilize the fund where applicable.
HMG is also working with Welsh and Scottish Governments to confirm the infrastructure requirements for Wales and Scotland. This includes sites which will be required to be in place to support both Holyhead in Anglesey and specific ports in South West Wales.
DfT officials are working closely with English Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) with high volume EU facing Roll-on Roll-off ports in their areas, ensuring that these LRFs have the required information and analysis to enable them to put in place appropriate traffic management plans in case of traffic disruption following the end of the EU Transition Period.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for more toilets in Kent for lorry drivers due to potential congestion post-Brexit, and whether they have assessed how many lorries could be caught up in any such delays.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We published our revised reasonable worst-case scenario planning assumptions on 23 September for the end of the Transition Period. Such a scenario could lead to queues of up to 7,000 HGVs in Kent. We are working with the Kent Resilience Forum to maintain traffic flow and to mitigate the effects of any disruption that occurs. This includes additional holding capacity for HGVs in Kent.
The Kent Resilience Forum’s preparations include a Driver Welfare plan that will provide reasonable and proportionate distribution of welfare to both passenger and freight traffic during significant congestion. It covers the deployment of food, water, medicine, warmth and sanitation. This can be adjusted to respond to different levels of congestion. This will benefit from the Forum’s experience of previous incidents where there has been congestion in Kent as a result of delays in crossings of the Short Straits.
Our delivery plans ensure that all Inland Border Facilities will have adequate toilet facilities for drivers and any driver companions to use, including accessible and children toilets.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the risk posed to aviation and passenger safety by intoxicated air passengers.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Civil Aviation Authority, as the UK’s aviation safety regulator, keeps the risks posed to aviation and passenger safety under review. The Government has also committed to improving the consumer experience as a whole as part of the Aviation Strategy, due for publication mid-2019. Both safety and disruptive passenger behaviour have been specifically identified as key issues to explore and address as the strategy is developed.
There are strong legal provisions in place to deal with the problem of disruptive behaviour. The main legislation under UK law relating to the rules of conduct on board aircraft is the Air Navigation Order (ANO), which carries severe penalties for disruptive behaviour. It is an offence under the ANO to enter an aircraft when drunk, or be drunk in an aircraft, carrying a maximum of two years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. In addition, the UK has state of landing and state of operator jurisdiction, which means that disruptive passengers on any flight that touches down within the UK can be charged and, if necessary, prosecuted.
This is an issue that the Government is taking very seriously, the Home Office will shortly be publishing a Call for Evidence on revoking licensing laws to help address the problem of drunk and disorderly airline passengers.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ratify the 2014 Montreal Protocol to help to ensure that they have the appropriate enforcement powers against disruptive air passengers.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
During this legislative cycle, the Government does not intend to complete the ratification of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Montreal Protocol 2014 on disruptive passengers. The majority of the provisions within this protocol are already part of UK law, and we are confident we can take necessary action in regard to disruptive passengers. For example, the UK already has “state of landing” and “state of operator jurisdiction”, which means that disruptive passengers on any flight that touches down within the UK can be charged and, if necessary, prosecuted. No other European Union countries have ratified the 2014 Montreal Protocol.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rise in the number of disruptive passenger incidents on flights to and from the UK in the past year.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are looking at the issue of disruptive passengers as part of the development of the Aviation Strategy.
The Government will continue to engage and meet with a broad range of operators in the aviation sector to monitor developments and to explore any further actions to support the industry’s efforts in this field.