Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is providing support to canal restoration projects that have been affected by the construction of HS2.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 Ltd works closely with the Canal and River Trust, and local canal groups, to mitigate impacts on the canal network and identify opportunities for improvements. Various canal projects have been supported by HS2 project funds and grants, as well as from donations provided by the HS2 supply chain. Projects have ranged from the supply of wood chippings to improve towpath surfacing, to larger schemes, such as the Trent Sow Parklands and Cannock Chase project which is supporting canal restoration works and improvements to the towpath network. HS2 Ltd is always keen to hear from those involved in local projects, including those aimed at improving community opportunities associated with the canal network.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects track designers to start developing the route for the new HS2 line between Birmingham and East Midlands Parkway.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following a pause to design work on the HS2 Eastern Leg as a result of the Oakervee Review and during the development of the Integrated Rail Plan, the Department and HS2 Ltd are now considering how best to take HS2 East forward, working closely with Network Rail.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on identifying projects suitable for the restoring your railways funding; and what his planned timetable is for providing an update on the submission made by the Campaign to reopen the Ivanhoe Line.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The £500m Restoring Your Railway Fund is supporting over 45 schemes at different stages of development with funding and advice. A Strategic Outline Business Case for the Ivanhoe Line bid was submitted to the Department in May 2021. The Secretary of State for Transport and I are considering next steps for projects, including the Ivanhoe Line, with a decision on the next tranche to progress anticipated later this year.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department will offer support to local authorities replacing conventional diesel with HVO fuel to run their vehicle fleet.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) certificate trading scheme is successfully supporting a market for low carbon fuels in the UK, including biodiesel. Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is a type of biodiesel. Those supplying HVO for use in road vehicles in the UK, and which meets sustainability criteria, are eligible for reward under the RTFO scheme.
There is no funding programme specifically for local authorities switching to fuel their existing fleets with HVO, and there are no current plans to introduce such a programme. The primary support for the wider deployment of HVO is the RTFO scheme, which provides a competitive market for a broad range of low carbon fuels.
Local authorities are well placed to determine how best to decarbonise their vehicle fleets. The Department is supporting this through a grant provided by the Energy Savings Trust. This provides tailored outreach advice to local authorities in support of the development and implementation of their own transport decarbonisation strategies, including advice on the decarbonisation of their own vehicle fleets. Later this year the Department will also publish a transport decarbonisation toolkit for local authorities, which will provide guidance to support local areas to deliver more sustainable transport measures including decarbonising their own fleets.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to extend the use of roadside funnel bins following the trial in 2017.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Following National Highways’ trial of roadside funnel bins in 2017 at Lymm Truckstop, a further 44 bins have been installed including at Sandbach and Maidstone Service Areas. National Highways continue to work with Motorway Service Area (MSA) operators to encourage them to install bins and trial different interventions to influence drivers to dispose of their rubbish responsibly.
More broadly, National Highways has commissioned charity Keep Britain Tidy to carry out research into littering behaviour on the Strategic Road Network (SRN). The behavioural insights and outputs from this research will be used by National Highways to implement targeted campaigns including social media campaigns, improvements to rest areas, installation of more drive-up bins, distribution of ‘pinned bins’, and engagement with families and employees.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the DVLA has plans to review the licence requirements for e-bikes and scooters.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
In enabling e-scooter trials to begin, we were constrained by existing legislation, and could not quickly remove the driving licence requirement. We have allowed full and provisional licence holders to use e-scooters in the trials, opening trials up to the greatest number of people. It is important to note that the current regulations are designed to enable effective trials of e-scooters to be run, and therefore apply only to and for the duration of the trials. We have a national monitoring and evaluation programme in place to assess the safety and wider impacts of e-scooters. Any future decisions around licence requirements for e-scooters will be made using the evidence from this programme.
Section 32 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides that electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) must not be driven on a road by anyone under 14 years of age. There is no requirement to have a licence to ride an EAPC provided that it complies with the requirements in the 2015 EAPC Regulations, and EAPCs complying with those same requirements do not need to be registered, taxed or insured. The Government has no plans to change any of the above.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to encourage the development of electric powered HGVs.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution announced that we are investing £20m this financial year in planning for zero emission road freight trials which will support UK industry to develop cost-effective, zero-emission HGVs and their refuelling infrastructure in the UK. These trials will advance R&D in the technologies of catenary electric, battery electric and hydrogen-powered HGVs, allowing us to begin the commercial roll-out of the appropriate new technologies before the end of the decade.
In addition, the recently announced plug-in truck grant reduces the purchase price of zero emission commercial vehicles for consumers. Grant rates for eligible trucks are set at 20% of the purchase price, with up to £25,000 of funding available for the largest HGVs. This grant should incentivise increased uptake in zero emission HGVs.
We will also be consulting on a date for phasing out the sale of new diesel heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), to drive innovation and development, and to increase the uptake of zero emission alternatives within the HGV sector.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to reform the road user levy after the end of the transition period to ensure parity between domestic and foreign hauliers.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The HGV levy was introduced to ensure a fairer arrangement for all hauliers, and is paid equally by UK and foreign hauliers. It is currently suspended until 1 August 2021, and we are considering reforms to it for when it is reinstated.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in the event that a UK driving test is taken and failed before a 12 month international licence expires, whether that international licence is revoked in the UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In Great Britain, the law allows new residents with valid driving licences issued by countries outside the EU/European Economic Area (EEA) to drive for up to one year from the date they become a resident. Driver licensing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.
In order to be able to take a driving test here, new residents must apply for a provisional GB licence. However, the law does not allow for their original, third country driving licence to be invalidated if they do not pass the test. This means they can continue to drive using the third country licence until the one year period expires.
If a driver has not passed a test here within the one year period, they must then stop driving once this has elapsed. Although they can continue to drive as a GB provisional licence holder, provided that they adhere to the rules applying to provisional licences.
Driving licences issued by EU and EEA member states are mutually recognised and can be exchanged without the need to take a test.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the most recent assessment is of the benefit cost ratio for phase 2B of HS2; and whether an assessment has been made of the potential merits of running 14 trains an hour at 195mph.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
HS2 Phase 2b is estimated as delivering high value for money, with a Benefit-Cost Ratio including Wider Economic Impacts (WEIs) of 2.6 and a BCR excluding WEIs of 2.1. This analysis was presented in the Phase 2 Economic Case in 2017.
The business case for Phase 2b assumes that up to 18 trains per hour will run on the HS2 core network at speeds of up to 225mph (360km/h). HS2 Ltd is working to the scope of the project as set out by Government. If any changes were made to these requirements then there would be an assessment of the potential impact on the business case and this work would be published.