Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if it remains his policy to implement support for active travel as outlined in his Department's Gear Change document.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In July 2022, the Government published the second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2), reaffirming its commitment to active travel and setting out the objectives and the financial resources in place to achieve these for the period 2021 to 2025.
In August 2022, the Department formally established Active Travel England as an Executive Agency. Active Travel England is already overseeing the delivery of £200 million of active travel schemes this financial year, and is rapidly recruiting its core staff, as well as putting in place its formal governance structures.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will consider recognising Kosovan driving licences.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
We already recognise Kosovan driving licences. Holders of a valid Kosovan driving licence can drive small vehicles (cars up to 3,500kg and motorcycles), provided entitlement is shown on their licence, for 12 months from the date they become resident in GB or 12 months from the date they enter the country if they are visiting. To continue driving after this time, residents must obtain a GB licence.
Officials are currently progressing the work needed to introduce an exchange arrangement for Kosovan driving licences, subject to a public consultation and the necessary legal process. This would allow Kosovan licence holders resident in GB to obtain a GB licence without the need to take a test.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to take steps to amend the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation to help increase the competitiveness of hydrogen fuels against diesel for heavy goods vehicles and buses.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Renewable Hydrogen has been eligible for reward under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) since 2019. In July we published guidance which broadened that support by enabling hydrogen producers to claim certificates by using power purchase agreements (PPA) to show the use of qualifying electricity. This will help bring down the cost of hydrogen for all transport users including heavy good vehicles and buses.
In Spring 2023 we will publish a post implementation review of the RTFO 2018 amendments, which was when hydrogen support was introduced. This will investigate the effect of these amendments, informing the UK’s Low Carbon Fuels Strategy, which is in development
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to implement Transport for the North’s preferred option for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Prime Minister has made clear the Government wants to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail in full. We intend to engage leaders and honourable members from the North in reaching decisions on the detail of how we deliver this.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of empty or almost empty flights that have left the UK by airport in each month since March 2020.
Answered by Robert Courts
The number of departing international passenger flights operating with no more than 10% of their available seats filled since March 2020 by airport and by month is presented in the attached document. This is based on data collected by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on commercial flight operations, and is currently complete until September 2021.
Departing flights may operate with a low number of passengers for a range of reasons. Since the onset of the pandemic, the Government has provided alleviation from the normal slot regulations that require airlines to operate 80% of their slots in order to retain them for the following season. This means that airlines have not been required to operate empty or almost empty flights solely to retain their historic slots rights.
As the pandemic has gone on and aviation demand has increased, the Government wants to encourage recovery. A draft Statutory Instrument setting out arrangements for Summer 2022 was published on 24 January 2022. To reduce the risk of airlines operating environmentally damaging empty or near-empty flights, this legislation includes an enhanced justified non-utilisation provision, meaning that airlines will not be required to operate slots where markets are substantively closed to passenger traffic.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review section 88 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to give greater responsibility to medical professionals and less responsibility on insurance companies, for determining whether a person can legally drive.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Section 88 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 may allow driving licence applicants to continue driving while their application is being processed. It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that they meet the criteria for driving under these provisions. The criteria is outlined here.
If a doctor or optician has advised a driver that they must not drive, they should stop driving with immediate effect. If a driver is in any doubt whether they are safe to drive, they should seek advice from their doctor or optician.
Insurance cover in these circumstances would be a matter between the driver and their insurance company.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the use of fake covid-19 passes for international travel.
Answered by Robert Courts
The government is working with operators and our international partners to ensure that vaccine certification is legitimate and meets our minimum requirements. Operators conduct upstream checks on all passengers to ensure consistency with the certification minimum dataset, and Border Force officials also check passengers on arrival. Regulators also conduct additional spot checks on arrival to provide an extra layer of assurance.