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Written Question
High Speed 2 Line: Procurement
Tuesday 21st March 2023

Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether compensation from the public purse has been paid to any companies that have tendered unsuccessfully for contracts on the HS2 project.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

HS2 Ltd have not paid compensation to any company who has unsuccessfully tendered for work on the HS2 programme.


Written Question
Shipping: Private Sector
Friday 22nd July 2022

Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to provide (a) support and (b) incentives for private-sector investment in (i) low-carbon maritime fuels, (ii) engine technologies, and (iii) storage facilities.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The UK has set a net zero by 2050 target across the economy. The 2019 Clean Maritime Plan and the 2021 Transport Decarbonisation outline the Department for Transport’s pathway to net zero in the UK maritime sector. The department is taking a two-pronged approach to maritime decarbonisation: a comprehensive policy and regulatory programme; and R&D funding and investment. In January 2022, we extended the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), making renewable fuels of non-biological origin for marine use, such as hydrogen and ammonia, eligible for incentives under the RTFO.

Between March 2021 and March 2022, we ran the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC), which allocated over £23m of research and development funding to 55 projects across the UK. The competition included projects focusing on low-carbon fuels, engine technologies and storage facilities.

In March 2022, we announced a further £206m research and development funding for a newly established UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE), which will deliver a suite of interventions aimed at addressing different barriers to maritime decarbonisation over a range of technology-readiness levels. This will help unlock an industry-led transition to clean maritime.


Written Question
Shipping: Exhaust Emissions
Friday 22nd July 2022

Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on implementing the Clydebank Declaration launched at COP26; and what steps his Department is taking to support UK businesses to develop green shipping corridors.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Clydebank Declaration for Green Shipping Corridors was launched at COP26 to help drive the decarbonisation of the maritime sector and 24 countries have now signed the Declaration.

Establishing green shipping corridors is a multi-year endeavour, and we are now moving, with other States and the industry, to explore and then deliver corridors involving the UK. As a first step, we recently invited funding proposals for detailed feasibility studies on UK green corridors under the second round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition which was launched in May. The winners of the competition will be announced in due course.


Written Question
Spain: Driving Licences
Friday 20th May 2022

Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to arrange UK driving licenses as being acceptable within the Spanish transport system.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

UK driving licences are recognised by Spain for temporary visits. The Department for Transport has been working to secure arrangements so that where a UK licence holder is resident in Spain, they may exchange their licence for a Spanish one without having to take a driving test but unfortunately an agreement has not yet been reached.

The Secretary of State for Transport held a call with Spain’s Minister for the Interior on Friday 29 April to agree a way forward to include rapidly accelerating talks on driving licence exchange which are on-going.


Written Question
Buses: Exhaust Emissions
Tuesday 7th December 2021

Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support local councils to buy zero emissions buses produced in the UK.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

As set out in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, £355 million of new funding has been made available for zero emission buses. £150 million of this funding has been made available for 2021-22 with the remaining funding available over the Spending Review period.

In addition, up to 900 zero emission buses and associated infrastructure will be supported through existing funding made available since February 2020 from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, the All Electric Bus Town or City scheme and the Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme. Local transport authorities have been able to apply for funding for zero emission buses under all these schemes.

Under the ZEBRA scheme, £70.8 million has been awarded so far to five local transport authorities: Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, Leicester City Council, Kent County Council, Milton Keynes Council and Warrington Borough Council. The Department is in the process of formally awarding funding to these areas. A further 17 local transport authorities are working to produce business cases under the standard process of the scheme. The Department will award funding to successful business cases under the standard process in Spring 2022.

UK bus manufacturers are well placed to benefit from this funding for zero emission buses.


Written Question
Buses: Exhaust Emissions
Tuesday 30th November 2021

Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of whether the target of 4,000 new UK-made zero emission buses will be met.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

The Government remains committed to support the introduction of 4,000 zero emission buses.

As set out in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 £355 million of new funding has been made available for zero emission buses. £150 million of this funding has been made available for 2021-22 with the remaining funding available over the Spending Review period.

In addition, up to 900 zero emission buses and associated infrastructure will be supported through existing funding made available since February 2020 from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, the All Electric Bus Town or City scheme and the Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme.

The Government has also committed to reforming the Bus Service Operators Grant, increasing it for zero emission buses from April 2022, and to setting an end date for the sale of new diesel buses, further incentivising the adoption of zero emission buses.


Written Question
Driving Licences: Foreign Nationals
Monday 9th November 2020

Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of extending the time period to two years for foreign driving licence holders to exchange those licences for GB driving licences; and what his timetable is for making that decision.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

Holders of driving licences issued outside of the European Union who become resident in Great Britain can drive small vehicles (motorcars and motorcycles) for up one year from the date they become resident.

To continue driving after this period the driver must either exchange their licence, if it was issued by a country which has been designated for licence exchange purposes, or apply for a provisional driving licence and pass both a theory and practical driving test. There are no plans to review these arrangements.


Written Question
Driving Licences: Coronavirus
Tuesday 8th September 2020

Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential risk of allowing D4 drivers categorised as healthy to defer their medicals for a year.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

An analysis of the temporary change which allows lorry and bus drivers to renew their licences for one year without the requirement for a medical report was published as part of the legislative changes made to support the scheme in the Business and Planning Act 2020. The analysis is available on the Parliament UK website and the specific provisions relating to bus and lorry driving licences starts on page 33.

Drivers renewing their licence without a medical report remain legally obliged to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of the onset or worsening of any medical conditions that may affect their driving. If a medical condition is declared, a licence will not be issued unless an investigation by the DVLA confirms that the relevant medical standards are met.


Written Question
Buses: Exhaust Emissions
Monday 7th September 2020

Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Prime Minister's statement on Transport infrastructure of 11 February 2020, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the funding for 4,000 zero emission buses on air quality.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

To assess the impact of 4,000 Zero-Emission Buses (ZEBs) on air quality, the Department has analysed how various factors of air quality would change with changing the fleet. Using data from the TAG Databook, factors such as the cost of carbon, CO2, NOx and PM2.5 emissions have been considered. It must be noted that the change in air quality depends on numerous factors such as the model and age of the vehicle being replaced and the average speed of the vehicles. Definitive changes in air quality will depend on where the buses are deployed.


Written Question
Buses: Exhaust Emissions
Monday 7th September 2020

Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with UK bus (a) manufacturers and (b) operators on the February 2020 Government announcement on purchasing at least 4,000 zero emission buses.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Department is in regular dialogue with bus operators and manufacturers. The Minister responsible for Buses, Baroness Vere, recently chaired a roundtable which was attended by the Chief Executives of the largest UK bus manufacturers, bus trade associations and operators, and this topic was on the agenda.