Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of current category B driving licence restrictions on uptake of 4.25 tonne electric vans.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of current MOT rules for 4.25 tonne electric vans on the uptake of such vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review MOT rules for 4.25 tonne electric vans to reduce barriers to using such vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the applicability of EU drivers' hours rules to 4.25 tonne electric vans on the uptake of such vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the applicability of EU drivers' hours rules to 4.25 tonne electric vans to reduce the barriers to using such vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
To support the zero emission van market, the Government has already introduced regulatory flexibilities for electric vans by increasing the regulatory weight threshold from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes for driver licence and operator licence rules.
The Department carried out a call-for-evidence on MOT testing last year, which, among other things, asked the public for views on changing MOT testing rules for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans. The findings have since been analysed and the Government published its response in January.
Officials have continued to engage with industry on the issues of MOT testing, drivers’ hours and tachographs for 3.5t-4.25t zero emission vans to understand how Government can remove barriers to decarbonisation for fleets. Safety is a primary consideration in assessing any changes to regulatory weight thresholds.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to enhance collaboration with EU authorities to (1) facilitate smoother import and export processes, and (2) uphold food safety standards.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
Since the publication of the draft Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) on 5 April 2023, Defra and the UK Government have been engaging with all border stakeholders to ensure that every actor is as prepared as possible for the controls outlined in the BTOM.
We are working with officials at ports to enable us to monitor trade flow at the border and we have planning in place that will mitigate disruption or queues. These measures include approaches that reduce the chances of delays due to trader administrative errors contained in official documentation.
The implementation of controls on EU goods does not change the safety standards of imported food. It has reduced the risk of plant and animal pests and diseases reaching GB and potentially causing significant disruption to domestic production, as well as assuring the safety of all imported food.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor and address any disruptions in the flow of essential food and agricultural products resulting from the introduction of import controls, particularly in the event of unforeseen logistical challenges.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
We have introduced controls which are more proportionate to risk and worked with port and airport operators, traders, Port Health Authorities (PHAs) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to make sure we have the right infrastructure, systems and resources in place.
This has culminated in recent months with an extensive period of operational testing. Collaborating with several ports, PHAs, APHA and traders, we have used these tests to ensure that stakeholders are prepared for the new controls.
Defra is confident that existing and new Border Control Posts infrastructure will have sufficient capacity and capability to handle the volume of expected checks outlined in the Border Target Operating Model, with robust, dynamic and effective operational measures ready to call upon if needed.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken a risk assessment of the impact of import controls on food prices; and whether they are taking any steps to mitigate any inflationary pressures on consumers.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
We have introduced controls which are more proportionate to risk, with low-risk animal products not requiring certification or checks at the border by default. This approach will apply to all our trading partners, meaning a direct removal of burdens for certain Rest of World importers.
Compared with the import model that was originally scheduled to have been introduced in July 2022, we believe that this new model will reduce costs to businesses by around £500 million per annum by reducing the complexity and volume of paperwork associated with importing.
The Government’s modelling of the inflationary impact of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) has been undertaken through a peer-reviewed econometric model.
For consumers, the implementation of the BTOM should have minimal impact on food price inflation. Initial analysis has indicated that the policies introduced under the BTOM would lead to an approximate increase in consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2 percentage points over a three-year period.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the additional administrative burdens and costs imposed on farmers and producers due to the new import and export regulations being introduced on 30 April; and how they will ensure that international competitiveness is maintained.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
The Border Target Operating Model strikes an appropriate balance between supporting business, by avoiding unnecessary regulatory burdens in the process of moving goods into Great Britain, while focusing controls on consignments proven to cause the most significant biosecurity risk.
The implementation of controls on EU goods reduces the risk of plant and animal pests and diseases reaching GB and potentially causing significant disruption to domestic production, as well as assuring the safety of all imported food.
No new export controls were introduced on 30 April.
To support British exporters, the Department for Business and Trade will continue our engagement with the 27 EU Member-States as well as the Rest-of-World to smooth trade flow and open new markets.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to small and medium-sized enterprises to help them adapt to new import and export regulations.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Government published the final Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) on 29 August 2023. It outlines new policies and processes that importers, the border industry and wider stakeholders including EU exporters will need to go through in order to import goods. We are implementing the BTOM in stages throughout 2024 to help industry get accustomed to the changes.
We have worked extensively with small and medium enterprises to help us define and help them adapt to new controls and requirements. Since publishing the final BTOM, Defra’s ongoing engagement has included regularly contacting 30,000 importers with up-to-date information, delivering over 50 webinars to thousands of businesses, providing bespoke training and working with HMRC to issue communication to 150,000 businesses in the UK.
The risk-based model outlined in the BTOM supports businesses of all sizes by minimising costs and burdens for traders and consumers. For example, low-risk products of animal origin will not require an Export Health Certificate or routine border checks and medium risk goods will undergo reduced intervention at the border. We are also piloting new Trusted Trader schemes that will support groupage loads, which is how SMEs often transport their goods.
All businesses will benefit from using the Single Trade Window, saving time and cost for traders. When fully operational, it will make better use of data and remove duplication to make it easier to trade internationally. This can also limit the requirement to use intermediaries and helps to support small businesses through the user interface on the platform. As the Single Trade Window develops, more information will be provided as to how SMEs can be involved and utilise the service.
The Department for Business and Trade supports small and medium enterprises with national programmes such as the Growth Hub network and through schemes such as Help to Grow. The new Help to Grow Campaign includes a dedicated website, acting as a resourcing hub for business support and advice, as well as SME leadership training schemes, Help to Grow Management and Help to Grow: Management Essentials. UK businesses can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises a digital self-serve offer and our wider network of support including trade advisers, Export Champions, the Export Academy, our International Markets network and UK Export Finance.
Furthermore, since its launch in October 2021, to February 2024, the Export Support Service (ESS) Export Digital Enquiry Service has supported over 16,800 enquiries. The ESS International Markets (IM) service has been live in all nine HMTC regions since April 2022 and has received 23,500 market enquiries from 10,700 businesses (up to February 2024).