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) Aer Lingus and (b) Belfast City Airport on the potential removal of Aer Lingus services from Belfast City Airport to London Heathrow.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector. Airports invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines are well placed to deliver services to their customers.
Northern Ireland is well connected to Great Britain, with several competing services between Belfast and London, the PSO from Derry / Londonderry to London, and routes from Northern Ireland to several cities throughout the UK.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with British Airways on reducing the number of disrupted flights from the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
It is the responsibility of British Airways to manage demand, recruit staff and have appropriate contingency plans in place for their services.
The aviation industry has worked hard to build back resilience and ensure flying programmes can be delivered. Over the summer, flight cancellations fell and continue to be in line with 2019 levels.
Reflecting on lessons learnt from the summer, the industry is working to ensure plans are reviewed ahead of the winter months.
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 an assessment of the (a) adequacy and (b) efficiency of the speed of existing electric vehicle charge points.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government recognises the importance of having a comprehensive electric vehicle charging network, one which is reliable and suitable for all electric vehicles.
To date, Government and industry have supported the installation of over 32,900 publicly available charging devices including more than 6,100 rapid devices – one of the largest networks in Europe. We expect a comprehensive national charging infrastructure network will include a mix of charging speeds and technologies, depending on the needs of different locations and users. In March, the government committed to mandating a 99% reliability metric across the rapid charging network.
Rapid charging will be crucial for long distance journeys. Government has already committed to support enough new electrical capacity to deliver 6,000 ultra-rapid charge points along motorways and major A-roads by 2035.
For local charging, locally led planning is crucial to ensure the diverse needs of different areas are appropriately considered. Our research shows drivers without off-street parking have varied preferences when it comes to EV charging. Charging speed is important, but proximity to home is a critical factor for many people. The £450 million Local EV Infrastructure Fund will help enable strategic local provision of public EV infrastructure ahead of need to promote a more equitable EV charging experience for those without off-street parking.
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 held with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland on taking steps to increase the installation of charging points to support drivers switching to electric vehicles.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Government works closely with the devolved administrations on supporting the rollout of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across the whole of the UK. UK government officials are currently working with Northern Irish counterparts on a bid into the On-street Residential Charging Scheme. In addition, £3.27m from the Levelling Up Fund will expand and enhance the EV charging network in the country.
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 take steps with the Secretary of State for Education to (a) promote walking and cycling to school and (b) develop a reward scheme for children who participate.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Officials from this Department have regular discussions with their colleagues from the Department for Education on how best to enable more walking, wheeling and cycling to school. The Government has a statutory objective, recently confirmed in the second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy published on 6 July, to increase to 55% by 2025 the percentage of children aged 5-10 who usually walk to school.
The Government has pledged to invest £2 billion in active travel over the current Parliament, and this is allowing many local authorities to invest in better and safer infrastructure, such as school streets, to enable more walking and cycling to school. The Department is also providing £2 million of funding this financial year for a Walk To School programme delivered by the charity Living Streets. The programme includes incentives such as badges to encourage more children to walk to school.
The Government is providing a record £20 million this financial year to support cycle training for children through the Bikeability programme. This should give many more children the confidence to cycle safely to school as well as for other journeys.
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 potential merits of introducing a part-funded scheme that allows local authority refuse vehicles that are near end-of-life to be replaced with zero emission vehicles.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Government welcomes innovative retrofit technology for converting internal combustion engine vehicles to zero emission. This will be an important element in reducing road transport emissions, helping to bridge the gap in the journey to net zero. Government has invested over £80 million in retrofitting vehicles (mainly buses) with low- and zero-emission technology since 2013.
Additionally, government has supported the accreditation of vehicle retrofit technologies under the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme, looking particularly to bring solutions for different vehicle types to the market.
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 he has had with airlines on mitigating (a) staff shortages and (b) flight cancellations.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
We have been extensively engaging with industry at both ministerial and official level since the beginning of the year. Further to this engagement, and following disruption at airports during the June half term, the Secretary of State and I chaired a meeting with airports, airlines and ground handlers in order to understand the specific issues they were facing over half term and the actions they were taking to result these.
I am also chairing a Strategic Risk Group which meets weekly to bring together senior executives from across the sector to highlight issues, assess mitigations, and encourage collaborative working.
During these meetings we have been clear, that the volume of late notice cancellations are unacceptable and airlines must have realistic schedules they can deliver.
On 21 June the Secretary of State laid before Parliament regulations that will help airlines prevent last-minute flight cancellations during the summer peak. The regulations will allow a one-off “amnesty” on airport slots rules, enabling airlines to plan ahead and deliver a realistic summer schedule that minimises disruption at the airports. Airlines will have a short window to hand back slots for the rest of the summer season that they are not confident they will be able to operate. This will help give passengers confidence in the schedules and more time to make alternative arrangements if they are needed, rather than face the kind of last-minute cancellations seen over the Easter and half-term holidays.
On 30 June, the Secretary of State announced a 22-point plan, which sets out the measures the Government is taking to support the aviation industry, including to help recruit and train staff, ensure the delivery of a realistic summer schedule, minimise disruption, and support passengers when delays and cancellations are unavoidable. The Government recognised that while the issues was one for industry to solve, a series of targeted measures could support their efforts.
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 representatives of Gatwick airport on recent staff shortages and flight cancellations affecting that airport.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
We have been extensively engaging with industry at both ministerial and official level since the beginning of the year.
We have asked the industry to develop schedules they can realistically deliver over the summer and welcome Gatwick's announcement on 17 June to temporarily cap capacity in July and August. This move will provide certainty to passengers.
On 1 June, the Secretary of State and I chaired a meeting with airports, airlines and ground handlers in order to understand the specific issues they were facing over half term and the actions they were taking to result these.
I am also chairing a Strategic Risk Group which meets weekly to bring together senior executives from across the sector to highlight issues, assess mitigations, and encourage collaborative working. Gatwick are a key partner in this group.
During these meetings we have been clear, that the volume of late notice cancellations are unacceptable and airlines must have realistic schedules they can deliver.
On 21 June the Secretary of State laid before Parliament regulations that will help airlines prevent last-minute flight cancellations during the summer peak. The regulations will allow a one-off “amnesty” on airport slots rules, enabling airlines to plan ahead and deliver a realistic summer schedule that minimises disruption at the airports. Airlines will have a short window to hand back slots for the rest of the summer season that they are not confident they will be able to operate. This will help give passengers confidence in the schedules and more time to make alternative arrangements if they are needed, rather than face the kind of last-minute cancellations seen over the Easter and half-term holidays.
On 30 June, the Secretary of State announced a 22-point plan, which sets out the measures the Government is taking to support the aviation industry, including to help recruit and train staff, ensure the delivery of a realistic summer schedule, minimise disruption, and support passengers when delays and cancellations are unavoidable. The Government recognised that while the issues was one for industry to solve, a series of targeted measures could support their efforts.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK residents subject to cancelled flights are able to return home from holiday.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The UK has a framework of consumer protections in place. In the event that a flight is cancelled where UK law applies, the consumers should be offered the choice between a refund within 7 days, or to be re-routed on similar conditions to their final destination. Airlines are under an obligation to provide information to passengers on their rights in the event of a cancellation.
It is of vital importance that consumers know their rights when travelling by air. Airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) provide air passengers information on what to do if something goes wrong with their flight. To further support air passengers, Government is developing an Aviation Passenger Charter, alongside consumer groups and industry, to help consumers to understand their rights, responsibilities and reasonable expectations when travelling by air, from booking, to if something goes wrong.
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 he has had with British airlines on late-notice cancellations of flights.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
We have been extensively engaging with industry at both ministerial and official level since the beginning of the year. During these meetings we have been clear that the volume of late notice cancellations are unacceptable and airlines must have realistic schedules they can deliver.
On 21 June the Secretary of State laid before Parliament regulations that will help airlines prevent last-minute flight cancellations during the summer peak. The regulations will allow a one-off “amnesty” on airport slots rules, enabling airlines to plan ahead and deliver a realistic summer schedule that minimises disruption at the airports. Airlines will have a short window to hand back slots for the rest of the summer season that they are not confident they will be able to operate. This will help give passengers confidence in the schedules and more time to make alternative arrangements if they are needed, rather than face the kind of last-minute cancellations seen over the Easter and half-term holidays.
I am also chairing a Strategic Risk Group which meets weekly to bring together senior executives from across the sector to highlight issues, assess mitigations, and encourage collaborative working.