Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that the technology required to make the 2035 goal on electric cars feasible will deliver the (a) fast and (b) long lasting charging required to meet the time constraints of people's working day.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Along with the private sector, the Government will invest £1 billion in charging infrastructure – making sure that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid charging station. In July 2019 work commenced to determine a vision for a core rapid charger network on England’s strategic road network. This will report in Spring 2020. Highways England has committed £15m to ensure there are chargepoints (rapid where possible) every 20 miles on 95% of the Strategic Road Network by 2020. Our jointly funded £400 million Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment Fund’s first investment round, worth a total of £70 million, will ensure the delivery of 3,000 rapid charging devices by 2024, more than doubling the current number of rapid charging devices.
As per our manifesto, on 4 February the Prime Minister announced that Government is consulting on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible, as well as including hybrids for the first time. The position reflects the independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC) advice that the phase out date should be 2035 or ideally 2030, and that only battery electric or other zero tailpipe emission vehicles should be permitted to be sold after this point. The CCC has advised that this is an important step in the UK’s aim to end our contribution to climate change by 2050. Stakeholders will have a diverse range of views on this subject so the consultation process will help inform our thinking on what the appropriate measures to achieve a faster transition will need to be.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequate provision of high-kilowatt charging infrastructure for the rapid charging of electric cars.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
In collaboration with industry the Government will invest £1 billion in charging infrastructure – making sure that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid charging station for electric vehicles. The first £70 million of the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund will create 3,000 new rapid chargepoints, more than doubling the number of rapid chargepoints across the UK by 2024. Highways England has commitment of £15m to ensure there are chargepoints (rapid where possible) every 20 miles on 95% of the Strategic Road Network by 2020. We will set out a vision by Spring 2020 for a core infrastructure network of rapid and high powered chargepoints along England’s strategic road network.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that electric cars have a range equivalent to petrol cars by 2035.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
Improving the range of electric vehicles is primarily a matter for vehicle manufacturers, and this is something that is continuously being improved. Government will continue to support industry in doing this, we have committed £274m from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to the Faraday Battery Challenge to advance electric vehicle battery technology. This funding is supporting battery R&D from the Faraday Institution’s academic research, through Innovate UK’s programme of collaborative applied R&D, to scale-up in the cutting-edge UK Battery Industrialisation Centre. The aims of the Faraday Battery Challenge include improving the energy density of batteries, improving our understanding of temperature effects on range, and reducing battery costs which will make longer range electric vehicles more affordable.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the level of (a) accessibility to and (b) affordability of maintenance processes for electric vehicles.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
In the Road to Zero strategy, the UK Government committed to working with the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) to ensure the UK’s workforce of mechanics are well trained and have the skills they need to repair electric vehicles safely. Last year the Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) endorsed IMI’s TechSafe professional standards and register for electric vehicle technicians. People will be able to use the register to check the electric vehicle competencies of technicians at their garage, supporting consumer confidence in this growing market. OLEV has also endorsed the National Franchised Dealers Association’s Electric Vehicle Approved scheme to recognise expertise and promote industry standards in electric vehicle retail and aftersales. Today, owners of electric vehicles can have substantially lower fuel and maintenance costs compared to those with conventional vehicles. 100% electric vehicles are designed to be as efficient as possible and there are generally three main components powering the vehicle: the on board charger, inverter and motor. This means there is less wear and tear on the vehicle and little stress on the motor, with fewer moving parts sustainable to damage. This means electric vehicles have reduced servicing requirements and the running and repair costs are minimal.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to increase the affordability of electric cars.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
We are currently investing nearly £1.5bn? between April 2015 and March 2021, with grants available for plug in cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis and motorcycles to reduce the up-front purchase price of electric vehicles, as well schemes to support charge point infrastructure at homes and workplaces and on residential streets. Purchasers of electric vehicles also benefit from lower Vehicle Excise Duty and company car tax rates from April. As part of our consultation on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans, we are asking what the accompanying package of support will need to be to enable the transition and minimise the impacts on businesses and consumers across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply side measures already in place.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the safe large-scale disposable of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
Electric vehicle battery recycling is covered by the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009, which ban the disposal of automotive and industrial batteries to landfill and incineration. This also establishes take-back and recycling obligations for industrial battery producers. The UK’s £274 million Faraday Battery Challenge is playing a leading role in promoting the reuse and recycling of battery components. This includes several industry led collaborative R&D projects and the Faraday Institution’s £10m ‘ReLib’ research project. ReLib is developing the technological, economic and legal infrastructure to allow high percentages of the materials in lithium ion batteries at the end of their first life to be reused or recycled. The Faraday Institution also participate in the Global Battery Alliance – a World Economic Forum initiative which aims to accelerate action towards a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable and innovative battery supply chain.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequate provision of charging infrastructure for electric cars in towns and villages by 2035.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
We are currently investing nearly £1.5bn? between April 2015 and March 2021, with grants available for plug in vehicles, as well schemes to support charge point infrastructure at homes and workplaces and on residential streets. Government and industry have supported the installation of over 17,000 devices providing over 24,000 publicly available chargepoints. This includes over 2,400 rapid chargepoints – one of the largest networks in Europe. Our grant schemes and our £400m public-private Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund will see thousands more electric vehicle chargepoints installed across the UK. The first £70 million of the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund will create 3,000 new rapid chargepoints, more than doubling the number of rapid chargepoints across the UK by 2024. Along with the private sector, the Government will invest £1 billion in charging infrastructure – making sure that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid charging station. On 21 January, we announced that Government has doubled the value of the On-street Residential Charging Scheme for 2020-2021 to £10 million to support the provision of up to 3,600 chargepoints for those that don’t have off-street parking.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's policy is on the mandatory use of (a) snow tyres and (b) snow chains by the emergency services in severe winter weather.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The emergency services are to be commended for doing an excellent job in such difficult conditions.
The Department does not have a policy on the use of winter tyres and snow chains. The decision on whether to fit them relates to local winter driving conditions, which will vary from region to region and different times. The emergency services are best placed to make a judgement on whether the use of these tyres and chains can enhance the safety of their staff and the effectiveness of the work they do.
Snow chains are an option that is available for use in particularly challenging road conditions and while the emergency services may choose to make them available, it may fall to the driver to choose when to use them.
Asked by: Eddie Hughes (Conservative - Walsall North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of air quality on the M6 between junctions 9 and 10a; and what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the effect of traffic on air quality on that section of that road.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Highways England undertook an air quality monitoring survey for six months between February and July 2015 on this section of the M6 for Nitrogen Dioxide. This survey has been utilised as part of the assessment of the M6 Junction 10 improvement scheme promoted by both Highways England and Walsall Council.
An Environmental Statement which was undertaken for the improvement scheme involved undertaking air quality modelling to predict the impact of the Scheme on air quality. The full assessment can be viewed on Walsall Councils planning website (https://go.walsall.gov.uk/planningm6j10).
Walsall have developed an air quality action plan as part of its duties to improve air quality; the M6 between junctions 9 and 10a is within Walsall Council’s Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).
Highways England will support local authorities as they explore options for their local air quality plans.