Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the report by Women’s Policy Centre titled ‘The Case for a Universal Ban on Surrogacy’, dated April 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports surrogacy as a part of assisted conception options and recognises the important part it can play in supporting people seeking to start a family. The Department has published guidance on the care of surrogates and intended parents in surrogate births, which is available at the following link:
The Government has not undertaken a formal assessment of the implications of the report by Women’s Policy Centre, The Case for a Universal Ban on Surrogacy.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the costs to motorists arising from (a) emissions compliance costs, (b) electric vehicle transition policies and (c) other net zero transport policies.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The cost-benefit analysis for the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate and CO2 regulations estimated the net value to society of the regulations. This was estimated at a benefit of £39 billion (2021 prices) over the full appraisal period, between 2021 and 2071.
This includes all benefits and costs and covers the transition of cars up to 80% of all new cars to ZEV and 70% of new vans to ZEV from 2030 (and on an ongoing basis). Using figures reported across the cost benefit analysis (CBA) to estimate the net impact, households and business are estimated to save roughly £14 billion (2021 prices) from 2021 to 2071, accounting for increased upfront vehicle cost (£27 billion) and infrastructure costs (£13 billion), which is more than offset by lower fuel (£39 billion) and maintenance costs (£15 billion).
The CBA can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6554be55544aea000dfb2d59/zev-mandate-consultation-final-cost-benefit-analysis.pdf.
Regarding other road transport policies, the Department for Transport (DfT) estimates the cost of supplying low carbon fuels through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) each year. The latest estimate is c. £2 billion for 2023. This supported the delivery of c. 4 billion litres of low carbon fuels and saved c. 8 million tonnes of CO2e emissions. The latest RTFO costs and scheme outcomes can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-transport-fuel-obligation-annual-report-2023.
The 2024 annual report is expected to be published shortly.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the contribution of net zero-related costs to the retail price per litre of (a) petrol and (b) diesel.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are no dedicated Net Zero levies on petrol or diesel in the UK.
The cost of fuel is influenced by a range of factors. As oil is a globally traded commodity, disruptions or uncertainty in any region can influence prices in the UK until global markets stabilise.
Nonetheless, we have taken several measures to protect drivers. The Chancellor has frozen fuel duty since this Government came to office, extending the 5p fuel duty cut until September. We have also implemented Fuel Finder, which my Department’s analysis suggests could save households that own a car around £40 per year on average.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the proportion of (a) fuel duty, (b) VAT on fuel, and (c) other motoring taxes that is attributable (i) directly and (ii) indirectly to net zero-related policies.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Motoring taxes and VAT are primarily intended to raise revenue, which helps to fund vital public services and infrastructure, including investment in roads and transport.
However, some fuel and motoring taxes have secondary objectives or environmental effects, such Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), where different rates apply to cars, vans, and motorcycles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions. The government considers the environmental impacts, including emissions, when making changes motoring taxes. More broadly, the government keeps motoring taxes under review as part of its approach to supporting the transition to net zero while maintaining a stable tax base and annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate.