Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland on the adequacy of public transport in rural communities in Strangford constituency.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Public transport is a matter that is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. My officials are in regular contact with their counterparts in the Department for Infrastructure.
I would welcome a discussion once the Executive has reformed.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress his Department has made on ending the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2030.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The recent introduction of the world-leading zero emission vehicle mandate will support future supply of zero emission vehicles, by setting a minimum percentage of manufacturer’s new car and van sales to be zero emission each year from 2024.
To facilitate the transition to zero emission vehicles, the Government is also working with industry to increase the number of electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints. The Government’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy sets out the steps being taken to support the deployment of these chargepoints across the country.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the price of electric cars (a) in 2022-2023 and (b) predicted for 2023-24.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The cost of electric cars is projected to fall rapidly over the next two to three years as energy prices normalise and electric car production costs continue to fall. DfT forecasts are that by 2026, a typical fully electric car will cost the same to lease and operate as an equivalent petrol car, once lower running costs are considered. From 2027 onwards the forecast is that it will be cheaper to lease and operate a fully electric car than a petrol equivalent.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many farm vehicle accidents there have been in the last five years.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department’s road safety statistics cover personal injury collisions reported by police which occur on the public highway.
The number of such collisions in Great Britain which involved an agricultural vehicle in each of the last 5 years are shown in the table.
Year | Number of collisions |
2018 | 482 |
2019 | 420 |
2020 | 433 |
2021 | 414 |
2022 | 401 |
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of requiring electric bike users to (a) have a number plate and (b) be insured.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department considered issues including a mandatory registration and insurance system for cyclists as part of a cycling and walking safety review in 2018. The review concluded that restricting people’s ability to cycle in this way would mean that many would choose other modes of transport instead, with negative impacts for congestion, pollution and health.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland on funding for rural bus services in Strangford constituency.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Transport is a devolved matter, and the Department for Transport is responsible for bus transport only in England.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has held with local authorities on equality of access to tender processes for new bus fleets.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
No recent discussions have been had between my Department and local authorities on equality of access to tender processes for new bus fleets but if the hon member has specific concerns, I would be happy to look into them.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with Translink on introducing incentives for people working in the city to take (a) trains and (b) other public transport in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In the absence of an Executive in Northern Ireland, neither myself nor the Secretary of State have had any discussions. However, whilst these matters are devolved, my officials regularly engage with their counterparts from the Department for Infrastructure on issues of mutual interest.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the cost of insuring electric cars.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The transition to zero emission vehicles is crucial to the decarbonisation of the transport sector. Electric vehicles offer most drivers savings in terms of lower running and maintenance costs. The Government is working closely with the insurance sector to ensure that the transition to zero emission vehicles is sustainable and cost effective. The insurance sector will continue to evolve in line with the growing EV market and as data becomes more available, to inform
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with (a) airlines and (b) unions on strikes and departures from Gatwick Airport.
Answered by Jesse Norman
UK aviation operates in the private sector; and industrial relations are managed between the employers and the unions. Any instances of industrial action are for Gatwick to manage with their airlines, ground handlers and other organisations.
A number of strikes were announced over the summer by ground handlers and service providers for passengers with reduced mobility at Gatwick. Department for Transport officials engaged with the airport and with ground handlers to ensure that robust plans were in place to manage disruption.
As a result of negotiation between the Unions and the employer, the strikes were cancelled.