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Written Question
Highway Code
Wednesday 18th May 2022

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that road users are aware of the recent changes to the Highway Code.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

The changes to The Highway Code to help improve road safety for people walking, cycling and horse riding are being communicated in two phases:

  • A factual awareness raising campaign ran in February and March, alerting road users to the changes as they came into effect.
  • A broader behaviour change campaign will launch later this year, to align with seasonal increases in active travel, to help embed the changes and encourage understanding and uptake of the new guidance.

Both phases of the campaign include a significant media spend, utilising channels such as radio, digital audio and social media advertising.


Written Question
Airspace: Finance
Thursday 3rd February 2022

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing financial support to local communities seeking expert advice on the impact of airspace change proposals.

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

The airspace modernisation programme is a critical national infrastructure project that aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys to the benefit of all airspace users and those impacted, including communities.

Engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including communities, is an important part of the airspace change process and is crucial to the success of the airspace modernisation programme. It is the responsibility of every airspace change sponsor (usually an airport or Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP)) to ensure engagement meets the needs of local stakeholders.

CAP1616 - the Civil Aviation Authority’s airspace change approvals process - must be followed by all sponsors of airspace change proposals. This process gives communities the opportunity to comment on, and influence, airspace changes. Airport Consultative Committees should be consulted on all airspace change proposals where there is potential for a significant impact on the likely level of noise disturbance and are another way of engaging with communities.

The majority of sponsors in the programme are currently at Stage 2 of the CAP1616 process. At this stage, each sponsor develops and undertakes an initial appraisal of the impacts of a number of different airspace options. We expect all sponsors to submit initial airspace change options to the CAA for sign-off within the next 12 months.

Once approved by the CAA, each sponsor will move to Stage 3. It is at this stage that sponsors will undertake a full options appraisal before undertaking a formal public consultation with all interested stakeholders, including local communities. We expect that the majority of sponsors will be in a position to consult publicly from 2023 onwards.

To ensure that consultation is meaningful and accessible to all stakeholders, advice on engagement has been published, and consultation documents and engagement plans will need to be approved by the CAA before consultation can begin.

Through this and the CAP1616 requirements, there are suitable measures already in place to ensure communities are supported where appropriate.


Written Question
Airspace
Thursday 3rd February 2022

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is his Department policy for local communities to be able to access independent expert advice in regard to airspace change proposals.

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

The airspace modernisation programme is a critical national infrastructure project that aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys to the benefit of all airspace users and those impacted, including communities.

Engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including communities, is an important part of the airspace change process and is crucial to the success of the airspace modernisation programme. It is the responsibility of every airspace change sponsor (usually an airport or Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP)) to ensure engagement meets the needs of local stakeholders.

CAP1616 - the Civil Aviation Authority’s airspace change approvals process - must be followed by all sponsors of airspace change proposals. This process gives communities the opportunity to comment on, and influence, airspace changes. Airport Consultative Committees should be consulted on all airspace change proposals where there is potential for a significant impact on the likely level of noise disturbance and are another way of engaging with communities.

The majority of sponsors in the programme are currently at Stage 2 of the CAP1616 process. At this stage, each sponsor develops and undertakes an initial appraisal of the impacts of a number of different airspace options. We expect all sponsors to submit initial airspace change options to the CAA for sign-off within the next 12 months.

Once approved by the CAA, each sponsor will move to Stage 3. It is at this stage that sponsors will undertake a full options appraisal before undertaking a formal public consultation with all interested stakeholders, including local communities. We expect that the majority of sponsors will be in a position to consult publicly from 2023 onwards.

To ensure that consultation is meaningful and accessible to all stakeholders, advice on engagement has been published, and consultation documents and engagement plans will need to be approved by the CAA before consultation can begin.

Through this and the CAP1616 requirements, there are suitable measures already in place to ensure communities are supported where appropriate.


Written Question
Airspace
Thursday 3rd February 2022

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to ensure that local communities that will be impacted by the airspace modernisation programme can access independent expert advice.

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

The airspace modernisation programme is a critical national infrastructure project that aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys to the benefit of all airspace users and those impacted, including communities.

Engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including communities, is an important part of the airspace change process and is crucial to the success of the airspace modernisation programme. It is the responsibility of every airspace change sponsor (usually an airport or Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP)) to ensure engagement meets the needs of local stakeholders.

CAP1616 - the Civil Aviation Authority’s airspace change approvals process - must be followed by all sponsors of airspace change proposals. This process gives communities the opportunity to comment on, and influence, airspace changes. Airport Consultative Committees should be consulted on all airspace change proposals where there is potential for a significant impact on the likely level of noise disturbance and are another way of engaging with communities.

The majority of sponsors in the programme are currently at Stage 2 of the CAP1616 process. At this stage, each sponsor develops and undertakes an initial appraisal of the impacts of a number of different airspace options. We expect all sponsors to submit initial airspace change options to the CAA for sign-off within the next 12 months.

Once approved by the CAA, each sponsor will move to Stage 3. It is at this stage that sponsors will undertake a full options appraisal before undertaking a formal public consultation with all interested stakeholders, including local communities. We expect that the majority of sponsors will be in a position to consult publicly from 2023 onwards.

To ensure that consultation is meaningful and accessible to all stakeholders, advice on engagement has been published, and consultation documents and engagement plans will need to be approved by the CAA before consultation can begin.

Through this and the CAP1616 requirements, there are suitable measures already in place to ensure communities are supported where appropriate.


Written Question
Airspace: Finance
Thursday 3rd February 2022

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to provide financial support for communities impacted by the airspace modernisation programme.

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

The airspace modernisation programme is a critical national infrastructure project that aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys to the benefit of all airspace users and those impacted, including communities.

Engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including communities, is an important part of the airspace change process and is crucial to the success of the airspace modernisation programme. It is the responsibility of every airspace change sponsor (usually an airport or Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP)) to ensure engagement meets the needs of local stakeholders.

CAP1616 - the Civil Aviation Authority’s airspace change approvals process - must be followed by all sponsors of airspace change proposals. This process gives communities the opportunity to comment on, and influence, airspace changes. Airport Consultative Committees should be consulted on all airspace change proposals where there is potential for a significant impact on the likely level of noise disturbance and are another way of engaging with communities.

The majority of sponsors in the programme are currently at Stage 2 of the CAP1616 process. At this stage, each sponsor develops and undertakes an initial appraisal of the impacts of a number of different airspace options. We expect all sponsors to submit initial airspace change options to the CAA for sign-off within the next 12 months.

Once approved by the CAA, each sponsor will move to Stage 3. It is at this stage that sponsors will undertake a full options appraisal before undertaking a formal public consultation with all interested stakeholders, including local communities. We expect that the majority of sponsors will be in a position to consult publicly from 2023 onwards.

To ensure that consultation is meaningful and accessible to all stakeholders, advice on engagement has been published, and consultation documents and engagement plans will need to be approved by the CAA before consultation can begin.

Through this and the CAP1616 requirements, there are suitable measures already in place to ensure communities are supported where appropriate.


Written Question
Airspace: Finance
Tuesday 1st February 2022

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason his Department is allocating funding to the aviation industry to develop the Airspace Modernisation Strategy.

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

The Airspace modernisation programme is a critical national infrastructure project that aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys. Utilising new technology, it will allow the aviation industry to build back better, safely, provide better access for all airspace users and create opportunities to reduce noise and carbon emissions.

Funding is being provided on an exceptional basis while the sector recovers from the impact of the pandemic to support our programme to modernise the UK’s airspace. The sponsors of the programme will resume responsibility for funding further stages of the programme as the sector continues its recovery.

The funding provided will enable airports to progress with their airspace change proposals to assist in delivering the airspace modernisation programme.


Written Question
Aviation: Forecasts
Tuesday 2nd November 2021

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to update its 2017 UK aviation forecasts.

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

Over the last two years, the Department has been undertaking an extensive model development programme, engaging with industry on several occasions, to both improve and update various elements of the model. This model development is ongoing and an updated version will be used for the next set of published long term forecasts.

We will look to publish new long term aviation forecasts in due course. However, this is a period of great uncertainty and we need to observe a more settled recovery before we can begin to reflect this in any future forecasts.


Written Question
Civil Aviation Authority: Environment Protection
Tuesday 2nd November 2021

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what role he plans for local community representatives to have on the civil aviation authority's new environmental panel.

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

Following the closure of the Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise (ICCAN), my Department is working with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), for it to take on the majority of ICCAN's former functions. To help deliver these functions the CAA will be establishing a new environment panel that will provide it with independent expert guidance to support its environmental roles, including the consideration of carbon, air quality, as well as aviation noise.

The CAA is currently undertaking work to define both the purpose and remit of the environmental panel, before recruiting a diverse membership. The panel is expected to be operational from April 2022.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Monday 16th November 2020

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on a comprehensive private and public network of electric vehicle charging points across England and Wales.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

We have put in place generous grant funding schemes to support chargepoint infrastructure on residential streets and across the wider roads network. The Government and industry have supported the installation of over 18,000 publicly available charging devices across the whole of the UK. This includes over 3,200 rapid devices – one of the largest networks in Europe.

There are over 370 rapid and ultra-rapid chargepoints across 97% of motorway service areas in England. Today, a driver is never more than 25 miles away from a rapid chargepoint anywhere along England's motorways and major A roads. By 2023, we aim to have at least six high powered, open access chargepoints at motorway service areas in England, with some larger sites having ten to twelve. By 2035, we expect the number to increase to around 6,000 high powered chargers across the network. To help achieve these ambitions, the Government announced the Rapid Charging Fund in March 2020, as part of a £500 million commitment to electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in England. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) had a devolved authority (DA) roundtable in November 2019 with officials from all DAs, where we discussed progress and shared lessons, including around rapid chargepoint rollout. The OLEV are working with Welsh officials to organise a workshop in Wales, where local authorities can hear about and discuss best practice to supporting zero emission vehicle uptake in their areas.

The first £70 million investment through the £400 million public-private Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment Fund will create 3,000 new rapid chargepoints, more than doubling the number of rapid chargepoints across the UK by 2024.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Monday 16th November 2020

Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential for private and public electric vehicle charging points to be hacked by cyber criminals or hostile foreign governments.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Department for Transport works closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the National Cyber Security Centre to ensure that effectively mitigating cyber security risks is a core part of electric vehicle (EV) chargepoint policy. The Government has commissioned work assessing the cyber security risk associated with the emerging energy system, including electric vehicle chargepoints. The output from this work will inform policy, including the development of relevant standards or regulatory approaches to mitigate cyber security risks.

In 2019, the Government consulted on regulations under the Automated Electric Vehicles Act (AEVA) for private, smart EV chargepoints. We proposed that these regulations will require compliance with device-level standards, to help ensure devices are cyber secure. These regulations are due to be laid next year. The Government will also shortly be consulting on using other powers under the AEVA to improve the consumer experience of public chargepoints, including opening chargepoint data. Cyber security will be considered as part of any future regulatory framework.