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Written Question
Cycling and Walking: Administration of Justice
Tuesday 21st November 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to implement the recommendation of the APPG on Cycling and Walking in its report entitled Road justice, published in September 2023, on making exceptional hardship grounds available only on appeal in the Crown Court.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The government does not have any plans to make any changes to the application of exceptional hardship.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles
Tuesday 24th October 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to move the ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars from 2030 to 2035 on (a) consumers and (b) investor confidence in electric vehicles.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The decision to delay the complete ban of the sale of on petrol and diesel cars comes alongside the publication of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, which sets out one of the most ambitious pathways to zero emission vehicles of any major economy. Taken together, these represent a balanced decision, which allows people to choose to travel how they want, whilst giving investors’ confidence in our the Government’s future plans.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles
Tuesday 24th October 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to item 30 in his Department's policy paper entitled The plan for drivers, published on 2 October 2023, what steps he plans to take with industry to myth-bust concerns about electric vehicles.

Answered by Jesse Norman

As set out in the Plan for Drivers, the Government will continue to champion the transition to zero emission vehicles, by working with industry to address common misconceptions and show how EVs can be a practical option for most drivers. This will include active engagement with news and specialist industry outlets, providing up to date information in government publications and continued media monitoring to rebut false narratives and to highlight the benefits of electric vehicles.


Written Question
Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project
Monday 17th July 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Morocco-UK Power Project on the number of maritime jobs in the UK.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Department for Transport does not plan to make an assessment of the potential impact on the Morocco-UK Power Project on the number of maritime jobs in the UK.


Written Question
Active Travel and Roads: Finance
Tuesday 20th June 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the value for money of public funding in (a) active travel schemes and (b) road schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Jesse Norman

Transport schemes, including active travel schemes, and strategic and local authority road schemes are appraised following guidance set out in DfT’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG). Appraisals provide a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the impacts of a scheme. The economic dimension considers both impacts which can be monetised (and included in a Benefit Cost Ratio) and impacts which cannot be robustly valued but which are still assessed and reflected in the value for money assessment. Our appraisals capture impacts of transport investment across the economy, society and environment.

Schemes are assessed by the department following the 5 case business case model. Value for money is one of several factors the department considers.

A post-opening project evaluation assesses whether the benefits set out in a scheme’s business case are on track to be realised through systematically evaluating metrics in relation to impacts including traffic flows, journey times, journey time reliability, safety and the environment. Evaluation reports are published on the Government website.

The Second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) sets out the government’s plans for developing and improving the Strategic Road Network between 2020/21 and 2024/25. The RIS2 Analysis overview published in March 2020, found that at this point of appraisal for the Investment Plan, RIS2 overall is High Value for Money (VfM) – meaning that more than £2 of benefits are generated for each £1 spent.

Local major roads schemes within the Major Roads Network programme have been estimated to have an average Benefit Cost Ratio of around 4, indicating that the programme will deliver Very High value for money. Schemes in the programme have a typical BCR range of between 1.5 and 5, with a small number of schemes having a BCR outside of this range.

Active travel investment typically has at least high value for money. The average benefit-cost ratio, weighted by scheme cost, for Active Travel Fund 4 estimated that for every £1 of investment in active travel infrastructure schemes, there would be a return £2.40 of economic, social, and environmental benefits.

Behaviour change interventions funded by the Department have been estimated by our delivery partners to have a benefit cost ratio of 2.5 in 2021/22 for the Big Bike Revival and 5.5 in 2022/23 for Walk to School Outreach programmes.


Written Question
Active Travel: Levelling Up Fund
Tuesday 20th June 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Levelling Up Fund bids have been given a design assessment by Active Travel England.

Answered by Jesse Norman

Active Travel England reviewed 31 Levelling Up Fund (LUF) bids where an active travel intervention was considered to be the majority element of the bid. Active Travel England will conduct design assessments of all active travel schemes funded by the LUF as they are being developed.


Written Question
Walking: Children
Monday 19th June 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of whether his Department will meet its target of increasing the proportion of children aged 5 to 10 who usually walk to school to 55 per cent by 2025.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government’s most recent assessment of progress towards meeting its active travel goals was set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) report to Parliament in July 2022, a copy of which is available in the House Libraries. The most recent National Travel Survey statistics for 2021 show that the proportion of children aged 5 to 10 who usually walk to school was 49 per cent. The latest statistics for 2022 are due to be published in September 2023 and the Government will provide a further assessment in its next report to Parliament.


Written Question
Cars: Carbon Emissions
Thursday 18th May 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a UK-wide target for reducing car miles driven annually in the UK in the context of reducing emissions and the fifth carbon budget.

Answered by Jesse Norman

In July 2021 the Department published its the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which set out an ambitious and credible pathway for decarbonising the transport sector in line with carbon budgets and net zero by 2050.

In addition, the Government’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandate pursues one of the most ambitious transitions away from fossil fuels anywhere in the world, allowing the Government to effectively decarbonise transport in this country.


Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions
Tuesday 4th April 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the report by the International Council on Clean Transportation entitled Reassessment of excess NOx from diesel cars in Europe following the Court Justice of the European Union rulings, published on 22 March 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report's findings on the prevalence of illegal technology that tampers with emission controls.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government is committed to reducing air pollution from all forms of transport, which has significantly reduced since 2010. Emissions of nitrogen oxides have fallen by 45% and emissions of PM2.5 by 10% since that date.

The DVSA Market Surveillance Unit will continue to conduct a vehicle-emissions testing programme to monitor vehicle emissions performance and address non-compliance where identified.

Since 2015, there have been 134 manufacturer recalls or non-code actions involving a total of 1.85 million vehicles to amend or upgrade emissions systems. Not all action will have been to address non-compliance.


Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions
Tuesday 4th April 2023

Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles fitted with a prohibited defeat device have had an emissions-related fix since 2015.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government is committed to reducing air pollution from all forms of transport, which has significantly reduced since 2010. Emissions of nitrogen oxides have fallen by 45% and emissions of PM2.5 by 10% since that date.

The DVSA Market Surveillance Unit will continue to conduct a vehicle-emissions testing programme to monitor vehicle emissions performance and address non-compliance where identified.

Since 2015, there have been 134 manufacturer recalls or non-code actions involving a total of 1.85 million vehicles to amend or upgrade emissions systems. Not all action will have been to address non-compliance.