Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to decarbonise transport.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We are developing a bold and ambitious Transport Decarbonisation Plan to achieve net zero emissions across all modes of transport, which we are working to publish as soon as possible. It will set out a credible and ambitious pathway to delivering transport’s contribution to carbon budgets and meeting net zero by 2050.
We have already taken significant steps towards this goal. This includes, but is not limited to, announcing the phase out of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, committing to support the introduction of 4,000 green buses through our recently published National Bus Strategy, investment and support for green fuels and new green transport technologies, and continued support for increasing cycling and walking through our Active Travel Fund.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the response to the consultation on amending the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation will be published.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We are currently analysing responses to the consultation “Amending the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) to increase carbon savings on land, air and at sea”, which closed at the end of April. It is the Department’s plan to publish a Government Response in the summer.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of properties required for the development of HS2 Phase 2b eastern leg have received full compensation in accordance with the Compensation Code.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Until a Bill for the Phase 2b eastern leg has achieved Royal Assent and design development has concluded, the number of properties required for the Phase 2b eastern leg will not be finalised, therefore the proportion of properties cannot be estimated at this time.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many residential properties have been acquired by HS2 Ltd by (a) compulsory purchase, (b) through private agreement, and (c) statutory blight in (i) Rother Valley and (ii) England.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 Ltd. does not classify it’s cases by property type, such as “residential” in this way. Properties frequently have a mixed use clarification or can contain more than one type of property.
i) With regards to properties acquired in the Rother Valley:
ii) With regards to properties acquired in England:
600 properties have been acquired via Statutory Blight (or the Express Purchase Scheme
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average length of time is for HS2 Ltd to agree (a) a statutory blight and (b) a non-statutory property compensation with a property owner.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
a) For completed statutory blight and Express Purchase claims, the mean average of days it has taken from receiving the form of claim to date of acquisition approval is 356 days.
b) Rolling six month figures:
Need to Sell Scheme – 64 days
Rural Support Zone Scheme – 21 days
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the complaint process is for property owners who are dissatisfied with HS2 Ltd’s handling of blight claims.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Claimants are advised to contact the HS2 Helpdesk or their acquisition case manager in the first instance. Claimants can also submit a formal complaint to HS2 Ltd in line with its published complaints handling policy. Further details can be found here: https://www.hs2.org.uk/how-to-complain/
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the process is for HS2 Ltd in agreeing the market value of properties through the (a) statutory blight and (b) non-statutory property compensation schemes.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
a) HS2 Ltd follows the statutory process for determining compensation under statutory blight in line with other Acquiring Authorities. In practice, the Acquiring Authority and claimant each appoint a surveyor to assess the unblighted market value of the property and the disturbance compensation. Each valuer will look at comparable property transactions and value the property disregarding the underlying scheme for which the CPO powers exist. The valuers will discuss their valuations, comparables and methodologies to explore the potential to reach an agreement. Where agreement cannot be reached, the Compensation Code provides for disputes as to the level of compensation to be determined by the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).
b) For the discretionary schemes introduced by the Secretary of State, the valuation approach is set out in published guidance and provides for each party to commission a valuation from a Registered Valuer. Where the two valuations are within 10% of each other (calculated by taking the difference between the two values as a percentage of the higher value) the Secretary of State will offer a price that is the average of the two valuations. If the valuations differ by more than 10% (calculated as above) an additional valuation will be obtained from HS2 Ltd’s pool of valuers (chosen by the applicant). The third valuer will be provided with the previous reports for consideration, with the valuation figures themselves removed. The offer will be made on the average of the closest two valuations.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints have been received from landowners in relation to the valuation of property in the HS2 (a) statutory blight and (b) non-statutory property compensation schemes.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Valuation disputes fall outside of HS2 Ltd.’s formal complaints procedure as it is covered by other processes, whether in the Compensation Code or Government policy.
These areas include:
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to provide covid-19 funding support for (a) light rail, (b) buses and (c) active travel in response to the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
To date the Government has announced over £1 billion in emergency grant funding to support the bus sector in England, alongside over £150 million to support light rail. This funding has helped keep services running throughout the pandemic
Over £200 million has been made available to authorities during the current financial year, via the Active Travel Fund, to support an active and green recovery from Covid-19. This will enable them to deliver safe and direct cycling and walking measures in their areas, such as protected cycle lanes, widened pavements, safer junctions and cycle and bus-only corridors
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Urban Transport Group and (b) city region transport authorities on Government funding in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Government officials and Ministers are in regular conversation with members of the Urban Transport Group and local transport authorities to understand the challenges faced by city region transport authorities in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. This engagement informs a range of Departmental policies, including the development and administration of Covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG) funding and Light Rail support funding.