Asked by: Lord Steel of Aikwood (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the decision by the government of Sweden to abolish testing for all road vehicles over 50 years old, what consideration they have given to applying a similar rule in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A consultation has been completed about exempting more vehicles of historic interest from testing, given an increased flexibility offered by changes in EU-wide standards, to which Sweden is also responding. The UK already exempts pre-1960 vehicles from testing and consideration is being given to changing that threshold, with a lead consultation option of exempting most vehicles more than 40 years old.
Asked by: Lord Steel of Aikwood (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
Her Majesty's Government whether, before creating any new category of road vehicles of historic interest, they will engage in consultation with representatives of the estimated 250,000 users of such vehicles; and how many such vehicles they estimate to exist.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department for Transport ran a public consultation about possible changes related to the testing of vehicles of historic interest, with a preferred option to move from the current position of an exemption for pre-1960 vehicles to a rolling 40 year exemption for vehicles which have not been substantially modified. There were more than 2,200 responses, including many from users and owners of historic vehicles. These responses are currently being considered and we hope to announce a response to this consultation later this year.
An initial impact assessment was prepared which assessed that there were about 192,000 pre-1960 registered vehicles which are currently exempt from the MOT requirement. The preferred option identified in the consultation exempted an estimated further 278,000 vehicles. A final validated impact assessment will be published along with the consultation response summary.
Asked by: Lord Steel of Aikwood (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on consumers of the cost of domestic flights on routes on which airlines have a monopoly or near monopoly; and whether they intend to investigate commercial practices whereby administrative charges are imposed on consumers who wish to change their flight details after having purchased fully flexible tickets.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is not able to get involved in regulating the level of fares set by airlines operating in the UK, or abroad. Since the inception of the Single European Aviation market, any EU airline may establish the fare structure it wishes.
The Government has made no assessment on the impact of the costs of domestic flights, but has focused on ensuring connectivity to the regions.
However, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has started work on unfair contract terms with the airlines, in accordance with the CAA’s Strategic Plan 2016-2021. The work will include a review of the airlines’ terms and conditions with the aim of ensuring the rights and obligations of the consumers and businesses are fair and balanced and consumers are not being penalised by unfair contract terms.
Asked by: Lord Steel of Aikwood (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total amount raised by Vehicle Excise Duty in each of the two years prior to abolition of the tax disc, and in each of the subsequent years.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The amount of vehicle excise duty collected varies year on year. A decrease of £300 million in vehicle excise duty income between 2014-15 and 2015-16 was previously forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility due to expected decreases in the average cost of licences issued as vehicles continue to become more fuel-efficient. The actual reduction for the financial year 2015-16 was £93 million.
The tax disc was abolished in October 2014.
The following table shows the net revenue for each full financial year prior to and after the abolition of tax disc:
Year | Vehicle Excise Duty collected £m |
2012-13 | £6,013 |
2013-14 | £6,052 |
2014-15 | £6.023 |
2015-16 | £5,930 |
Asked by: Lord Steel of Aikwood (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Scotland about extending the HS2 route to Edinburgh.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
HS2 will serve Edinburgh on completion of the Y network in 2033, with journey times reduced to 3 hours 40 minutes. In line with the joint ministerial statement on 21 March 2016, the Department for Transport, Transport Scotland, Network Rail and HS2 Ltd, are working together to identify any and all options with strong business cases that could further improve journey times, capacity, resilience and reliability, with the ultimate aim of 3 hour journeys between London and Scotland’s central belt.
Asked by: Lord Steel of Aikwood (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Scotland concerning dualling the remaining parts of the A1 between Newcastle and Edinburgh which are not already dual-carriageway.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
This government is taking forward a package of investments to improve the A1 between Newcastle and the Scottish border, as announced in the Road Investment Strategy in December 2014. This includes dualling the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham. Highways England is currently updating the route strategy for the A1, bringing together information from stakeholders, local communities and partners to gain a better understanding of its performance to help prioritise investment beyond 2020. The Scottish Government has been invited to contribute its views on the A1 as part of this process.
Asked by: Lord Steel of Aikwood (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to encourage motorway service station signs to advertise on approaching road signs the brand and prices of fuel they are selling.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government is currently finalising the detailed design for trialling new traffic signs, displaying comparative motorway fuel prices, to provide greater transparency on the pricing of fuel at service areas and to encourage competition. The first sign will be installed this Winter, with the remaining three signs by Spring 2016.