Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to introduce standards for availabililty of fast charging points for electric vehicles by (a) distance between points and (b) availability for public charging without subscription.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
Our vision is to have one of the best infrastructure networks in the world for electric vehicles, and we want chargepoints to be accessible, affordable and secure. The number of rapid chargepoints is increasing quickly, with 2,400 devices currently publicly available, but we recognise there is more to do. 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 for electric vehicles.
Our grant schemes and the £400m Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund will see thousands more electric vehicle charge-points installed across the UK. In particular, the first £70 million of the Charging Infrastructure Investment fund is expected to deliver an additional 3,000 rapid chargepoints by 2024.
In July last year, 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 already committed £15m to ensure there are chargepoints (rapid where possible) every 20 miles on 95% of the Strategic Road Network by the end of 2020.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on developing improved fuel efficiency technologies for domestic shipping.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The government is committed to driving down emissions from ships and reducing the impact of emissions from the maritime sector on the environment, climate and public health. In the current Clean Air Strategy consultation, we have set out our intention to focus on the role domestic shipping and ports activities can play in delivering these improvements.
Reducing shipping emissions and improving ship efficiency is a complex issue and there is no single solution to the problem. There are a number of alternative fuels and technologies that are available to shipowners and ports. For this reason, the Department for Transport is improving its evidence base to produce a comprehensive body of data on emissions from all ships operating in UK waters. This will establish the extent of the problem and underpin the appraisal of proposed interventions.
To meet the vision of Maritime 2050, a long-term strategy for the UK’s maritime sector currently being developed, the government will publish the first Clean Maritime Plan by spring 2019. Recognising that a holistic approach is needed, this plan will set out our ambition of zero emission shipping and policies covering both alternative fuels and fuel efficiency technologies to achieve this. We will also establish a Clean Maritime Council to bring together different parts of the maritime sector to drive the uptake of cleaner technologies and greener fuels.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has set a publication date for the Pathway to Zero Emission Road Transport Strategy document.
Answered by Jesse Norman
We will be publishing the zero emission road transport strategy shortly.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2018 to Question 133829 on aviation, whether he still plans to publish the Aviation Strategy in 2018.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As stated in my previous answer, the Department for Transport (DFT) will consult on the Aviation Strategy this year (2018). Following the consultation period, DfT will publish the Aviation Strategy in mid 2019.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to consult on a new aviation strategy.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport undertook a call for evidence on the Aviation Strategy, which closed 13 October 2017. It remains the Department’s plan to consult on a new Aviation Strategy during the course of 2018. We will be publishing a Next Steps document shortly that will provide a more detailed timetable.
Asked by: Alan Whitehead (Labour - Southampton, Test)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the aviation sector on the UK Aviation Strategy due for publication by the end of 2018.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Secretary of State for Transport has had numerous discussions with representatives of the aviation sector regarding the Aviation Strategy, as have the Aviation Minister and officials in the Department for Transport.