Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government about the steps it is taking to increase the number of rapid charging points for electric vehicles in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
We recognise that Government collaboration with the devolved administrations (DAs) and local authorities is crucial to facilitating the transition to zero emission vehicles and addressing local air quality issues. Regular discussions about rapid chargepoints, as well as other measures to support electric vehicles, are held on an ongoing basis with the Welsh Government.
The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) had a roundtable in November 2019 with officials from all DAs, where we discussed progress and shared lessons, including around rapid chargepoint rollout. OLEV are working with Welsh officials to organise a workshop in Wales, where local authorities can hear about and discuss best practice to supporting zero emission vehicle uptake in their areas
As of 1st January 2020, there were 569 publicly available charging devices in Wales. Of these, 61 were rapid and a further 10 were ultra-rapid.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the development of hybrid electric aircraft in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The UK has a proud history of leading innovation in aviation and the Department for Transport is working closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ensure this continues.
The Government recognises that new forms of aircraft such as hybrid and all electric have the potential to create new air services and decarbonise some existing routes.
We are supporting the development and integration of this challenging technology through the Aerospace Sector Deal and the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge.
Government and industry are jointly investing £300m in Innovate UK’s Future Flight Challenge. Through the Future Flight Challenge, consortia of industry and researchers will be supported to demonstrate the safe integration of electric and autonomous aircraft into UK airspace.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the development of battery-powered electric aircraft in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The UK has a proud history of leading innovation in aviation and the Department for Transport is working closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ensure this continues.
The Government recognises that new forms of aircraft such as hybrid and all electric have the potential to create new air services and decarbonise some existing routes.
We are supporting the development and integration of this challenging technology through the Aerospace Sector Deal and the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge.
Government and industry are jointly investing £300m in Innovate UK’s Future Flight Challenge. Through the Future Flight Challenge, consortia of industry and researchers will be supported to demonstrate the safe integration of electric and autonomous aircraft into UK airspace.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on plans to develop a West Wales Parkway rail station near Swansea.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
My department, in collaboration with relevant parties in Wales, is progressing plans to boost connectivity and capacity for passengers across the south and west of Wales including a new West Wales Parkway station near Swansea. In December last year we received a study undertaken on behalf of the regional local authorities. We are currently assessing this, alongside previous work we have undertaken, to finalise proposals for a value-for-money railway enhancement scheme including a new station.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total annual cost of storing military aircraft awaiting commercial disposal.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will assess the potential merits of creating a levy or tax-free training scheme for general aviation on the condition that pilots qualifying through such a scheme must volunteer for charitable purposes such as air ambulances and civil air patrols.
Answered by Jane Ellison
If an employer provides work-related training to an employee it is tax and National Insurance contributions free.
The apprenticeship levy was launched on 6 April 2017. It will help to reverse the trend of employers’ underinvesting in training and put control of funding for apprenticeships in employers’ hands. Employers have already developed new apprenticeships standards in aviation which include Airside Ground Specialist and Aviation Operations Manager, with the Commercial Airline Pilot standard currently in development.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to incentivise the use of quieter aircraft in the general aviation sector.
Answered by John Hayes
The Government acknowledges that the general aviation sector’s economic impact on the UK economy is around £3.0 billion of Gross Value Added. However, we also recognise that annoyance from aviation noise can be caused by aircraft in the general aviation sector.
The Government is working on a new strategy for UK aviation, which will explore how we can maximise the positive role of our world class aviation sector.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much public funding was provided to air ambulance organisations in each of the last five years.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Air ambulance services are independent charities, and do not receive direct funding from the Department of Health or NHS England. Local air ambulance charities may receive resources from ambulance trusts or other National Health Service bodies but information on these NHS resources is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to use general aviation airfields and volunteer pilots to enhance emergency supply chains during natural disasters such as floods.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
These matters are the responsibility of the Cabinet Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. They deal with complex supply chains and flooding respectively.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the criteria are for granting of planning permission on strategic airfield sites to be reviewed.
Answered by Lord Barwell
All applications for planning permission, including any that are called in by the Secretary of State, must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
The National Planning Policy Framework is a material consideration in planning decisions and the Framework’s policies for delivering sustainable development must be considered as a whole. Where relevant, this would include the policy for airports and airfields (that are not subject to a separate national policy statement), which expects local planning authorities to take account of their growth and role in serving business, leisure, training and emergency needs. Planning guidance supporting the Framework makes clear that local authorities should consider the interconnectivity between airfields of different sizes and that they should have regard to the Aviation Policy Framework.
Airfields are considered alongside all other relevant planning considerations by the decision-taker in determining a planning application.