Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to help support the development of hydrogen (a) fuel cells and (b) internal combustion engines for L-category vehicles.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Government remains technology neutral and although large portions of the L-category market are already electrifying using batteries, we recognise manufacturers are working with alternative technologies. Acknowledging the need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, we remain open to considering how alternative and other low-carbon fuels may play a role in the transition period from internal combustion engine vehicles to fully electric vehicles. This includes hydrogen, bio and synthetic fuels.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2024 to Question 11316 on Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions and with reference to the policy paper entitled Future of Transport: supporting rural transport innovation, published on 2 October 2023, if he will publish further guidance on L-category vehicles.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Local Authority Transport Decarbonisation Toolkit provides advice to Local Authorities (LAs) on actions they can take to reduce transport carbon emissions, including through case studies and signposting to other published guidance and methodologies. A chapter on zero emission powered light vehicles will be published shortly, to inform LAs and raise awareness of the vehicle type, highlighting potential benefits and use cases, and setting out the steps to take to adopt and further integrate these vehicles in local areas, should they choose to do so.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2024 to Question 11316 on Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions, whether he has had discussions with local authorities on the potential merits of using powered light vehicles to support emissions reduction in the last six months.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Local Authority Transport Decarbonisation Toolkit provides advice to Local Authorities (LAs) on actions they can take to reduce transport carbon emissions, including through case studies and signposting to other published guidance and methodologies. A chapter on zero emission powered light vehicles will be published shortly, to inform LAs and raise awareness of the vehicle type, highlighting potential benefits and use cases, and setting out the steps to take to adopt and further integrate these vehicles in local areas, should they choose to do so.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2024 to Question 11316 on Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions, whether his Department has taken recent steps to review the grant and incentivisation structure since the publication of the Action Plan in February 2022.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Plug-in Motorcycle Grant (PIMG) remains open to new applications for L1e and L3e category vehicles until the end of the current financial year.
Since the publication of the Action Plan in February 2022, the PIMG has undergone continual review to ensure that it is effective in stimulating the growth of the electric-powered light vehicle market, and provides the best value for money to the taxpayer. The Government is currently evaluating the most effective incentives for supporting the future development of the electric-powered light vehicle market, and industry more widely in its transition to zero-emission vehicles.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2024 to Question 11316 on Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions, if he will make an assessment of the impact of the reduction in the plug-in motorcycle grant on the number of sales of electric-powered light vehicles.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Plug-in Motorcycle Grant (PIMG) remains open to applications for L1e (mopeds) and L3e (motorcycles) category vehicles until at least the end of the current financial year.
Government grants have been available for over a decade to help reduce the up-front purchase price of electric vehicles. Since the introduction of the PIMG in 2011, the market shares for L1e category vehicles and L3e category vehicles have increased to 40.6% and 3.3% respectively. All the Plug-in Vehicle Grants remain under continual review by the Government to ensure they deliver the greatest value for money to the taxpayer.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's consultation on L-category vehicles: ending sales of new non-zero emission models, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposals to phase out new non-zero emission L-category vehicles by 2035 on the commercial viability of (a) L-category manufacturers building zero emission L-category vehicles and (b) consumers purchasing those vehicles.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The consultation on when to end the sale of new non-zero emission L-category vehicles was supported by a thorough programme of stakeholder engagement with manufacturers and the wider industry. We are now analysing the responses and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course.
We are working closely with industry to ensure a prosperous future for L-category manufacturers in the UK. In February 2022, the Motorcycle Industry Association and Zemo Partnership published a government-commissioned action plan, namely “Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles”, to support the transition to zero emission L-category vehicles. The Government also recently made £350,000 of funding available to grow the zero emission motorcycle supply chain in the UK.
Government policies are already in place to support the transition to zero emission vehicles. However, the Government appreciates that there are technology and infrastructure considerations for these vehicles as they transition and will continue to work with the sector to support and examine how to best overcome demand side challenges, including the infrastructure needs of zero emission L-category vehicles.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish an assessment of the potential impact of his Department's proposals to phase out new non zero emission L-category vehicles on (a) manufacturers and (b) importers of mopeds and motorcycles.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The consultation on when to end the sale of new non-zero emission L-category vehicles was supported by a thorough programme of stakeholder engagement with manufacturers and the wider industry. We are now analysing the responses and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course.
We are working closely with industry to ensure a prosperous future for L-category manufacturers in the UK. In February 2022, the Motorcycle Industry Association and Zemo Partnership published a government-commissioned action plan, namely “Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles”, to support the transition to zero emission L-category vehicles. The Government also recently made £350,000 of funding available to grow the zero emission motorcycle supply chain in the UK.
Government policies are already in place to support the transition to zero emission vehicles. However, the Government appreciates that there are technology and infrastructure considerations for these vehicles as they transition and will continue to work with the sector to support and examine how to best overcome demand side challenges, including the infrastructure needs of zero emission L-category vehicles.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish a response to his Department's consultation on L-category vehicles: ending sales of new non-zero emission models.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The consultation on when to end the sale of new non-zero emission L-category vehicles was supported by a thorough programme of stakeholder engagement with manufacturers and the wider industry. We are now analysing the responses and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course.
We are working closely with industry to ensure a prosperous future for L-category manufacturers in the UK. In February 2022, the Motorcycle Industry Association and Zemo Partnership published a government-commissioned action plan, namely “Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles”, to support the transition to zero emission L-category vehicles. The Government also recently made £350,000 of funding available to grow the zero emission motorcycle supply chain in the UK.
Government policies are already in place to support the transition to zero emission vehicles. However, the Government appreciates that there are technology and infrastructure considerations for these vehicles as they transition and will continue to work with the sector to support and examine how to best overcome demand side challenges, including the infrastructure needs of zero emission L-category vehicles.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to regulate the use of agricultural drones.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Regulating the operation of drones is the responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority. Implementing Regulation 2019/947 sets out a risk-based regulatory framework, which lays down detailed provisions for the operation of unmanned aircraft.
The Future of Flight Industry Group has been established between Government, industry and the CAA in order to maximise the benefits of technologies such as drones whilst ensuring the safety of the UK aviation system.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on their ability to deliver successful policy outcomes.
Answered by Jesse Norman
At the start of this year, the Government set out its plans to maximise the benefits of Brexit across each major sector of the economy and transform the UK into the best regulated country in the world.
Much progress has been made, including via the introduction of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) (REUL) Bill. This will enable the Government, via Parliament, to remove burdensome sand unnecessary EU regulation in favour of a more agile, regulatory approach directly designed to benefit the UK.
The powers within the Bill to repeal, reform or preserve REUL should provide opportunities to stimulate economic growth, innovation and job creation across the transport sector.