Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support research into (a) improving aircraft efficiency and (b) new technologies to enable electric and hybrid powered flight.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The focus of our policy development and analysis to date has been on ways to meet our 2050 net zero carbon commitment. We have not specifically made an assessment of the savings that could be made if the focus were the next five or ten years, but we continue to develop policies to reduce emissions over both the short term and the medium term.
The Transport Secretary recently announced the Jet Zero Council, which will provide leadership and strategic direction to cut aviation emissions. The Council will focus on developing UK capabilities to deliver zero emission flight.
Through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, Government and industry are committing a total of £3.9bn in funding for mid-stage aerospace research and development between 2013 and 2026.
DfT’s Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition makes £20 million of capital funding available for projects that will produce low carbon waste-based fuels for use in aircraft and heavy goods vehicles. This government funding will be matched by the private sector, and is expected to support construction of first-of-a-kind plants by 2021. The sustainable aviation fuel produced in these plants is expected to have emissions savings of at least 70% when compared to traditional jet fuel.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for airspace modernisation.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Airspace modernisation is vital to the future of aviation, to delivering net zero and, now, to supporting the aviation sector’s recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a critical infrastructure programme of national importance.
However, in light of the pandemic, we recognise that the timescales in which airspace modernisation will take place will change. We are working with the CAA to review the Airspace Modernisation Strategy, to consider the recommendations from ACOG’s recent report ‘Remobilising the Airspace Change Programme’, and will advise stakeholders of our preferred approach in the early Autumn.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the carbon emissions reductions that could be achieved in the next (a) five and (b) 10 years from (i) more sustainable aviation fuels, (ii) more efficient aircraft, (iii) hybrid and electric flight and (iv) airspace modernisation.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The focus of our policy development and analysis to date has been on ways to meet our 2050 net zero carbon commitment. We have not specifically made an assessment of the savings that could be made if the focus were the next five or ten years, but we continue to develop policies to reduce emissions over both the short term and the medium term.
The Transport Secretary recently announced the Jet Zero Council, which will provide leadership and strategic direction to cut aviation emissions. The Council will focus on developing UK capabilities to deliver zero emission flight.
Through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, Government and industry are committing a total of £3.9bn in funding for mid-stage aerospace research and development between 2013 and 2026.
DfT’s Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition makes £20 million of capital funding available for projects that will produce low carbon waste-based fuels for use in aircraft and heavy goods vehicles. This government funding will be matched by the private sector, and is expected to support construction of first-of-a-kind plants by 2021. The sustainable aviation fuel produced in these plants is expected to have emissions savings of at least 70% when compared to traditional jet fuel.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuel in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
To help overcome barriers to the production of sustainable fuels for aviation on a commercial scale, the Department’s Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition (F4C) makes capital funding available. As part of the competition we are currently supporting two projects to build plants capable of supplying advanced fuels for use in aviation.
In addition, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), a certificate trading scheme, promotes a market for low carbon fuels. Sustainable aviation fuels are eligible for support under the RTFO and are categorised as a development fuel, so potentially benefit from a higher tradeable certificate value.
On 12 June the Department announced the Jet Zero Council to create a partnership between industry and Government and bring together Ministers and CEO-level stakeholders to drive high ambition in the delivery of new technologies and innovative ways to cut aviation emissions. The Council will be jointly chaired by the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for BEIS.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what scientific or medical advice he based the decision to include passengers arriving from countries which have the same or lower levels of covid-19 infection as the UK in the 14-day quarantine policy.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Home Office will be introducing new health protection measures at the border, and details will be published soon. Further queries should be directed to the Home Office.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the (a) business case and (b) estimated cost for the Golborne Spur section of phase 2b of High Speed Two.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department for Transport published the Business Case for HS2 Phase 2 on 17 July 2017, which includes a connection to the West Coast Mainline near Golborne https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-phase-two-economic-case.
We will continue to update periodically cost estimates and business cases for delivery of HS2 in line with the Government’s protocol for developing major projects. Our latest estimates indicate that the HS2 network will cost between £72-£98 billion with Phase 2b in the region of between £33-£46 billion. The expenditure on Golborne falls within this remit.
As part of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands we will assess the Golborne Junction to consider the benefits, costs and the best way to serve the North West and Scotland.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the announcement of 4 February 2020 by the Sustainable Aviation Group on ensuring UK aviation meets a net zero target by 2050, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation to a wider range of production methods.
Answered by Grant Shapps
As acknowledged and welcomed in the “Sustainable Aviation Fuels Road-Map”, announced by the Sustainable Aviation coalition on 4 February, the Government is encouraging the production and use of sustainable alternative aviation fuels in the UK by making these eligible for reward under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO).
The Department is considering the aviation industry’s request to extend the scope of the RTFO to include Recycled Carbon Fuels (RCFs), which is repeated in the “Sustainable Aviation Fuels Road-Map”. RCFs are fuels produced from fossil wastes that cannot be reused, recycled or avoided.
The Department has commissioned two independent research reports to examine the potential greenhouse gas savings that RCFs could achieve. These are “Low carbon fossil fuels sustainability risks and accounting methodology” published in January 2018 and “Work Package 1-743 Waste Disposal Outcomes and Diversion Impacts” published in August 2019. Further to this research, the Department is developing a greenhouse gas assessment methodology for RCFs and have engaged on this with industry representatives. The Department hopes to consult later this year on legislative proposals.
Asked by: Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the report of the task and finish group on taxi and private hire vehicle licensing in September.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The report of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing will be published soon.