Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with (1) road hauliers, and (2) the devolved administrations, about the recruitment of additional HGV drivers across the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
We communicate with the road haulage industry regularly and have recently held additional weekly stakeholder meetings to communicate and engage with proposals, some of which centre on the recruitment of HGV drivers. The Government is actively considering the suggestions put forward by hauliers and continues to support industry in recruiting domestic drivers where appropriate.
We have engaged with devolved administrations through cross-Government discussions, which involves topics such as the situation on the recruitment of HGV drivers.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any department provided advice in the period up to and including 31 January 2020 noting a possible shortage of HGV drivers after the UK’s departure from the EU; and if so, whether they will deposit all internal Government correspondence that relates to this matter in the House of Lords library.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The shortage of HGV drivers is longstanding and predates the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.
Publishing all government advice on this issue could not be done without incurring disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with airlines about restoring flights to and from George Best Belfast City Airport.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government welcomes the resumption of services to and from Belfast City Airport. We recognise that the impacts of COVID-19 on the civil aviation sector will continue for some time, and that connectivity between Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK had already been adversely affected by the collapse of Flybe. The Department speaks regularly to both airlines and airports as part of our engagement on restart and recovery in the sector and will continue to do so as we look to rebuild regional connectivity throughout the UK.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time for an appointment to have a MOT test in England.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency does not hold data on the availability of MOT tests in England as the tests are conducted by privately run garages.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Connect Airways about Connect Airways' plans to continue operating in Northern Ireland following its takeover of Flybe.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department for Transport has not had any discussions with Connect Airways about the consortium’s plans to continue operating in Northern Ireland following its takeover of Flybe.
The Department will continue to monitor the situation as it progresses, particularly given Flybe’s importance to the local economy and the key role that it and regional airports play in providing connectivity and a hub for local transport.