Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 18 July (HL1671), what consideration they have given to alternative solutions if a scheme of mutual recognition for the disabled persons blue parking badges with the government of Spain cannot be negotiated.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
It is for individual EU Member States to decide if they will recognise a Disabled Parking Card issued in another country. Mutual recognition of parking cards across countries is discretionary and not legally binding. In Spain, local authorities are responsible for parking card verification, therefore recognition of foreign issued parking cards is at their discretion. Recognition of the UK Blue Badge in Spain was discussed as part of wider negotiations on driving licence exchange with Spain, but this has not proved to be a workable approach. UK Government advice to disabled travellers has always been to check locally in the area of travel before parking.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 28 October (HL2803), whether mutual recognition of disabled persons’ Blue Badges is a matter for individual Spanish local authorities.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
It is for individual EU Member States to decide if they will recognise a Disabled Parking Card issued in another country. Mutual recognition of parking cards across countries is discretionary and not legally binding. In Spain, local authorities are responsible for parking card verification, therefore recognition of foreign issued parking cards is at their discretion. Recognition of the UK Blue Badge in Spain was discussed as part of wider negotiations on driving licence exchange with Spain, but this has not proved to be a workable approach. UK Government advice to disabled travellers has always been to check locally in the area of travel before parking.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 25 May (HL295), what progress the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has made following the request from the Embassy of Kosovo regarding a reciprocal driving licence exchange between the UK and Kosovo.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
A full assessment of the licensing and testing information provided by the Kosovan authorities has been concluded and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is satisfied that the required standards have been met. While the department is progressing the work required to achieve an exchange agreement as quickly as possible, it is subject to public consultation and the introduction of domestic legislation.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 18 July (HL1670), what alternatives they are considering to mutual recognition of disabled persons' Blue Badges by Spain.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
In Spain, recognition of disabled parking cards issued outside of the European Union is at the discretion of the local authority responsible for parking enforcement.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government with which EU countries they have negotiated mutual recognition of the disabled persons blue parking badges.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government remains committed to confirming the status of UK issued Blue Badges for motorists visiting Europe. Twenty countries have already committed to recognising Blue Badges and are listed on Gov.uk.
Discussions continue with a number of countries. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the progress of discussions while they are on-going.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 17 May (HL32), when they last discussed mutual recognition of the disabled persons blue parking badges with the government of Spain; and what outstanding issues are preventing mutual recognition.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
At a recent discussion with Spain, Blue Badge recognition was considered as part of wider negotiations on a driving licence exchange agreement but ultimately this was not an appropriate mechanism and the Government is considering alternatives.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to entering into a mutual recognition agreement with the government of Kosovo regarding driving licences; and what, if anything, is preventing the completion of such an agreement.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Holders of driving licences issued in Kosovo who become resident in or are visiting Great Britain can drive cars and motorcycles for up to one year from the date they arrive. To continue driving after this period Kosovan drivers must apply for a provisional driving licence and pass both a theory and practical driving test.
The UK does exchange driving licences with certain countries but Kosovo is not currently a designated country. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received a request from the Embassy of Kosovo to consider a possible reciprocal driving licence exchange agreement and will provide the necessary information to progress this.
The recognition and designation of a country for licence exchange purposes depends on it having satisfactory arrangements in place for the issue of driving licences. This means that driving tests and licensing procedures are required to be comparable with our own here in Great Britain. Applications are subject to the assessment of testing and licensing standards, consultation, introduction of legislation and conclusion of an agreement for reciprocity.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with regional authorities in Spain regarding mutual recognition of disabled persons blue parking badges; and what progress has been made in those discussions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Blue Badge recognition between countries has to date been based on informal arrangements. The Department for Transport continues to work towards reciprocal provision for Blue Badge holders but does not provide a commentary on the status of these negotiations.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of unemployment rates in (1) aviation communities, and (2) communities dependant on industries associated with aviation, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; and what specific support they have made available to such communities.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department for Transport is committed to addressing the ongoing impact COVID-19 has had on the aviation sector. Aviation supported around half a million jobs across all regions of the UK before COVID-19, and since the start of the pandemic there have been tens of thousands of job cuts, mainly concentrated in the South East.
Businesses across the industry have drawn on economy wide measures including the Covid Job Retention Scheme and Covid Corporate Finance Facility, and sector specific support such as the Airport and Ground Operators Support Scheme. We estimate that by the end of September 2021 the air transport sector will have benefited from around £7bn of Government support since the start of the pandemic, with an estimated 50% of air transport sector employees currently furloughed.
Over £25bn has also been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks. The Government has extended business rates relief, introduced new Restart grants of up to £18,000, and has extended the cut in VAT for tourism and hospitality activities to 5% until the end of September.
Asked by: Lord Bowness (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the social, and (2) the economic, impact of the restrictions on international travel introduced to address the COVID-19 pandemic on communities (1) directly dependant on aviation, and (2) dependant on manufacturing and supplies associated with the aviation industry.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government recognises the challenging circumstances facing the aviation industry because of Covid-19 and firms experiencing difficulties can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor.
The Global Travel Taskforce report, published in April 2021, was created following extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders from the international travel and tourism industries to develop a risk-based framework that can facilitate the return of international travel while managing Variants of Concern.
The taskforce considered a full range of views from industry stakeholders to inform the final recommendations and we are grateful for their valuable contributions to the development of the report’s recommendations. We will continue to draw on the latest and most robust evidence and analysis about the impact of Covid-19 as we look to facilitate the safe return of international travel whilst protecting public health.